President Trump praises demolition of east building during banquet hall construction project
President Trump commented on the sounds of the latest White House renovations as workers began tearing down part of the east wing to make way for a new ballroom.
The sound of a jackhammer may sound painful to most people, but the sound of construction is music to President Donald Trump’s ears.
On October 21, the 21st day of the government shutdown, he gushed about his favorite background music at the Senate Republican Luncheon in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden. He was talking about another construction project underway nearby, a $250 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Workers began demolishing portions of the east wing on October 20 ahead of a major construction project that will be one of the biggest changes to the presidential palace in decades.
“You’ll probably hear the beautiful sounds of construction in the back. Can you hear that sound? Oh, that’s music to my ears. I love that sound,” he said. “Other people don’t like it. When they hear that sound, they think of money.”
The White House and President Trump have said the cost of the banquet hall is being covered by private donors and Trump himself.
“In this case, I’m paying for it, so I’m reminding you that you don’t have money,” Trump said.
Donors to the ballroom’s construction include some of America’s largest companies, including Lockheed Martin Co., Palantir Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google Inc., Meta Inc. and Amazon.com, a White House official told USA TODAY.
Trump then spoke about the venue where they gathered, noting that first lady Melania Trump oversaw a project that included a paved patio on the Rose Garden lawn and new surround sound.
“It was in very bad shape, in fact, and we got it back to health. Melania Trump did a great job,” he said.
He once again talked about how women’s shoes had fallen into the “luxury trap” as the impetus for change.
“We plan to use it for press conferences. We couldn’t use it before, but now we can.” “All of this is being redone and the entire White House is being remade.”
He also pointed out changes made to the hallway leading to the Rose Garden. The tiled floor has been replaced with marble.
“It was made of hardware store tiles, about 1 foot by 1 foot. It was about 30 years old, and it was all broken. And we replaced it with book-matched marble that your friend President Trump paid for.”
Trump, who has a background in real estate, has made several changes to the White House, including gold-plating the Oval Office. He even recently threw an arch across the street from the Lincoln Memorial. Reminiscent of the imposing Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this arch serves as the gateway to Washington from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia via the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
“It’s very relaxing for me. The estate is relaxing,” he told Ballroom donors at a recent dinner in the East Room. “Real estate is a very difficult business for a lot of people. I’ve always loved real estate and I’ve always done well in it.”
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is USA TODAY’s White House correspondent. You can follow her at X @SwapnaVenugopal.
This story has been updated to correct a typo.
