Executive orders go back and forth. Law too. But a 90,000-square-foot ballroom? It stays here.
White House begins construction of the ballroom
The White House is expected to begin construction in September in a $200 million ballroom in the eastern White House.
- In the first six months of his second term, President Trump moved to leave the biggest traces on the president’s White House complex.
- Think Supersized Flags, a paved rose garden, an oval office decorated with gold and gold leaf, and a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
- Not everyone is a fan of Trump’s redesign. “What’s next, Spa?” Skeptic posted on social media platform X.
Regarding all their rage, the executive order signed by President Donald Trump could be overturned by the signature of his successor. If Democrats are controlled in Washington, the law passed at his request could be repealed.
But what about the 90,000-square-foot ballroom planted on the east side of the White House?
It will stay here.
Whatever Trump’s political legacy, in the first six months of his second term, he moved to leave the biggest traces of the President’s White House complex since John Adams first moved on November 1, 1800.
Twenty-five years later, 25 years after rising on new 88-foot poles on the north and south grass, they were a little taller than the White House itself.
The iconic Rose Garden, designed by Jacqueline Kennedy, is paved with what Trump deserves praise as “very white” stones, creating a resort patio over a lush retreat.
The oval office features fireplaces, walls and even ceilings with gold leaf and gold. “You know, we handle it in great love and 24 carat gold,” he boasted of visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Kearney.
And the Ballroom is looming as the biggest project of all of them, and as a project that is hard to imagine turning it around. Construction of the $200 million structure is scheduled to begin in September, with funding that the president says will come from himself and “patriot” donors. He promises it will be completed to celebrate his lease on January 20, 2029 on the real estate before it expires.
If the addition of a second floor to the White House residence in 1948 is universally referred to as the Truman Balcony, it appears likely that a future president will hold national dinners and other flashy issues that will forever be known as the Trump Ballroom.
Real estate renovations, set renovations
Perhaps it’s no surprise that the president, who has become a prominent real estate developer and reality TV star, is keen to put his stamp around him. He has renovated the basis for running the presidency business in front of television cameras that stream scenes, and has remodeled offices.
“They’ve been hoping for a ballroom in the White House for over 150 years, but there’s never a president who’s good at ballroom,” he said in response to a question raised recently by Joey Garrison of USA Today. Trump said his golf resort in Turnbury, Scotland, has a new “incredible” ballroom, adding that “I’m good at building things.”
His inspiration? There is a clear similarity to Mar-a-Lago in his Palm Beach Club and voting address. There, Donald J. Trump’s Grand Ballroom was completed in 2005, and his first event was his wedding to Melania Knaus. The room features a reported $7 million gold leaf and crystal chandelier.
The new White House ballroom also includes a crystal chandelier, rated ceiling, arched windows, Corinthian pillars and rooms for 650 dinner guests.
Trump’s stately love of love may have been built when he sat with his Scottish-born mother at age 6 and saw the coral crown of Queen Elizabeth II in London in 1953. In his book, The Art of the Deal, he called it one of his earliest memories.
His father was “very brick and mortar,” he later said, but his mother “loved rituals and beauty because no one was doing anything like English.”
Among the presidents, the most not, not the first
Not everyone is keen to redesign Trump.
Critics complain that he transformed his rose garden into a parking lot and his oval office into a sparkling sea. Social media memes ridiculous new ballroom. One portrays it as a giant McDonald’s. “What’s next, Spa?” Skeptic posted on Platform X.
Still, other presidents have made major changes to the White House, prompting protests from traditionalists who are often concerned about costs and aesthetics.
Second President and first resident John Adams is commemorated by a blessing engraved on the fireplaces of the state’s dining hall. “I pray that heaven will give this house the best blessing. “A person who is honest and wise will not rule under this roof.”
However, he did not order the inscription of a quote taken from a letter he wrote to his wife, Abigail Adams. It was done in 1945 by Franklin Roosevelt.
Thomas Jefferson added Colonnade, Andrew Jackson the North Portico and Theodore Roosevelt the West Wing to provide an oval office for the space for the president and staff. FDR oversees the construction of the East Wing, creates an office for the First Ladies, and also hides the construction of underground bunkers.
(The Presidential Emergency Business Center, known as the PEOC, was where Vice President Dick Cheney and First Lady Laura Bush were in a hurry after the 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks.)
But none of them coincides with the number and size of changes Trump has launched. His personal involvement is also worth noting. This includes a surprising visit to the White House roof on August 5th, where you can “take a little walk” and see the area where the latest additions will be built.
Think of this: the area of the ballroom is not just a small accessory to the Eastern Wing. The size of the West Wing is almost triple. It’s two-thirds larger than the 55,000 square feet of the White House itself, and all six floors are combined.
