President Trump posted AI-generated images of a heavily fortified White House “DronePort” Saturday — bristling with military drones and armed troops — a day after a federal appeals court ordered him to halt construction of the $400 million ballroom project and get Congressional approval.
“This great and very important military asset sits atop the heavily protected Ballroom at the White House. It provides National Security for Washington, D.C., and will protect future Presidents!!!” the president wrote on his Truth Social account.
An appeals court panel ruled 2-1 Friday that Trump must stop construction on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom — blasting the president for demolishing the White House’s entire East Wing “over just three days in October 2025” without Congressional approval or promised consultations.
The court also called the construction — which began in September 2025 and involved the tearing down of the East Wing — an unprecedented act of “Executive self-help” with no equivalent in American history.
A second image the president posted shows a scene at sundown, with dramatic shadows of the drones, many as large as a truck. It depicts with 28 armed servicemembers standing at attention.
Trump described the drone capabilities of the $400 million project in May, even as the National Trust for Historic Preservation fought the project in court, claiming it was unlawful.
“The entire roof is built for military,” Trump said. “They have a massive drone capacity. Not only is it drone-proof, if a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won’t have any impact. But it’s also meant as a drone port that would protect all of Washington.”
The two-judge majority on the appeals court did not mince words.
“We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now,” wrote judges Patricia Millet and Bradley Garcia in their majority opinion.
The panel ruled that whether “a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”
Millet is an Obama appointee and Garcia was appointed by former President Joe Biden. The third judge on the panel, Trump-appointed Circuit Judge Neomi Rao dissented Friday. The appeals court upheld a ruling by US District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee.
Trump bristled at the ruling and vowed to take the fight to the Supreme Court in an angry Friday post. He referred to the ballroom in a Friday post as a “military center”
“The Military and Secret Service are viewing this horrendous, politically motivated, and unlawful ruling as a National Security threat to our Nation in that the entire Complex is being built for the protection of our Country and, additionally, all future Presidents,” he wrote.
“Over just three days in October 2025, without undertaking promised consultations or obtaining Congress’s permission, President Trump bulldozed the entire East Wing in order to construct a massive, 90,000 square-foot ballroom paid for by private funds with no congressional oversight,” the court panel said.
Judge Leon had made an exception for safety and security, allowing for “below-ground construction, including construction of bunkers, bomb-shelters, and military and medical infrastructure, as well as above-ground construction ‘strictly necessary to cover, secure, and protect’ such facilities.”
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