A tech giant handed President Donald Trump another win in his ever-evolving revenge tour by agreeing to funnel millions into his White House ballroom to settle a 2021 lawsuit.
Alphabet-owned YouTube will fork over $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump over his suspension from the platform following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, according to a court document. Of that figure, $22 million will go to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall “to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom.”
The settlement marks Trump’s third and final victory in his legal battles against three social media giants—Meta, X, and YouTube—over their suspension of his accounts in the wake of the violent Capitol riots.
Trump’s X account was restored in 2022 after the site formerly known as Twitter was purchased by tech billionaire Elon Musk. His Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts were reactivated the following year.
Tech bros were eager to make amends with Trump after he returned to power in January. The president was flanked by Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, among several other billionaires, during his second inauguration.
By the end of January, Meta had agreed to pay $25 million to settle its lawsuit with Trump. The following month, X—under the leadership of the Trump administration’s soon-to-be DOGE chief—handed the president $10 million to resolve its own suit.
The multimillion-dollar settlement brings Trump closer to funding the $200 million ballroom of his dreams. A White House official told the Daily Beast last week that the administration has so far received nearly $200 million in pledges, with Trump vowing to cover costs out of pocket if needed. Though the official did not specify who cut the checks, CBS News reported that companies including Google, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Palantir have chipped in.
Construction on the ballroom began this month and is expected to be completed in about four years. The swanky project is set to dwarf the White House at nearly 125,000 square feet, and will be adorned with Trump’s signature gold accents.
Renderings of the ballroom show that the Palladian structure will have at least six Corinthian-style columns, large arched windows, ornate chandeliers, and a coffered ceiling.
The White House has said the ballroom would be functional “long before the end of President Trump’s term” in January 2029.
“You see that area, that is going to be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world. It gives me pleasure to do it for the country. And I’m paying for it,” Trump told reporters. “For 150 years, they’ve wanted a ballroom, and now they’re going to finally have it. And it’s going to knock your socks off.”
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