October 28, 2025
Now that the “No Kings” protest is over, it’s time for new criticisms of President Trump to be launched. And the topic this time is the White House ballroom project.
A few of the comments:
* California Governor Gavin Newsom grumbled that Trump is “literally destroying the White House.”
* "It’s not his house," Hillary Clinton posted on X. "It’s your house. And he’s destroying it."
* Jessica Tarlov, a Democrat who co-hosts “The Five” on Fox News, called the ballroom project “a monstrosity.” It is “nothing like any of the other renovations” taken on by past presidents and “almost double the size of the White House itself, she said.”
* “The erasure of the East Wing isn’t just about marble or plaster — it’s about President Trump again taking a wrecking ball to our heritage, while targeting our democracy, and the rule of law,” said Chelsea Clinton.
That last one got a response from Donald Trump, Jr., who told Chelsea: “LOL, your parents tried stealing furniture and silverware from the White House … and let’s not talk about the intern. Sit this one out.”
And, unsurprisingly, there’s another criticism that features some shenanigans.
As reported on PBS, “At this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president’s main priority,” [Karoline] Leavitt said in a five-second clip that leading Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., shared on X.
“Jeffries’ Oct. 23 post decried Leavitt’s comment: ‘The Trump administration just declared that erecting a ballroom is the President’s main priority. Meanwhile. The cost of living is way too high and the Republican health care crisis threatens millions of Americans.’
“The clip of Leavitt’s statement is real, but Jeffries and the House Democratic Caucus clipped her comments in a misleading way that removes the context. Leavitt never said the ballroom is a more important priority for the president than inflation, health care or ending the federal government shutdown.”
Along with the deliberate exaggeration about the project, and the deliberate misinformation provided, these criticisms also ignore an important fact: Donald Trump is not the first or only president to make modifications to the White House. These modifications date back almost to the early days of the White House.
Here are some of the more recent modifications, provided on yahoo.com:
* 1902: Major renovation and expansion beyond the White House residence under President Theodore Roosevelt. First lady Edith Roosevelt hired architects to separate the White House’s living quarters from its offices. They also enlarged and modernized the White House’s public rooms, redid its landscaping and redecorated its interior.
* 1909: Expansion of the West Wing and creation of the Oval Office under President William Howard Taft, who expanded the existing, temporary building southward, covering the tennis court, and created the first Oval Office.
* 1927: Renovation of upper floors and attic of the White House under President Calvin Coolidge. He replaced the White House’s original wood trusses with steel while rebuilding the roof and adding a third-floor.
* 1929 and 1930: Renovation and reconstruction of the West Wing under President Herbert Hoover. In 1929, Hoover spent seven months remodeling the West Wing, excavating a partial basement and supporting it with structural steel. But on Christmas Eve of that year, a four-alarm fire significantly damaged his newly completed project, and Hoover was forced to rebuild the West Wing.
* 1934 and 1942: Overhaul of the West Wing and construction of the current East Wing under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1934, Roosevelt added a second floor and a larger basement while relocating the Oval Office to its current location; in 1942, he built the current two-story East Wing office building primarily to cover the construction of an underground bunker.
* 1948 to 1952: Full structural reconstruction of the White House under President Harry Truman, whose "total reconstruction" project preserved its exterior walls while rebuilding its foundation, adding steel and concrete to its structure. In the process, Truman added six rooms and two new sub-basements, bringing the total square footage close to where it is today.
* 1975: President Gerald Ford built a roughly 1,200-square-foot outdoor pool to replace the indoor pool that his predecessor, Richard Nixon, had covered and converted to the press briefing room five years earlier.
* 2007: The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room covers roughly 2,200 square feet and is surrounded by small offices for the White House press corps. President George W. Bush modernized the whole area.
Some people, who look at things other than their dislike for Trump and the public criticisms, think the ballroom is a good idea, even The Washington Post.
It’s difficult to hold large audience events now, as it requires using tents, heaters, chairs and lights, all of which must be set up, then taken down, and may have to be rented. This way, there is a facility that is set up and ready to use, and is a very nice facility. The need for this facility is so obvious that the idea was first proposed by President Harrison—back in 1891.
Is it possible that Trump Derangement Syndrome epidemic will fade, and what he does will be objectively evaluated?
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