President Donald Trump has proposed to build a $100 million ballroom inside the White House, as he looks to transform elements of the official presidential residence.
The Context
Trump first floated the idea of a White House ballroom during President Barack Obama’s tenure and had offered to personally fund the construction, but ultimately the proposal was declined.
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Since his return to office, Trump has reiterated his idea for the ballroom and expressed intentions to pursue the project. The president has already transformed the previously minimalist Oval Office since his second term began and recently announced that he is planning to pave over the Rose Garden.
What to Know
During a signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House in early February, Trump said he wanted to build a ballroom like the one he has in Mar-a-Lago in order to bring an end to receptions being held in tents on the lawn.
Trump says he offered to build a ballroom in The White House for 100 million but never heard back from The Biden Administration. He then says he will try to make the offer to himself that he suggests he’ll pay for: We’ll see if Trump will approve it pic.twitter.com/EUazuRDm6Y
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 5, 2025
He said that he had previously offered to construct a White House ballroom, saying that he had offered to do it during the Biden administration and that it was “going to cost $100 million.”
Officials from the Obama administration have said that he made the offer to them after he saw a dinner for the prime minister of India being hosted in a tent on the White House lawn.
The offer was first made in 2010, according to Daniel Axelrod, who served as an adviser to Obama. In his memoir Believer, Axelrod wrote that Trump had said: “I see you have these state dinners on the lawn there in these s*** little tents.”
Former White House press secretary Josh Earnest confirmed reports that Trump had offered to build the space and said that the proposal was “not something that was at all seriously considered,” according to a 2016 report from ABC.
Trump has said that he would like the ballroom to be like the one he has in Mar-a-Lago.
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Initial plans suggest that the ballroom would be situated on the South Lawn of the White House, and potentially atop the East Terrace.
As for funding, Trump has said that he will finance the project himself. Speaking in the East Room about the proposal he said: “It’s gonna cost nothing, I’ll spend the whole thing myself.”
Part of the purpose of the ballroom would be to eliminate the need for temporary tents when hosting events.
“We could use a bigger room,” he said. “You know what they do when they have a big ceremony, they put up a tent. And somehow I think we’ve outgrown the tent stuff.”
Trump said that the East Room was going to be the “reception room.” The East Room is the largest room in the White House and can seat 120 people for dinner. First used as a storage space, it was furnished under Andrew Jackson and later renovated by Theodore Roosevelt.
The 2009 state dinner for the Indian prime minister was hosted in a marquee, and there were around 350 guests in attendance. Vanity Fair reported that it may have cost more than $100,000.
At the time of reporting, there has not been a significant response to Trump’s proposal of building the ballroom, though he was met with cheers and approval when he spoke about his plans.
Trump would likely need approval from multiple federal agencies and Congress in order to proceed with the plans.
What People Are Saying
Trump said: “We could use a bigger room… It would be a beautiful addition, it’s gonna cost nothing, I’ll spend the whole thing myself, we’ll do a big, beautiful room but we could use it in the White House… We’ll see if Trump will approve it.”
What’s Next
Time will tell how the plans to build the ballroom develop.
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