One of Donald Trump’s most visible and potentially enduring legacies as president could be the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that he is planning to build, replacing the East Wing edifice traditionally used for the first lady’s offices.
The project, set to begin in September, looms as the biggest transformation of the White House complex since Harry Truman’s day. Perhaps fitting for the onetime New York real estate developer who branded buildings worldwide with his name, Trump has taken to remaking the White House in accord with his tastes since beginning his second term.
The president told NBC News in an interview that the new ballroom will forgo the need to shuttle guests to tents pitched on the South Lawn for events that are too large for the White House to accommodate.
“When it rains or snows, it’s a disaster,” the president said over the phone, lamenting that tents are positioned “a football field away from the White House.”
Trump said that some of the world’s “finest architects” are involved, and a White House official added that Trump has viewed renderings of the ballroom. The work is expected to finish before the end of his term.
Trump estimated that taking down the East Wing and putting the ballroom in place would cost about $200 million. The East Wing was completed in 1942 under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, according to the White House Historical Association.
Trump said the project would be “his gift to the country,” funded by himself and private donations.
Since returning to office, Trump has set about making an imprint on his White House surroundings. He told NBC News he is replacing what he described as a “terribly” remodeled bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom with one that is truer to the style of the 16th president’s era.
Elsewhere on the grounds, he has put in a pair of towering flag poles and paved over a grassy patch of the Rose Garden. Wet grass poses problems for women in high heels walking through the garden, he has said.
“I was always a great real estate developer, and I know how to do that,” Trump said.
Partial to one precious metal in particular, Trump has added gold accents throughout the Oval Office.
“He has a vision to make the White House as exceptional and beautiful as possible for future presidents and administrations,” the White House official said. “He is very hands-on and involved in all of this.”
Trump checks in on construction workers on the White House grounds weekly and spends 20-30 minutes with them, asking questions, the same official said. He even invited some of those working on the Rose Garden project into the Oval Office recently.
Another White House official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, added: “The president is very directly involved, even more so than the first lady.”
Much of Trump’s aesthetic can be undone if a future president wishes. Every new president makes changes to the Oval Office décor. The Rose Garden paving can always be torn up and the grass restored. When Trump goes in 2029, the gold could follow.
“Whoever succeeds Trump, if they’re not into gold, the gilding will start to come down,” said Barbara Perry, a professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.
Yet the ballroom could stand for decades as Trump’s creation, much as “the Truman Balcony” addition in 1948 is linked to Truman.
“I’m doing a lot of improvements,” Trump said. “I’ll be building a beautiful ballroom. They wanted it for many, many years.”
The White House released new details about the ballroom on Thursday, after NBC’s interview with the president and follow-up questions posed by the network. Trump had chosen McCrery Architects as the lead architect, according to the White House. And Trump has held meetings with White House staff members, the National Park Service and others in recent weeks.
Officials will meet with the “appropriate organizations” to keep intact the White House’s “special history … while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come,” Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, said in a statement.
The private funding arrangement for the ballroom worries at least one congressman. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., a member of a House Appropriations panel that oversees the executive office of the presidency, said in an interview Thursday: “It appears that he’s trying to do this perhaps with private donations, but that could be a little odd.”
“Is this going to be a White House ballroom sponsored by Carl’s Jr.?” Pocan asked rhetorically.
Given the magnitude of the project, Pocan said that the president should bring the plan before Congress for discussion.
“This is a major renovation and clearly should come before the committee,” Pocan said. “This would fall under the definition of having proper oversight. It’s a perfectly great conversation to have in a subcommittee meeting.”
The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, noted at a press briefing Thursday that Congress has not appropriated funding for the ballroom, saying: “Listen, I’m happy to eat my cheeseburger at my desk. I don’t need a $200 million ballroom to eat it in. Okay?”
A common impression may be that the White House is a historic building frozen in amber, but it has been rebuilt, renewed and refreshed again and again since 1800, when John Adams became the first president to move in.
In most cases, presidents who undertook substantial renovations faced public blowback. In an essay posted on LinkedIn in June, Stewart McLaurin, president of the historical association, documented the fallout over the past two centuries to “give context and set precedent for more recent changes and adaptations.”
With the building about to collapse on his head, then-President Truman carried out a complete gutting of the White House interior from 1948-52 to shore up the structure with steel beams and concrete.
“Preservationists mourned the loss of original interiors, while media outlets questioned the project’s cost during post-war economic recovery,” McLaurin wrote.
The East Wing, the space earmarked for the new ballroom, was itself targeted for criticism in Roosevelt’s time.
“Congressional Republicans labeled the expenditure as wasteful, with some accusing Roosevelt of using the project to bolster his presidency’s image,” McLaurin wrote.
“However,” he wrote, “the East Wing’s utility in supporting the modern presidency eventually quieted critics.”
At this early stage in the planning, the verdict on Trump’s ballroom vision is mixed. Some White House alumni sympathized with Trump’s wish to make the complex more comfortable for visitors who often include heads of state.
Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, said in an email to NBC News: “I think it’s going to be an enhancement that will be welcomed by future occupants. No more big tents damaging the lawn or expensive build outs needed for major events. Clearly makes it easier to invite more people, too, when current state room capacity is limited.”
Rufus Gifford, who was chief of protocol of the U.S. in the Biden administration, likened Trump’s renovation to a renter overhauling an apartment. He shouldn’t make such dramatic structural changes to the iconic building on his own, Gifford said.
“The American people are Trump’s landlords right now,” Gifford said.
Trump, the erstwhile builder, seems to be relishing the return to his roots. Discussing his penchant for choosing paintings to decorate the West Wing, he said: “To me, it’s enjoyment; to other people, it’s work.”
