Trump to Build ‘Beautiful’ $200M Ballroom at WH

Trump checks in on construction workers on the White House grounds weekly and spends 20-30 minutes with them, asking questions, the same official said. He even invited some of those working on the Rose Garden project into the Oval Office recently.

Another White House official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, added: “The president is very directly involved, even more so than the first lady.”

Much of Trump’s aesthetic can be undone if a future president wishes. Every new president makes changes to the Oval Office décor. The Rose Garden paving can always be torn up and the grass restored. When Trump goes in 2029, the gold could follow.

“Whoever succeeds Trump, if they’re not into gold, the gilding will start to come down,” said Barbara Perry, a professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

Yet the ballroom could stand for decades as Trump's creation, much as “the Truman Balcony” addition in 1948 is linked to Truman.

A common impression may be that the White House is a historic building frozen in amber, but it has been rebuilt, renewed and refreshed again and again since 1800, when John Adams became the first president to move in.

In most cases, presidents who undertook substantial renovations faced public blowback. In an essay posted on LinkedIn in June, Stewart McLaurin, president of the historical association, documented the fallout over the past two centuries to “give context and set precedent for more recent changes and adaptations.”

With the building about to collapse on his head, then-President Truman carried out a complete gutting of the White House interior from 1948 to 1952 to shore up the structure with steel beams and concrete.

“Preservationists mourned the loss of original interiors, while media outlets questioned the project’s cost during post-war economic recovery,” McLaurin wrote.

The East Wing, the space earmarked for the new ballroom, was itself targeted for criticism in Roosevelt’s time.

“Congressional Republicans labeled the expenditure as wasteful, with some accusing Roosevelt of using the project to bolster his presidency’s image,” McLaurin wrote.

“However,” he wrote, “the East Wing’s utility in supporting the modern presidency eventually quieted critics.”

Trump, the erstwhile builder, seems to be relishing the return to his roots. Discussing his penchant for choosing paintings to decorate the West Wing, he said: “To me, it’s enjoyment; to other people, it’s work.”