Trump's planned white house ballroom projected to come with a hefty price tag of 200 million dollars.
The White House is set for a grand makeover, with U.S. President Donald Trump planning to construct an opulent ballroom as part of a major renovation. The project, announced during an official event with athletes at the White House, is expected to cost around $200 million (approximately €175 million) and accommodate 650 seats, spanning approximately 8,400 square meters.
The ballroom, which will be built in the East Wing of the White House complex, has been the subject of criticism for its extravagance. Critics accuse Trump of pomp and vanity, likening the project to his private estate, Mar-a-Lago, a Florida hotel complex known for its lavish design with gold elements. The New York Magazine titled an article about the project, "Trump turns the White House into Mar-a-Lago."
The White House has stated that unspecified donors and Trump himself will cover the costs of the ballroom project. The funding for the project remains unclear, with no specific details available about how the costs will be covered.
The ballroom project has been compared to Trump's private estate, Mar-a-Lago, not just in terms of design, but also in its size and grandeur. Project graphics show a gold chandelier over a brightly lit hall in the ballroom, reflecting the lavish aesthetic of Mar-a-Lago.
Donald Trump considers the ballroom to be a great legacy project. However, the controversy surrounding the project does not seem to be dying down. The redesign of the historic Rose Garden's lawn, which is set to be replaced with a hard stone surface similar to a patio at Mar-a-Lago, has sparked outrage among critics who argue that this changes the historic character of the grounds and prioritizes aesthetics that suit Trump's personal preferences over tradition.
The current East Room has 200 seats. With the new ballroom, the White House is set to host larger and more extravagant events, but the question of who will foot the bill remains unanswered. The ballroom project is expected to be completed by the end of Trump's second term, which runs until January 2029.
The White House, embroiled in controversy, is pursuing a grand expansion with the construction of a lavish ballroom in the East Wing, reminiscent of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Despite Trump's assertion of the ballroom as a legacy project, the funding policy-and-legislation for this project remains vague, fueling suspicions of potential involvement in crime-and-justice. General-news outlets continue to scrutinize the redesign of historic grounds, such as the Rose Garden, deeming it an excessive transformation that prioritizes politics over tradition.
