Part of the White House’s East Wing was demolished Monday as construction for President Trump’s 90,000-square-foot, $200 million ballroom began.
The ballroom is an addition to the White House that Mr. Trump has been eyeing since before he was president the first time. The entire plan is privately funded.
Mr. Trump announced that ground was broken for the ballroom.
“Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!” he wrote on Truth Social. “For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc.”
He added, “I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer! The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!”
Pictures surfaced of an excavator tearing down parts of the East Wing, which traditionally contained the first lady’s office and her staff.
Renderings of the new ballroom show it decked out in gold, with hanging chandeliers. It will seat 650 people, the president’s office said, and “its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical” to the White House.
Mr. Trump recently hosted a dinner for all the wealthy donors making his ballroom a reality.
The president said the design features four sides of bulletproof glass and will feature the “totally appropriate” color, window shapes, moldings and decorations.
“We did something that was really appropriate to the White House,” he said of the design. “We didn’t want to dwarf anything. We didn’t want to make it so that it’s inappropriate.”
“To me, there’s nothing like the White House,” he said at the dinner.
Some have criticized the demolition and ballroom project.
Meanwhile, White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a screenshot of a 1950 Smithsonian Magazine story about the White House’s reconstruction during the Truman administration.
“Construction has always been a part of the evolution of the White House,” Mr. Cheung wrote on X. “Losers who are quick to criticize need to stop their pearl clutching and understand the building needs to be modernized. Otherwise you’re just living in the past.”
