Trump orders demolishing east wing of the White House to build $250 million ballroom
The president's intention is to build a new ballroom with a capacity for 1,000 people that will cost 250 million dollars.
Work crews demolished part of the East Wing of the White House, while Trump announced the start of work on a huge new ballroom that will cost 250 million dollars.
Trump said the new ballroom will be financed with money from private donors.
A mechanical excavator razed the facade of the East Wing and revealed a mass of broken masonry, debris and steel cables, AFP journalists present at the scene saw.
"Just on the other side there is some construction that you can hear occasionally," said the Republican president, who hosted a group of college baseball players at the White House on Monday.
Later, he officially announced the start of construction on the new ballroom, the largest addition to the US presidential mansion in more than a century.
"I am pleased to announce the “Construction has begun on the White House grounds for a large and beautiful new Ballroom,” Trump said on his Truth Social media account. He added that the East Wing was being “totally modernized” and will be “more beautiful than ever when complete.” The East Wing of the White House is traditionally where first ladies of the United States have their offices. The president works in the West Wing, and the presidential couple live in the mansion. It is needed to host state dinners. The area is physically connected to the main mansion by a covered colonnade. The new ballroom will be 88,000 square feet and can accommodate 1,000 people. Trump says it is needed to host much larger state dinners and other events that are currently held under a tent.
Last week, Trump held a lavish dinner at the White House for donors of the new ballroom.
Guests included representatives from tech giants Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Palantir, among others, all with major government contracts or business deals.
This is part of a much broader makeover of the White House since Trump returned to power in January, including gold decorations in the Oval Office and paving the Rose Garden.
Trump also unveiled plans to build a triumphal arch in Washington, which has been dubbed the “Trump Arch” after AFP first revealed the proposal.