Karoline Leavitt appeared to put words into Barack Obama’s mouth while defending Donald Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House to build his gaudy new ballroom.
The White House press secretary dismissed the anger and concern over the destruction of the historic building for Trump’s $250 million vanity project, calling it “fake outrage” during an appearance on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime.
Leavitt claimed that previous presidents had also sought more space to host lavish gatherings at the White House, before making a disputed claim about Obama to support her point.
“President Obama notably complained that during his tenure, he had to hold a state visit on the South Lawn and get a very expensive tent,” Leavitt said Tuesday.
The Obama administration did, in fact, pitch a large tent on the South Lawn of the White House in November 2009 and October 2016 to host state visits for the prime ministers of India and Italy, respectively. However, there is no evidence that Obama ever complained about doing so.
In fact, Obama praised the tent during his 2009 state dinner speech for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“As we all know, in India some of life’s most treasured moments are often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent. It’s a little like tonight,” Obama said in 2009. “We have incredible food and music and are surrounded by great friends.”
ABC News reported at the time that White House aides viewed the tent as a symbol of the Obama administration’s “openness,” since it could accommodate far more guests than the traditional East Room or State Dining Room.
The large white tent returned in October 2016, when Obama hosted his final state visit to welcome Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
One person who did complain about Obama’s use of the tent was, unsurprisingly, Trump. Speaking on The Rush Limbaugh Show in 2011, Trump claimed that he personally called the White House to offer to build a ballroom after seeing what he described as the “old, rotten tent” used for the Indian state visit.
“I called up the White House. I said, ‘Listen, I’m really good at this stuff. I will build you a magnificent ballroom. We’ll go through committees,’” Trump said.
“‘I will build the White House a ballroom so when the head of India comes to town we can give him a five-star dinner in a magnificent ballroom befitting this country and the White House.’ They never got back to me. It’s a hundred-million-dollar gift. They never got back to me.”
The 2009 state visit was also notable for Virginia couple Michaele and Tareq Salah somehow managing to blag their way into the occasion and rub shoulders with the world leaders. The gatecrashing pair were aspiring reality TV stars hoping to be part of The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C., at the time of the incident.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Obama’s office for comment.
The post Leavitt Blames White House Bulldozers on Former President in Baffling Defense appeared first on The Daily Beast.
