President Trump said at an event in the East Room on October 20 that construction work on the ballroom began earlier in the day.
Trump Arch: See the 3D model of the president’s new real estate project
President Trump laid out plans for a new real estate project at a dinner thanking donors for the White House’s $250 million ballroom.
Construction has begun on President Donald Trump’s new $250 million White House ballroom, with workers demolishing part of the east wing ahead of a 90,000-square-foot addition, one of the biggest changes to the presidential mansion in decades.
Images show a backhoe tearing apart the side of the east wing facing the Treasury building, despite President Trump’s pledge in July that the ballroom would not affect the existing White House structure.
“It doesn’t interfere with the current building, it’s close but it doesn’t touch it, it’s completely respectful of the existing building, and I’m the biggest fan of that,” Trump said. “This is my favorite place. I love it.”
President Trump announced at an event in the East Room on October 20 that construction work had begun earlier in the day. He said one of the walls in the East Room will be removed, calling it a “knockout panel” and providing direct access to the ballroom.
“There’s massive construction going on on the other side,” Trump said, adding, “It just started today.”
President Trump later posted on social media that the East Wing “is being completely modernized as part of this process and will be more beautiful than ever when completed!”
According to a July White House press release announcing the new ballroom, the East Wing was built in 1902 and “subsequently underwent numerous renovations and changes, including the addition of a second floor in 1942.” It includes a formal entrance, first- and second-floor offices, and an underground bomb shelter, according to the White House Historical Society. This was traditionally the location of the First Lady’s office.
Trump, a real estate developer turned president, has moved quickly into his second term to assert his authority over the physical landscape as well as policy. He tore out the White House Rose Garden to install a patio, completely renovated the Oval Office with gold ornaments, erected an 88-foot flagpole on the White House’s north and south lawns, and is working on a bathroom in Lincoln’s bedroom.
President Trump has for years pushed for a ballroom in the White House that could accommodate large gatherings such as state dinners. He lamented the fact that many of the extravaganzas of the past took place inside tents. The ballroom is funded by private donors.
“We’re going to see social gatherings like we’ve never seen before, and I don’t think we’ll ever surpass that,” Trump said on October 20. “It’s going to be the best.”
Contributor: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
