Workers on Saturday removed drapes shrouding the White House’s iconic North Portico, as President Donald Trump prepares to show off his renovation work when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the White House later this month.
Teams of workers had been working under the shrouds for two months to repair the North Portico’s tall, white columns, as well as fortifying the portico’s entrance to the White House.
The removal meant that scaffolding on the portico’s columns was newly visible for the first time since July. Workers are expected to soon remove the scaffolding, too, said two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the project.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the state of construction on the North Portico. Administration officials have previously said Trump has personally driven the project.
“President Trump comes out to greet a world leader. He sees door dings in the pillars and says, ‘Look at all this stuff. It needs to be repaired,’” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in July on “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
The North Portico project is among a slew of White House construction and renovation projects launched by Trump, with the president seeking to complete several before Xi visits for a planned state dinner on Sept. 24.
Trump earlier this year sped up a project to build a new helipad on the White House’s South Lawn and overhaul a nearby portion of the driveway, hoping to have the work done before Xi arrived. That project was completed this week, Trump has said.
Trump also has mused about more renovations, such as redoing the North Portico’s graceful Ionic columns, which have served to frame the White House’s main entrance for two centuries. Trump prefers more decorative columns, a style known as Corinthian, The Washington Post first reported in March.
“To be honest with you, the White House should have used Corinthian,” Trump said in a New York Magazine interview that published Friday, adding that the White House was a “luxury house” that deserved a higher level of column. “Maybe I’ll fix that, too.”
Asked by reporters on Friday what he hoped to accomplish during’s Xi visit, the president quickly pivoted to the helipad.
“We have a beautiful heliport, should he want to use a helicopter, just opened,” Trump said. “If you want to go outside and check it out, it’s beautiful. Just was completed, under budget, ahead of schedule and beautiful.”
Trump has also invoked Xi’s visit as a reason he is working to complete his new White House ballroom. The president has said that the White House is not currently equipped to hold large events to honor VIPs, forcing officials to either set up tents outside on the lawn or limit attendance.
“Everybody’s fighting for tickets,” Trump said in a Rose Garden event on Wednesday. “We’re arguing over seats, but we won’t have that in a year from now. We won’t have that problem anymore.”
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