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“The entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Donald Trump moves forward with construction of a ballroom… The proposed ballroom was announced as a $200 million project in July, a cost Trump publicly updated to $250 million last week. On Thursday, he put the price tag ‘in the neighborhood’ of $300 million.” AP News
“A full list revealing the wealthy donors and corporations paying for US President Donald Trump's new $300m White House ballroom has been released by the Trump administration… The list includes dozens of companies, such as Amazon, Google and Meta, and several billionaire investors. The US president has said that he personally will pay for significant portions of its construction.” BBC
The left is critical of both the ballroom itself and also that it will be funded by billionaires.
“Somehow, other presidents have managed to host and honor foreign leaders and dignitaries just fine for all these many years. President Ronald Reagan and actor John Travolta danced with Princess Diana in November 1985 in the White House’s entrance hall. It was epic and iconic and very American…
“Large state dinners have often been held in tents on the White House lawn. And they have been fabulous and elegant affairs. President Jimmy Carter feted President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel in March 1979 for a state dinner that included 1,340 guests to mark the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. The White House is supposed to be the ‘The People’s House,’ not a palace — special, yet accessible. Trump, of gold-plated toilets and nouveau riche tchotchkes, has other ideas.”
Nia-Malika Henderson, Bloomberg
“It’s not the building’s gaudy style or its sudden imposition that make it a monument to Trump. It’s the purpose: a higher order of luxury socializing with the most powerful man in the world. The ballroom may have been in demand since the 1890s, but it will be impossible to separate from the current president’s predilection for dinner-table dealmaking. Who needs a presidential library to explain life under a president who doles out pardons, research funding, and regulatory changes in exchange for donations when we have this donor-fueled, gilded schmooze room looming over the White House?”
Henry Grabar, Slate
“There was something deeply unsettling about watching Trump’s tractors bring down the rafters of an East Wing first commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902. Roosevelt embarked on the big renovation because the building — then just called the President’s House — hadn’t seen a good carpenter since its reconstruction after the British arson of 1814…
“Roosevelt’s renovation was an exercise in showcasing the modesty of a democracy that didn’t need to coat itself in stick-on gold appliques in order to feel important. It was also intended, in Roosevelt’s own words, to do justice and honor to the civic spirit of the American people. Trump would know nothing of that — his ballroom is bankrolled exclusively by the plutocratic rich, by his country club buddies, by men with billions of dollars in pending business before the government regulators Trump now controls…
“The partially collapsed East Wing is a visible representation of a government and an economy that Trump has led into partial collapse at near-record speed. Federal agencies have been shuttered now for three weeks. Millions of Americans now struggle to find work while facing ever-higher prices at the grocery store and skyrocketing health insurance premiums. Trump may be building his personal 90,000-square-foot Neronian pleasure palace, but few Americans are in the mood to throw parties of their own.”
Max Burns, The Hill
The right argues that presidents regularly make changes to the White House and praises the new ballroom.
The right argues that presidents regularly make changes to the White House and praises the new ballroom.
“Trump is replacing a handful of office buildings with a ballroom. That’s it. No more, and no less… Over the years, presidents of both parties and of all leadership styles have [made changes to the White House], and nobody has cared one whit. Some of those presidents, such as Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt, used public money to pay for their modifications. Some, such as John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, and Gerald Ford, raised private funds…
“The capacity of the State Dining Room is 140, and the capacity of the East Room is 200 (perhaps 250 if guests are seated cheek by jowl), which means that, at present, it is common for large White House functions to be held in temporary tents that have been erected at great cost on the South Lawn. When complete, the new ballroom will hold 999 guests. The justification for this is so obvious that the idea was first proposed by President Harrison — back in 1891.”
The Editors, National Review
“President Franklin Delano Roosevelt put in a swimming pool. His successor, President Harry Truman, practically gutted the place to add a balcony. President Richard Nixon covered the swimming pool but added a bowling alley. Finally, President Barack Obama transformed the tennis court into a basketball court. Note that these are all changes that were made to serve the respective president’s personal taste or enjoyment… What Trump is doing is completely different…
“Trump instinctively understands that in 2025, America may still be the world’s only superpower, but not by so hegemonic a distance as in the recent past. China and others have been catching up, and the ‘aw, shucks’ attitude of the past needs some adjusting. World leaders, as well those on public White House tours, should have their breath taken away when they walk into the presidential ballroom. Such displays are as old as nations themselves, from the pyramids to the Coliseum…
“Recent polling showed that only 36% of Democrats are very, or even just somewhat, proud of America. This being the case, it's easy to understand why they object to building testaments to its power and glory. What Democrats and socialists are really objecting to here is not that Trump’s ballroom celebrates himself, it's that his ballroom unabashedly celebrates America.”
David Marcus, Fox News
“Now, if your contention is that presidents should embrace a more unassuming, republican demeanor in Washington, I’m with you. Our habit of treating Washington as a sacred place goes against the values of the founders. We know, of course, that the anger about the ballroom has nothing to do with renewing our egalitarian virtues. If President Kamala Harris had built a new ballroom with private donations, we would be subjected to fawning stories about the new Camelot and deep dives on the elegant design.”
David Harsanyi, Washington Examiner
Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025 – in pictures.
The Guardian
