Convince me

[blueskylady]

We need a 200 million dollar ballroom

[fedup]

"WE" don't need one. The people who are paying for it, wants one.

[Pappy]

sorry you all lost me on this one. 

[Pappy]

Ok I had to look it up. I was lost on what was being discussed.

White House Unveils Plan for $200 Million Ballroom, Trump’s Long-Sought Imprint

Officials said a 90,000-square-foot addition to the East Wing would be paid for by President Trump and other donors.

First came the gold décor in the Oval Office. Then President Trump brought his Mar-a-Lago style to the Rose Garden before installing a new flagpole in front of the White House.

Now, Mr. Trump is unveiling plans to fulfill a long-held desire to add a state ballroom off the East Wing, a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot project that would be one of the largest renovations to the historic building in decades.

The project poses myriad questions about potential conflicts of interest and the feasibility of such an undertaking, which Mr. Trump expects to be completed before he leaves office. White House officials said the president and other donors would pay for the renovations but declined to give details.

 

In his six months in office, Mr. Trump has sought to reshape institutions in his image through sweeping policy changes, upending the federal bureaucracy and leaving his stamp on the private sector and the arts. But the president, a onetime real estate developer, is also hoping to cement his legacy by leaving his imprint on the structure of the White House.

“We’re good at building,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday. “I’m good at building things, and we’ll get it built quickly and on time. It’ll be beautiful — top of the line.”

The 90,000-square-foot ballroom project would allow the administration to host events for about 650 people, more than triple the capacity of the largest room in the building, the East Room, according to a White House statement.

The administration plans to begin construction in September and finish the project before the end of Mr. Trump’s term, according to Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary.

Mr. Trump said the new ballroom would allow officials to host large events for world leaders and other guests without needing to stand up a large tent on the White House South Lawn. The renovation would be one of the largest projects on the White House grounds since President Harry S. Truman created what is now the West Wing, according to the presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.

“He’s been wanting to be seen as the builder president so that whoever in the future goes to the White House, they’ll be in the Trump auditorium,” Mr. Brinkley said. “It has the potential to be a plus if the design of this ballroom is done well, but if it’s done in a ridiculously lavish, gold-plate style that is simply a reflection on Trump.”

According to images released by the White House, the administration is envisioning a ballroom that would appear to resemble one of the rooms in Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s Florida residence and resort. One image showed a ballroom lined with golden chandeliers and golden chairs surrounding dozens of tables.

Mr. Trump said he was focused on maintaining the integrity and tradition of the White House.

“The White House ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical,” Ms. Leavitt said.

Ms. Leavitt said that Mr. Trump and other donors would pay for the renovation. The administration has tapped McCrery Architects, Clark Construction and AECOM for the project.

While historians and government ethics experts say Mr. Trump has the authority to pursue the construction project, they also raised concerns over the ways in which Mr. Trump enlisted the companies for the expansion and how the new ballroom would be funded.

White House officials did not respond to questions on whether they had made a competitive contracting process for the project.

The timing of the project’s announcement is also significant. Mr. Trump just a week ago seized on a sprawling renovation project undertaken by the Federal Reserve to modernize one building built in 1935 and another in 1932. Mr. Trump has zeroed in on the expensive price tag of the project — about $2.5 billion — to accuse the central bank’s chair, Jerome H. Powell, of mismanagement.

Now the president is pursuing renovations that could provide an opening for donors aiming to gain favor with the White House, according to ethics experts.

“People who want to be in good with the president are going to write checks,” said Richard W. Painter, who served as the chief ethics lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush. “It’s just a whole extension of the pay-to-play problem that we’ve had in government for years.”

Mr. Painter also said he was concerned that expanding the capacity of the White House would allow Mr. Trump and future administrations to invite their donors to the White House.

“It’s all teed up for a very transactional approach,” Mr. Painter said.

Construction of the ballroom would fulfill a wish-list item for Mr. Trump. David Axelrod, a former senior adviser in the White House during the Obama administration, wrote in his 2015 memoir that Mr. Trump had offered to build a new ballroom for the White House.

“He said you have these state dinners in little tents,” Mr. Axelrod said in an interview, adding an expletive that he said Mr. Trump used. “He says: I build ballrooms. I build the most beautiful ballrooms in the world. You can come to Florida and see it for yourself. Let me build you a modular ballroom that you can assemble and take apart.”

Mr. Axelrod said the Obama administration did not follow up with Mr. Trump on his offer.

“This has been a longstanding thought on his part,” Mr. Axelrod said.

Mr. Axelrod questioned the necessity of the planned addition, noting that he had never heard a world leader complain about a state dinner.

Just how much the East Wing of the White House will change is unclear.

Ms. Leavitt said the ballroom would be built where the “East Wing currently sits.” When asked whether the project required tearing down that section of the White House for the new ballroom, she said the East Wing would be “modernized.”

But the project will force some government workers to move, at least temporarily.

During the renovations, many staff members will have to be relocated from the East Wing, Ms. Leavitt said. That includes those in the White House military office, the visitor’s offices and the office of the first lady, Melania Trump.

 

[Constitutionalist]

Is this going to be another one of those poor attempts from BLUEskylady to stir the pot as she just runs and hides and can’t do anything more than post a partial headline without having any substance to back it up? I’m too bored with her to continue this nonsense.. I was more excited to see fed had replied than what the actual OP said 😜😂

[fedup]

I often wonder why so many people can't see the facts.

It might be the tears in their eyes from crying so much.

[Petee]

If the East Wing is mainly offices, once all other things are considered, including the needs of the White House for new offices, it's probably going to be a great and beautiful addition.  It makes sense to have events right in the White House where there is already great surveillance than in a different location where everything and everyone nearby needs scoped out before they can keep the area well-guarded.

Instead of moving dignitaries and staff to a completely different location, everything will be under one roof or delivered inside a secure location.  I wonder if they are considering adding a McDonald's!  

[Ignatius]

Only somewhat related to the OP's question, but for background on where we are as a country, do a search on ChatGPT, asking for why the media is so biased against Donald Trump, since his first campaign.  Then do a follow-up question on why ChatGPT is biased against Trump.

I view myself as a moderate citizen, leaning slightly more conservative than liberal, and because of that, for the past 9 years (since the first Trump campaign) have tried to give the media a wide berth.  Unfortunately, strong allegations are being made of extreme bias and depending upon what news source you listen to, the bias can be against the right and conversely, against the left.  Where do we look for the truth?  My point is the manipulation we are increasingly being subject to.  We are seeing emerging AI battles between Meta and Apple, just to name one. 

Russia collusion, if it occurred or if it was fabricated, may end up as the penultimate scandal of this nation, with AI misuse being the worse scandal.

Sorry for going off topic, but back to the OP's post, everything was not presented truthfully by the media for the grand ballroom.  Or was it?

[Pompeii]

On 8/2/2025 at 3:19 PM, blueskylady said:

We need a 200 million dollar ballroom

I'll tell you what we don't need ... People like you that have NO idea on what is actually going on in our country!! Stop listening to the lies from the MSM. 

[Polo]

I don't see a problem with a new ballroom.  Doesn't sound like we will be paying for it.  Why have special functions in a tent on the front lawn when you could have them in an actual room?  Security would be better that way, I think.  

[Constitutionalist]

5 hours ago, Pompeii said:

I'll tell you what we don't need ... People like you that have NO idea on what is actually going on in our country!! Stop listening to the lies from the MSM. 

THanks Steve.. typical troll here 

[Constitutionalist]

2 hours ago, Ignatius said:

Only somewhat related to the OP's question, but for background on where we are as a country, do a search on ChatGPT, asking for why the media is so biased against Donald Trump, since his first campaign.  Then do a follow-up question on why ChatGPT is biased against Trump.

I view myself as a moderate citizen, leaning slightly more conservative than liberal, and because of that, for the past 9 years (since the first Trump campaign) have tried to give the media a wide berth.  Unfortunately, strong allegations are being made of extreme bias and depending upon what news source you listen to, the bias can be against the right and conversely, against the left.  Where do we look for the truth?  My point is the manipulation we are increasingly being subject to.  We are seeing emerging AI battles between Meta and Apple, just to name one. 

Russia collusion, if it occurred or if it was fabricated, may end up as the penultimate scandal of this nation, with AI misuse being the worse scandal.

Sorry for going off topic, but back to the OP's post, everything was not presented truthfully by the media for the grand ballroom.  Or was it?

I think you find the truth when you stop listening to MSM on either side. Start watching independent news, YouTube journalists.. that’s where the truth comes out

[fedup]

31 minutes ago, Constitutionalist said:

I think you find the truth when you stop listening to MSM on either side. Start watching independent news, YouTube journalists.. that’s where the truth comes out

There are plenty of U-Tubers out there.  Most are actually becoming truthful journalists. 

They usually are on the scene when something is unfolding. Even if you don’t listen them just watch what they are recording.  

Your eyes will tell you the truth.

A lot of these protesters are on the liberal payroll and they are being paid with your tax dollars. Just seen one of them admit to being paid 75k a year. 

They show up at multiple protests to promote anti-American rhetoric. It does not matter what the subject of the protest is about. Of course they find hundreds of dumb azz liberal puppets that will follow them.

It's sickening to see and hear.

[Polo]

I like Newsmax.

[Petee]

You can download Fox News to your computer and it is a wealth of all kinds of information.  It's right up to date and you can watch it anytime.

[Ignatius]

1 hour ago, Constitutionalist said:

I think you find the truth when you stop listening to MSM on either side. Start watching independent news, YouTube journalists.. that’s where the truth comes out

Broadcast TV (where MSM came from) is on life support.  YouTube was the wild west and still has a lot of sensationalism in the videos.  Most podcasts and substacks lean towards the truth.  

 

[Constitutionalist]

1 hour ago, Polo said:

I like Newsmax.

Still don’t get the truth from them either. Granted they are one of the better MSM news outlets, I still prefer to get my info from reporters on YouTube that are live on the scene as things unfold. You get the actual info and can see what’s unfolding in real time and make your own conclusions… any other news source is too biased one way or another. This whole left and right stuff needs to stop and we need to operate in the middle.. 

[Polo]

1 hour ago, Constitutionalist said:

Still don’t get the truth from them either. Granted they are one of the better MSM news outlets, I still prefer to get my info from reporters on YouTube that are live on the scene as things unfold. You get the actual info and can see what’s unfolding in real time and make your own conclusions… any other news source is too biased one way or another. This whole left and right stuff needs to stop and we need to operate in the middle.. 

Who are the reporters you recommend watching on Youtube?

[Constitutionalist]

I watch the most JLR Investigates. Anything major happening he is on it immediately. Live scanner broadcasts of incidents, tons of stuff the media never even covers. There’s so many out there. You just have to do a little research and find a channel that fits your vibe. Some creators are hard to tolerate watching. Doesn’t make them any less accurate, just need to find a personality you can handle. Once you start watching one, you will start getting recommendations for others. 

[Pompeii]

[Constitutionalist]

19 hours ago, Constitutionalist said:

I watch the most JLR Investigates. Anything major happening he is on it immediately. Live scanner broadcasts of incidents, tons of stuff the media never even covers. There’s so many out there. You just have to do a little research and find a channel that fits your vibe. Some creators are hard to tolerate watching. Doesn’t make them any less accurate, just need to find a personality you can handle. Once you start watching one, you will start getting recommendations for others. 

I also like Benny Johnson. 

[fedup]

1 hour ago, Constitutionalist said:

I also like Benny Johnson. 

Hang on, when I get a burst of energy, I want to start a new thread about alternative sources of news.