When ABC News shared a story claiming that President Donald Trump planned to name the new White House ballroom after himself, the report spread fast and set off a wave of reactions online.
Soon after, Trump rushed to shut it down.
“I don’t have any plan to call it after myself, that was fake news,” he told reporters. He added that he might go with something more simple, saying, “Probably gonna call it the Presidential Ballroom or something like that. We haven’t really thought about a name yet.”
But ABC News did not back off the story. Reporter Katherine Faulders said the White House had already sent them a donor list that used the name “President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.” She stood by her reporting and made it clear that officials inside the administration were using that title long before the public ever saw it.
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From there, the situation only grew more heated. The ballroom project comes as Trump continues a major makeover of the White House grounds. He has already redone the Rose Garden, splashed the Oval Office with gold, and leveled the East Wing to make room for the massive new hall. Trump also claimed, “We’ve raised a lot. We’ve raised over $350 million,” and hinted the price tag could rise even higher.
The backlash started after Faulders reported that top officials fully expected the ballroom to carry Trump’s name. Her post went viral, sparking jokes, memes and plenty of comments from people who said they were not shocked at all. After all, Trump has a long history of putting his name on everything from towers to steaks.
Trump then fired back the only way he knows how, blasting the coverage and calling it dishonest. It was a familiar move, and once again he leaned on his favorite phrase: “fake news.”
Faulders answered with receipts. She pointed to the very document the White House gave her team. “On a list of donors to the ballroom, provided to ABC News by the White House, the White House referred to it as the ‘President Donald J. Trump Ballroom,’” she posted.
Trump said late last night “I don’t have any plans to call it after myself” and calls this reporting “fake news.” However, on a list of donors to the ballroom, provided to ABC News by the White House, the White House referred to it as the “President Donald J. Trump Ballroom” https://t.co/V9gg5TqV4b
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) October 25, 2025
Watch the full moment in the video below.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
