Salman Rushdie longs for 'demolition' of Trump's White House ballroom and triumphal arch as 'ridiculous'

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026.

Salman Rushdie has denounced President Trump as "thin-skinned" and called his planned 250-foot triumphal arch "ridiculous," saying he looks forward to the day "every ugly thing he's built gets torn down." The Booker Prize-winning author also criticised Trump's decision to rip out the White House's East Wing to make way for a ballroom. Rushdie made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview four years after a knife attack that cost him the sight in one eye. He also revealed he has thought about going to see the man who stabbed him.

Rushdie told the interviewer that life for immigrants in Britain is more difficult today than it was decades ago.

Four years after the stabbing, Rushdie has said he has contemplated a meeting with his attacker — though he stopped short of committing to one.