President Donald Trump’s giant ballroom project is now even bigger after he decided to make it a bulletproof venue with a “drone-free roof” to host future inauguration events.
But despite letting it slip this month that the cost of the renovation had soared to $400 million–double the original price tag–Trump insisted on Monday that the project is still somehow “under budget”.
“It’s bigger than I told you,” he revealed to reporters during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“You know, after realizing we’re going to do the inauguration in that building, it’s got all bulletproof glass. It’s got, they call it, drone-free roof. Drones won’t touch it. It’s a big, beautiful, safe building. But it’s a big project.”
The president’s comments are the latest sign that the controversial ballroom plan has grown considerably since the White House announced it publicly in July.
Earlier this month, the Daily Beast revealed that the ever-expanding project would sit on the second floor of a new two-story building, with a multi-level passageway connecting it to the president’s primary residence.
The new building would also feature monumental stairs, guest suites, executive offices, and a new visitor entrance to the White House with expanded interpretive areas.
It is expected to be completed in late 2028, with some streets around the White House closed until then to make way for construction.
The details were hidden in government documents submitted in court as part of a legal challenge by the National Trust Preservation Committee, which accused the president of overstepping his authority to fast-track the controversial project.
The action was the first major lawsuit seeking to halt further construction until a “legally mandated review process” could take place, giving Americans a say.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ultimately denied the Trust’s request for a temporary restraining order. Still, he said he would hear arguments early next year about whether to issue a longer-term preliminary injunction against the project.
News that the White House ballroom has expanded yet again is likely to rattle critics, who view it as yet another “vanity project” by a president trying to shape Washington in his own image.
But it is also emblematic of growing concerns about political violence in America, with Trump himself the victim of an assassination attempt last year during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
At an estimated 90,000 square feet, the ballroom will already dwarf the central part of the White House, which is roughly 55,000 square feet. Once built, it is expected to have a capacity for up to 1000 people.
This is more than the biggest event space in the White House, the 200-person capacity East Room, but slightly less than the 1600 or so dignitaries who can fit on the viewing platform constructed every four years on the steps of the U.S. Capitol for traditional Inauguration Day swearing-in ceremonies. (Trump’s ceremony was moved indoors this year due to arctic weather conditions.)
Many Americans have also been outraged that the ballroom has not been subject to the same rigorous approval processes that other federal buildings must undergo, which resulted in the sudden demolition of the historic East Wing earlier this year.
But speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Monday, Trump said Americans had wanted a new White House ballroom for 150 years.
He also compared the project to the expensive renovations taking place at the Federal Reserve’s DC headquarters.
“We’re thinking about bringing a (law)suit against Powell for incompetence,” he said, repeating a threat he has made several times against central bank chairman Jerome Powell.
“It’s gonna end up costing more than $4 billion.
In comparison, Trump said his ballroom project would be “a tiny fraction of that number and we’re under budget and ahead of schedule.”
The new ballroom will be privately funded by Trump and various billionaire donors, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Palantir, many of whom currently benefit from lucrative government contracts or government deregulation.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House to clarify how the project could be under budget, given it was announced in July with an estimated cost of $250, which later increased to $300 million, and then soared again this month.
“We’re donating a building that’s approximately $400 million,” Trump said at a Hanukkah event on December 17.
The post Trump Admits ‘Bulletproof’ Ballroom Much Bigger Than He Said appeared first on The Daily Beast.
