On Tuesday morning, Trump appeared on top of the White House briefing room to look over the site of the $200 million ballroom he announced last week. The visit was unannounced, but reporters on the scene were told he might show up around 9:40 a.m. An hour later, he stepped out onto the roof.
Secret Service had already taken extra precautions. Counter-snipers were seen on the West Wing. Trump then exited a door near the State Dining Room and walked out with architect James McCrery.
McCrery is the man designing what Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called “a much-needed and exquisite addition” to the White House. The project will add a 90,000-square-foot ballroom to the East Wing.
As Trump paced across the rooftop, he looked down at the construction area. When asked what he was doing up there, he replied, “Taking a little walk,” then mentioned the “ballroom on the other side.”
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“Just another way to spend my money for this country,” Trump said. “Anything I do is financed by me.”
The White House says construction will begin in September. The project will cost more than $200 million, though Trump insists taxpayers won’t pay for it. He claims the money will come from him and unnamed donors.
The new ballroom will replace the current East Wing, which has been in use since 1902. It was expanded in the 1940s and houses offices for First Lady Melania Trump, the Military Office, Visitor Office, and other staff. Those offices will be moved during construction.
Once the project is finished, the East Wing will be heavily reconstructed. A rendering from the White House shows a giant hall with gold leaf, chandeliers, and decorative ceilings. The design looks almost exactly like the ballroom Trump built at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida mansion and private club.
Since returning to the office in January, Trump has been changing the look of the White House. He brought in the same cabinetmaker who worked at Mar-a-Lago—someone he called his “gold guy.”
That man added gold paint to parts of the Oval Office, leaving surfaces covered with gold leaf that had never been there before.
Trump also changed the Kennedy Rose Garden. The rose bushes are still there, but the grass is gone. In its place, there are now paving stones, creating a patio that looks like the one at his Florida club.
The changes are part of Trump’s ongoing plan to give the White House his style. He wants it to reflect how he sees himself—and how he wants the country to see him.
Featured image via Screengrab
