PoliticsDonald Trump Teases White House Ballroom Renovations as Construction Continues: 'Nothing Like It'
Donald Trump's White House ballroom renovations have been met with widespread backlash.
June 29 2026, Published 5:11 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump shared a series of new images on social media showcasing the massive, highly secure 90,000-square-foot ballroom currently under construction at the White House.
The project has ignited a massive political and public debate due to its scale, its design, and the fact that the historic White House East Wing was entirely demolished to make way for it.
The new ballroom will cover approximately 90,000 square feet, making it vastly larger than the 55,000-square-foot White House executive mansion itself.
A 'Gift to the American People'
The project's estimated costs have risen drastically from initial projections.
Estimated project costs have risen from initial projections to between $250 million and $400 million.
The Trump administration insists that the project is completely funded by private donations — including contributions from corporations like Amazon and Lockheed Martin — alongside the president's own money, making it a "gift to the American people.”
While critics have labeled the gold-and-white aesthetic "gaudy" or "pharaonic", Trump has heavily emphasized that the structure is a crucial security upgrade.
Following a security scare at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, he defended the construction by outlining heavy-duty military specifications.
The ballroom is said to be built with six-inch-thick bulletproof windows, a missile-proof and sniper-resistant exterior, and a drone-proof roof.
'It Cannot Be Built Fast Enough'
The project has drawn sharp criticism.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump said at the time.
He continued, “This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”
The project has drawn sharp criticism from preservationists, architects and political opponents.
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Critics Fail to Stop Construction
Critics deemed the White House ballroom designs 'hideous.'
Critics are furious that the original East Wing, built in 1902, was completely leveled —tearing up the historic Jacqueline Kennedy Rose Garden and destroying the White House family movie theater.
Over 98 percent of the public feedback submitted to review boards was negative, with commentators calling the design a "hideous" and "gilded" distortion of the People's House.
Despite lawsuits and public pushback, construction remains actively underway on the White House grounds.
'Nothing Like It Anywhere in the World'
Donald Trump sparked fears of him refusing to leave the White House in 2028.
“Our Great National Security Facility and Ballroom is moving along on schedule,” Trump excitedly posted on Sunday, June 28. “When completed, there will be nothing like it anywhere in the World!”
Liberal commentators and podcasters — such as Chris Hayes on MS NOW and Anthony Davis on the MeidasTouch Network — have speculated that Trump's monomaniacal obsession with the fortification project indicates a plan to barricade himself inside the bunker when his term ends in 2028.
