President Trump has always said he would pay for the White House East Wing ballroom himself, yet it is unclear how much he’s contributed to the project, reports New York Magazine’s Intelligencer senior editor Margaret Hartmann writes.
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#Trump #Politics #WhiteHouse
>> TO GET MY SON BACK. >> WELCOME BACK. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS URGING ALL MEMBERS OF ONE OF THE KEY FEDERAL AGENCIES THAT WAS EXPECTED TO ADVISE THE EAST WING BALLROOM PROJECT. YESTERDAY, THE WHITE HOUSE FIRED ALL SIX MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS, THE INDEPENDENT AGENCY ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS TO ASSIST THE PRESIDENT ON DESIGN AND PRESERVATION IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL. ALL OF THE MEMBERS WHO WERE ON THE COMMISSION HAD BEEN CHOSEN BY PRESIDENT BIDEN. THEY WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED WITH NEW APPOINTEES FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP. THE PURGE COMES AS THE WHITE HOUSE PREPARES TO PRESENT PLANS FOR SEVERAL AMBITIOUS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, INCLUDING AN ARCHWAY AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CITY AND THE PRESIDENT’S $300 MILLION BALLROOM THAT SAW THE TEARING DOWN OF THE ENTIRE EAST WING OF THE WHITE HOUSE TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. JOINING US NOW, SENIOR EDITOR AT INTELLIGENCER, AT NEW YORK MAGAZINE, MARGARET HARTMAN. HER NEW PIECE IS A DEEP DIVE INTO THE PLANS AND COSTS OF THE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT, ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS LIKE, IS THIS EFFORT ILLEGAL? WHO ACTUALLY OWNS THE WHITE HOUSE? AND DOES PRESIDENT TRUMP PAYING FOR THIS VENTURE AT ALL? WHERE DO WE BEGIN? MARGARET YOU CHOOSE. >> YEAH. SO, MARGARET, FIRST OF ALL, YOU SAID THIS. THIS ACTUALLY A LOT OF US WERE SURPRISED ONE DAY HE’S TALKING ABOUT IT. THE NEXT DAY, THE EAST WING IS COMPLETELY TORCHED, TAKEN TO THE GROUND. BUT YOU SAY HE’S BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A WHILE? >> YES. WELL, HE’S BEEN. >> TALKING ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC BUILD SINCE. >> AT LEAST JUNE. >> HE ANNOUNCED. >> IT ON TRUTH. >> SOCIAL, AND. >> I. >> STARTED FOLLOWING IT AND WRITING ABOUT IT. AND THEN IN JULY, HE HAD. CAROLYN LEVITT GAVE A. >> WHOLE LITTLE. >> PRESS CONFERENCE. >> ABOUT IT, BUT IT. >> WAS ONLY ABOUT THREE MINUTES. >> SHE WAVED AROUND SOME ARTIST’S. >> RENDERINGS. >> AND SHE. >> RELEASED A LITTLE. >> INFORMATION ON IT, BUT IT STILL WASN’T CLEAR. >> THE SCOPE. >> OF THE PROJECT AT THE TIME. >> SO LET’S TALK ABOUT WHO’S. >> PAYING FOR THE PROJECT, BECAUSE YOU SAID, DON’T WORRY, NO TAXPAYER MONEY IS BEING USED HERE. WHO ACTUALLY IS FUNDING THIS? AND THEN THE NEXT QUESTION IS WHAT ACCESS DOES THAT PROVIDE THOSE PEOPLE. >> RIGHT. SO HE’S. ALWAYS SAID THAT. >> HE’S PAYING. >> FOR IT AND PRESENTED IT LIKE, OH. >> I’M THIS. >> MAGNANIMOUS BUILDER. AND ISN’T THIS. >> SUCH A GREAT. >> THING THAT BUT HE’S HAD A HISTORY OF DOING THIS IN. THE PAST WHERE HE PRESENTS. AS HIS OWN CHARITY. >> WHEN HE’S ACTUALLY KIND. >> OF FUNNELING. >> DONATIONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE THROUGH HIS OWN CHARITIES. >> SO WHO’S ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTING? >> THEY JUST. >> RELEASED A LIST. >> OF 37. >> COMPANIES AND PEOPLE. >> WHO ARE DONATING. SO THAT INCLUDES. >> GOOGLE. >> APPLE, LOCKHEED MARTIN, HOWARD LUTNICK, THE WINKLEVOSS TWINS, CRYPTO. >> YEAH, YEAH, WE GOT INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT. YEAH. COMCAST. COMCAST POINT OUT. YES. COMCAST. >> YES. >> SO THEY. >> JUST RELEASED THAT. >> LIST AFTER. >> PRESSURE. >> WHEN PEOPLE. >> SAW THE. >> PHOTOS OF THE EAST WING ACTUALLY. >> COMING DOWN. >> BEING. >> REDUCED TO RUBBLE. BUT WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT. >> TRUMP IS DONATING. >> WE KNOW. >> HE GAVE THE MONEY. >> HE WON FROM A SETTLEMENT WITH YOUTUBE AFTER THEY. >> THEY BANNED. >> HIM FOR THE. >> HIS J. >> SIX COMMENTARY. SO WE DON’T. >> KNOW IS THAT. ALL THE. >> MONEY HE’S GIVING? IS HE GIVING MORE. WHAT DID THESE THESE PEOPLE. HAVE WORKED. >> WITH. >> THE GOVERNMENT. >> SO DO THEY FEEL PRESSURED THAT THEY. HAD TO DONATE? >> SO WE DON’T REALLY KNOW YET. >> SO I THINK. >> WHAT TOOK A LOT OF PEOPLE BY SURPRISE IS JUST HOW FAST THIS ALL HAPPENED. IT WAS A MATTER OF DAYS IN. >> THE EAST WING WAS GONE. >> AND A. QUESTION THAT I KEEP GETTING IS PEOPLE WERE WONDERING LIKE, WELL, HE’S ALLOWED TO. >> DO THIS, SO WALK US THROUGH. >> THE PROCESS AS TO I MEAN. >> THIS IS THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE. >> AND SEEMINGLY. >> ON A WHIM. >> THE PRESIDENT, UNITED. >> STATES SAID, LET’S GET RID OF HALF OF IT. THAT’S OKAY. >> SO IT’S. >> KIND OF SYMBOLIC. >> OF EVERYTHING THAT’S. >> BEEN HAPPENING. >> WE’RE RELYING ON NORMS. >> A LITTLE BIT. >> LIKE NOBODY HAD THE IMAGINATION TO. THINK LIKE, WELL. WHAT WOULD. >> HAPPEN IF OBAMA. >> WANTED TO. >> BULLDOZE THE WEST WING? >> LIKE NOBODY. >> THOUGHT THAT WOULD. >> EVER COME UP. >> SO WE HAVE. ALL THESE LAWS. >> AND IT’S SUPPOSED. >> TO GO. >> THROUGH A. >> SERIES OF. REVIEW BY. >> PRESERVATION COMMITTEES. >> SO CONVENIENTLY, TRUMP APPOINTED. >> HIS OWN TOP ADVISOR TO. LEAD ONE. >> OF. >> THE MAIN. >> PRESERVATION COMMITTEES. >> IN IN JULY. AND HIS NAME IS. >> WILL SHARP. AND HE SAID THAT THEY DON’T HAVE ANY. >> JURISDICTION UNTIL CONSTRUCTION STARTS. SO APPARENTLY TRUMP CAN. JUST KNOCK. >> DOWN. >> ANY HE. CAN TEAR. >> DOWN WHAT. >> HE WANTS, RIGHT? YEAH. >> AND THEN. >> THEY ONLY GET INVOLVED. >> WITH. >> THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE. >> SO IS IT JUST A BALLROOM OR IS THERE MORE TO IT? DO WE KNOW IS THERE SOMETHING ABOVE IT OR BELOW IT? >> THERE IS A BUNKER BELOW. >> THAT’S WHY THEY. >> ACTUALLY BUILT. >> IT ORIGINALLY. THEY STARTED BUILDING IT UNDER TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S ADMINISTRATION. >> AND THEN I BELIEVE, UNDER. FDR’S ADMINISTRATION, THEY ADDED THE OFFICE BUILDINGS OVER, OVER THE TOP, BECAUSE THERE’S THE BUNKER. >> WHERE THEY. >> WHISKED CHENEY. >> DOWN THERE. >> ON 911. >> AND SO WE DON’T REALLY KNOW. THAT’S PART. >> OF THE. >> REASON PEOPLE WERE. >> SO CONFUSED. >> THEY ORIGINALLY. >> SAID. >> OH, WELL, THE EAST WING OFFICES ARE GOING TO BE MODERNIZED. BUT WE’LL ALSO HAVE THIS. >> BALLROOM HERE. AND IT’S. >> JUST ILLUSTRATIONS. >> SO THEY’RE PRETTY, BUT HE’S JUST. >> GESTURING AT. >> ILLUSTRATIONS AND DONORS LIKE COMCAST. DO THEY REQUIRE ANY INFORMATION IN EXCHANGE FOR APPARENTLY FUNDING THIS? >> I DON’T THINK SO. >> THEY THEY GOT SOME KIND. >> OF. >> AGREEMENT OR CONTRACT. >> THAT. >> REFERRED TO THE. >> DONALD J. >> TRUMP BALLROOM. >> HE’S DENIED. >> IT’LL. BE NAMED AFTER HIM. BUT MAYBE. >> YOU KNOW. >> SO THE. >> QUESTION IS, ARE. >> WE GOING TO SEE THE PLANS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE GOING TO SEE THE PLANS? IS CONGRESS GOING TO SEE THE PLANS? ARE WE GOING TO KNOW ABOUT THE BUNKER? ARE WE GOING TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT’S GOING TO BE IN THE, I WILL SAY, THE PEOPLE’S WHITE HOUSE? >> WELL. >> SCHAFF SAID THAT. >> THEY’RE EAGER. >> TO. >> REVIEW AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. SO WHO KNOWS. >> WHAT THE APPROPRIATE. >> TIME IS THIS? THIS SHOULD HAVE ACTUALLY. >> TAKEN YEARS. >> AND AUGUST. THEY WERE. >> THERE. >> WERE. STILL REPORTS SAYING, WELL, HE SAYS CONSTRUCTION IS STARTING IN THE FALL, BUT HOW COULD THAT POSSIBLY BE? BECAUSE JUST BUILDING A FENCE OF THE WHITE HOUSE. OR ADDING NEW LINES TO A. >> TENNIS COURT. WOULD TAKE A YEAR. >> AS IT WORKED ITS WAY THROUGH THIS MULTI BOARD REVIEW PROCESS. >> AND SO HOW. >> IS HE JUST. >> GOING TO START CONSTRUCTION. WELL IT TURNS OUT IF YOU DON’T REALLY FOLLOW THAT PROCESS. >> AND DON’T. >> ASK PERMISSION. >> YOU CAN JUST START BULLDOZING THE EAST WING. >> AND IT’S GONE. >> WHAT DO WE. >> KNOW IF ANYTHING. >> ABOUT THE SCOPE. >> OF. >> LARGER PLANS THAT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED AND TALKED ABOUT? >> FOR INSTANCE, THERE’S. >> BEEN TALK. >> ABOUT. >> THE PRESIDENT WANTING TO. BUILD A. >> MEMORIAL BRIDGE. >> AS. YOU HEAD. TOWARDS ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY. >> A HUGE LIKE ARC. >> DE TRIOMPHE THERE. >> YEAH, YEAH. >> WHAT DO WE KNOW? >> IT’S ALREADY BEEN. NICKNAMED THE ARC. >> DE TRIOMPHE. >> SO IT’S. >> HE ACTUALLY HAD LITTLE. >> MODELS OF THAT. >> THAT HE WAS SHOWING OFF TO BALLROOM DONORS. >> AT A. >> DINNER. >> THANKING THEM FOR THEIR. >> CONTRIBUTIONS. >> AND THEN ASKED, DO YOU LIKE THIS SMALL, THE MIDDLE OR THE LARGE? I LIKE THE LARGE. WHAT A SHOCK. >> LIKE THE LARGE. YOU LIKE THE LARGE, SIR? >> YEAH. >> SO HERE’S. >> SURE TEARS FROM HIS EYES AND SAID, SIR, WE LIKE THE BIGGEST ONE. >> YEAH. >> SO HE. >> HAS A LOT. >> OF. >> PLANS TO. >> KIND OF. >> MAR A. LAGO TIES THE WHOLE. WASHINGTON AREA. HE’S WE’VE SEEN HIM GOING THROUGH THE WHITE HOUSE. >> AND ADDING GOLD. TO EVERYTHING. >> HE PAVED. OVER THE ROSE GARDEN. HE’S NOW BRANDING IT AS. >> THE ROSE. >> GARDEN CLUB, SIMILAR. >> TO. >> THE MAR A LAGO CLUB. SO YEAH, IT’S UNCLEAR WHEN HE’S. >> GOING TO STOP. LIKE, HE REALLY SEEMS. >> TO WANT. >> TO LEAVE HIS MARK ON THE SPACE. >> IN A WAY HE DIDN’T IN HIS FIRST ADMINISTRATION. >> AND AS. >> YOU REPORT, THERE IS THIS NATIONAL CAPITAL PLANNING COMMISSION THAT’S. >> SUPPOSED TO APPROVE FEDERAL. >> CONSTRUCTION, ESPECIALLY AT SOMEWHERE LIKE THE. >> WHITE HOUSE. SINCE THAT’S BEEN. >> COMPLETELY IGNORED. THE CONCERN. NOW IS, IS THERE ANYTHING IN HIS WAY FOR WHATEVER THE NEXT IDEA IS, IF HE WANTS TO TEAR DOWN A MONUMENT OR SOMETHING? >> I MEAN, CERTAINLY WE HAVE. >> A CONGRESS THAT I THINK COULD. >> DO SOMETHING. >> OR. >> PASS LAWS. >> BUT WOULD THEY? I DON’T THINK SO. SO IT. >> SEEMS HE’S. >> FOUND A LOOPHOLE HERE, AND THERE’S REALLY. >> NO ONE TO STOP HIM UNLESS. >> THERE’S SOME KIND OF HUGE. >> PUBLIC OUTCRY THAT HE RESPONDS TO. >> AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS A POLL THAT. SHOWED 50%. >> OF AMERICANS. >> ARE AGAINST THIS. SO, YOU KNOW. >> THE NEW DEEP DIVE INTO THE TRUMP BALLROOM PROJECT IS ONLINE NOW. SENIOR EDITOR FOR INTELLIGENTSIA AT NEW YORK MAGAZINE, MARGARET HARTMAN, THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> THANKS TO YOUR
41 Comments
Who can believe the government,, they r shaddy business
Sounds shaddy to me the whole thing !! He were supposed to create jobs ??? Now there r gone
Wow that is beautiful!. 😍
The poor just paid for a ballroom with theyre November foodstamps 😂
Meeee!!!!!
Try again, you low down, paid lying fake news MSNBC. :.
Put a statue of President Trump on Mt. Rushmore and make it larger than the others and have it tower over the others.
Then change the name of Mt.Rushmore to Mt. Trumpmore. :.
Stop all construction on Whitehouse grounds.
Freeze all trump bank accounts globally.
All funds need to stay frozen until the East Wing is completely restored to its original condition.
The people's house needs to be restored above and below ground.
Then take trump out back and chain him in the yard.
Make him pay for his own golf trips.
That money could be used to feed Americans.
( EPSTEIN; NEVER FORGET).
They are remodeling the Jefferson Mwmorial since Biden Administration and nobody complaint. Why is it in this country? If the goverment builds something… they complain, if the goverment doesn't do anything: they complain! 😂😂😂 It looks to me the only thing some people actually do is: complain! 😮😮😮
I am we all are and I wish I was building it tbh
Your 0.1% owners' 🍊🦧will destroy our Democracy. Returning us to the millionaires and billionaires and their New Two-Class Society!
These people hate that there's actually a president who acts, and it's about time we have a president like Trump.
This is a joke, right? This is showing the people of America what he is really thinking of, its the cure for the shutdown, He couldn't wait for a better time? This isn't showing the proper respect for the white house! But, he doesn't anyway. Ok?, He already been here almost a year, he's got 3 more short yrs to go, then your FIRED.
he hired immigrants from home depot to work on the ballroom
Ya'll are lying. Trump said he and some other donors were paying for it and it wouldn't cost the taxpayer. What it is costing for this beautiful ballroom is (I believe) less than it cost Obama to build his basketball court. And that was years ago when costs were lower.
😂😂😂 trump I'd still the one doing funny how others have put Basketball court
They adding things so can hold everyone not just 50 people
MScumBC, no one can trust the past (illegitimate) admin appointees. They were autopen hired.
No sense talking to this group. So much hate. You'd think Charlie Kirk would have satisfied you for a while but hate is pretty tough.
Lol your people shut the government down and trump still the news how many voters trying to open but who voted to leave it because won't work with someone only because who they voted for crazy right
or if someone wanted to put a basketball court or a bowling area
That’s extremely sickening and appalling. This man is in this White House. Just a divide and conquer. I don’t know how that could be right. He’s in the White House for every American regardless of race Creek color, political choice F sick Donald Trump.
and 50% arent against it
One of the companies is your employer. Comcast.
I hope it’s his MAGA fanbase because they seem to want this more than their healthcare or food stamps 😂
Actually I think that ballroom is an excellent idea.
Hitler built a ballroom over a bunker.
Trump is building a ballroom over the bunker that was underneath the East Wing.
Hitler killed himself in that bunker.
Trump (. . .)
I mean that would be funny AF if it happened. 🤣🤣
Destroy all of this once Trump is removed. Take down all the gold,all the Trump pictures, everything.
Who paid 2 demolish tennis courts& built a basketball court 4 Husein Obama@ WH?!!
The US Taxpayer.
2 Morning Freaks!!
TDS NETWORK!!
I wonder how many meetings this news organization has in a roundtable analyzing how the president does things, and then decides how they are going to spin it…all along not even one time knowing how the President has already prepared to deal with their spin and hatred. MSNBC..you all are just plain ignorant…period
The cats and dogs are paying for the ball room
All thisnto avoid epstien files
Weird these donors are willing to fund a ballroom but not toward trying to help the people in need. Rich only help the rich!!!!
Ballroom will supposedly be 90,000 SF and cost $300 million. That comes out to $3,333/SF. No building costs anywhere near that number. $1,000/SF is considered astronomical. The building’s occupancy is 999 people. At 20SF/person (code), that’s only 20,000 SF (or roughly 100 x 200 feet). If you add in an extraordinarily generous 10,000 SF for function space (kitchen, A/V, storage, etc) and 10,000 SF for pre-function space, you get a total of 40,000 SF. That’s not even half of 90,000 SF. The exterior shots don’t match the interior. The exterior renderings show a 70 foot tall building, matching the height of the White House. The interior renderings, however, only show a 20 foot tall building. The proposed footprint is longer than a football field and 1.5x as wide. Imagine being at a gala where the stage is in the end zone and you’re sitting on the opposing team’s 10-yard-line. You’d need a jumbotron just to see the speaker. Who starts massive scale construction work 1 month before winter? Trump?
What happened to the furnishings of the East wing????
Did Mika get stuck in the curtains?
That you and hubby are now Trump brown noses… you're father would be ashamed of you.
This is wonderful!! Our nation needs some sprucing up.
WONDER HOW MANY CONTRACTORS WILL NOT BE PAID !!!! IN TYPICAL TRUMP FASHION!!!!
I am genuinely saddened to read so many of the last 100 comments. I wonder what the ages or minds of these commentators are???
Heck, i ain't a USA citizen, and i haven't liked Mr. Trump much in the times before he took over this year but I'll be damned if i don't talk some sense into all those who are not understanding that The White House, the office & residence of the president of the United States of America, still the number one country in the whole effing world, still the nicest country in the whole effing world by any measure, should have had a grand ballroom eons ago!
Y'all have no idea or are simply pretending to ignore reality, how many grand houses around the world there are that have grand ballrooms; built-in or at hand!
Sure, i understand that USA or real-America wanted their president's house to be gloriously modest and not like the standard palaces and grand abodes of their ancestral homelands and empires but this is 2025 and it is about time that USA adds a very needed grand ballroom to their president's house.
Believe me, y'all will soon enough realize that USA never stopped being great and that any future government will feel that Mr. Trump should have dug deeper and gotten more out of the said space than just a mere grand ballroom that still would not be as grand as some of the grand ballrooms that exist all over the world!
I think the news media should also dig deeper and checkout the grandest of the grand ballrooms of the world and present disgruntled USA citizens with enough visuals and decent commentaries to make them realize that The White House deserves more than a mere $300 million and more than a mere grand ballroom renovation/addition.
I sincerely believe that all USA citizens need to come together, at least on this one. Your Pres is definitely doing a very wise and needed thing. Kindly go a mile more and give him not only your support but also your money on this one. Help him dig deeper and go beyond a mere $300 million. Heck, just Apple should easily be able to donate at least $500 million to ensure that all future administrations should be able to reap the benefits of a much grander project!