Analysis East Wing erased for ballroom vision

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

USA TODAY

President Donald Trump’s desire to build a ballroom in the White House predates his first presidency – which began almost a decade ago – and spans three presidencies.

But concrete plans remained elusive – until late July.

Trump was ready with schematics after months of teasing ideas for a 'new, big, beautiful' ballroom, like the one in Mar-a-Lago, his oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

On July31, seven months into Trump’s second term as president, the White House put out an announcement, with renderings of a gold-accented lavish ballroom as well as details about the cost of construction and when it would be completed. But as Americans found out Oct.20 when bulldozers razed the East Wing, there were gaps in the details. Here are five ways the ballroom plan changed or evolved:

1. From ‘compliments of’ Trump to additional ‘patriot donors’

On Feb.6, as Trump stood before a crowd of elected officials, guests and children who had assembled beneath the crystal chandeliers in the East Room to watch him sign an executive order seeking to bar transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports, he said he was reminded of an old idea.

'This room is packed,' he said, before telling the audience that he’d offered to build a ballroom during both the Obama and Biden presidencies for about $100million. It would have been a donation from him.

'This was going to be the reception room,' he said referring to his idea for a revamped East Room that would have served as the entrance to the ballroom he proposed.

At just under 3,000 square feet, the East Room is the biggest of the State Rooms and the only one that runs the entire width of the executive mansion.

On June6, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had 'inspected the site of the new Ballroom that will be built, compliments of a man known as Donald J. Trump, at the White House.'

But in July, the White House announcement noted that a few others had joined the cause.

'President Trump, and other patriot donors, have generously committed to donating the funds necessary' for the new addition, it said.

The donors included American corporations that have business with the U.S. government, including Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Meta.

2. A 90,000-square-foot ballroom seating 650 ... 900 ... 999 people?

In its July announcement, the White House said the ballroom will be a 'much-needed and exquisite addition' of approximately 90,000 total square feet. It said the 'carefully crafted space' would have a seated capacity of 650 people – 'a significant increase' from the 200-person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House, it said.

In September, Trump told NBC News in an interview that the new ballroom would be larger than first described, with a capacity of 900 people.

'We’re making it a little bigger. It will be top of the line, as good as it can get anywhere in the world,' he told NBC News.

With that, the seating capacity had gone up by 40%.

By October, Trump had begun saying the venue would accommodate 999 people, like he did during an Oct.15 dinner to thank donors to the ballroom.

3. White House ballroom cost jumps 50% in three months

The old estimate of $100million to build the ballroom had doubled by the time the July announcement came. After all, it had been a decade since Trump had first proposed it. In the July announcement, the White House said Trump, and other donors had 'generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200million dollar structure.'

Trump, who has often touted his experience as a real estate developer who is good at building things 'on budget and on time' had, by September, begun saying it would cost $250million.

Then, on Oct.21, after the East Wing demolition was well underway, Trump said the 'expensive, beautiful building' would cost 'about $300million.'

4. Accusations of transparency lacking on East Wing demolition

When the White House first released plans for the ballroom July31, Trump told reporters the 90,000-square-foot addition would be 'built over on the east side and it will be beautiful.'

'It’ll have views of the Washington Monument. It won’t interfere with the current building,' he said. 'It’ll be near it but not touching it and pay total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.'

Less than three months later, bulldozers had removed the entire East Wing of the White House. The construction was no longer 'near' the part of the building that historically housed the first lady’s offices − as Trump had initially described the project.

While the White House announcement in July did say 'the site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits,' it made no mention of any demolition plans.

Soon after the demolition, Trump rejected accusations that he had not been transparent over the extent of the work, telling reporters on Oct.22: 'I think we’ve been more transparent than anyone’s ever been.'

Asked why the facade had been demolished after the president had said the ballroom construction would not touch the East Wing, a White House official said the scope and size of the project was 'always subject to vary' as the 'process developed.'

Trump told reporters on Oct.22 that the decision to tear down the entire structure was made after 'tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world.'