Were the Clintons accused of taking White House furniture? Controversy resurfaces as Chelsea Clinton rallies against Trump's "erasure of the East Wing"

On Thursday, October 23, Chelsea Clinton published an exclusive piece about President Trump's latest White House ballroom project on USA Today. The focus of the piece was on how the White House wasn't anyone's personal home but a house that belonged to the Americans.

The erasure of the East Wing isn't just about marble or plaster — it's about President Trump again taking a wrecking ball to our heritage, while targeting our democracy, and the rule-of-law.

My piece in @USATODAY: https://t.co/4nwSllGIGR

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) October 23, 2025

Clinton's new piece on "the erasure of the East Wing" has reignited an old controversy about the Clintons having stolen furniture while departing from the White House, with many netizens pointing out the same in the comments. 

"Apparently, your family thought they owned furniture and extras in the White House. Were you upset about Obama construction?" - questioned an X user.

"When your family moved out of the White House they tried to take a lot of furniture with them. So much that they were ordered to move it back." - wrote another.

"Maybe you understood it wasn’t “your” house, but your parents? Pops set up a cigar lounge in the Oval Office and your mom tried to steal the furniture." - added a third one.

"How come your parents rented out parts of it and took stuff from it when ya'll left? You should have told them, I guess. Anyway, I know it's hard seeing your old house get renovated, but it'll be okay, kiddo." - replied a fourth user.

"Should have told your parents" - noted a fifth one.

"You might want to sit this one out, Chelsea. Your dad had s*x in the Oval and your mom ripped off the furniture and fine china when she left." - commented a sixth netizen.

For the unversed, President Bill Clinton took office in January 1993, with the Clinton family residing in the White House for eight years, with his presidency ending in 2001. 

Chelsea Clinton has called Trump's White House project "unsettling"

After acknowleding that many Presidents before Trump have also made changes to the White House, Chelsea agrees that he has the right to make his own renovations, especially since he has raised private funds for the same.

Then stating her issue with the project, Clinton continues:

"With less than a year until we celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary, it is unsettling that such substantial alterations to the 225-year-old People’s House are being undertaken without a historic-preservation review and seemingly without the involvement of any historians, and I would love to be proven wrong here."

Later in her opinion piece, Chelease also calls the Trump administration's defining trait to be "a disregard for history". 

Then speaking about every generation's duty to "care for and update the White House as needs evolve," Chelsea points out that the way of doing so and the inclusivity of the process is reflective of "our respect for history and for the People's House."