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President Donald Trump‘s privately funded $200 million White House ballroom is the latest “bold, necessary addition” to the executive residence, officials said, describing the East Wing construction as a continuation of presidential upgrades dating back more than a century.
Photos of the East Wing façade being demolished went viral Monday, prompting criticism online and a swift rebuttal from the White House, which wrote that “unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom … a bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and additions from commanders-in-chief to keep the executive residence a beacon of American excellence.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the president’s message Tuesday on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” saying, “I believe there’s a lot of fake outrage right now.
Trump elaborated Tuesday, calling the federal government “this big for nothing.”
“We’re building a world-class ballroom,” he said. “You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back here. That’s music to my ears. People don’t like it. I love it. When I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. In this case, a lack of money, because I’m paying for it.”
Trump also noted that the East Room, currently the largest indoor event space, is little more than “a cocktail area” that holds about 88 people.
During a Diwali event at the White House Tuesday night, Trump again referenced the project and his decision not to accept a salary, quipping that “they probably owe me a lot of money” for everything he’s put into the building.
“If I get money from our country, I’ll do something nice with it. Like give it to charity or give it to the White House,” he said. “We restore the White House, and we’re doing a great job. The ballroom is under construction. They’ve been trying to get it for 150 years.”
The ballroom project is the latest in Trump’s improvements to the property, which include an overhaul of the Rose Garden and the Palm Room.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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