This week, President Trump curried favor with his base by claiming that the destruction of Confederate tributes, or what he calls “beautiful statues and monuments,” makes him “sad.” Don’t let these statements fool you: This is the same person who, in 1980, destroyed priceless art deco friezes to shave two weeks of construction time off Trump Tower.

On Thursday morning, Trump expressed disappointment with the removal of Confederate statues from public spaces in three Twitter posts, bemoaning what he described as a loss of history, culture, and beauty.

Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You….. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

…can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

…the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

It’s worth rewinding a few decades to understand the hypocrisy in his response to the removal of these symbols of white supremacy. In order to construct his namesake tower in 1980, Trump razed the Bonwit Teller building, a 1929 art deco structure by Warren & Wetmore–the same architects who designed Grand Central Station. The original building had been adorned with ornate metalwork and sculptural reliefs, as a 2014 New York Times story described with florid abandon:

Plain as the building might be, the entrance was like a spilled casket of gems: platinum, bronze, hammered aluminum, orange and yellow faience, and tinted glass backlighted at night. In 1929 American Architect magazine called it “a sparkling jewel in keeping with the character of the store.”

Upon learning about the historic building’s imminent demolition, and recognizing the cultural value of its ornamentation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art convinced Trump to remove portions of the historic facade and donate them to the institution. Trump agreed–on the condition that the cost to him would not be too high.