White House begins demolishing East Wing facade to build Trump’s ballroom

[Hans Blaster]

It's being paid for by private donations

Doesn't matter. Appropriations are still required even for donor funds. There is also no approval from the responsible historic preservation entities.

 

[Chesterton]

Did you know that he was a minister in our Labor government (equates to the Democrats) between 2004 and 2013? My son in law stood against him in the...2010 election I think? And lost badly.

No I didn't know that. Was he able to do anything about those burning beds down there?

 

[Yttrium]

Trump doesn't need to dance. He can just blitz.

 

[wing2000]

So taxpayers money isn't spent on it?

I suspect taxpayers and private donors are paying. And the latter will come with favors in return...

 

[Landon Caeli]

Hopefully the project will be complete by Trump's third inauguration.

 

[Servus]

Theodore Roosevelt Renovation (1902): This renovation expanded the space by adding the West Wing, establishing it as the primary office space for the president. It also removed the Victorian-era decor that had accumulated over the years to restore the building's more classical style.

Coolidge Administration Expansion (1927): President Calvin Coolidge oversaw the addition of a third floor to the residence.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Expansion (1930s–1940s): The West Wing was overhauled in 1934, and the Oval Office was relocated. In 1942, the East Wing was added to conceal an underground bunker. And an indoor swimming pool was installed.

Harry S. Truman Reconstruction (1948–1952): Considered the most significant renovation in the building's history, the interior was completely gutted. Only the exterior walls were preserved.

Richard Nixon Expansion (1973): A bowling alley was added.
Donald Trump Expansion (2025): A ballroom is being added to the East Wing

 

[wing2000]

Hopefully the project will be complete by Trump's third inauguration.

Yes, so he can invite 1,000 of the 1 percenters to reward for their generous support! The "People's House"

 

[DaisyDay]

It is obvious. He bluntly said it "would not touch" the existing building. The east wing and the west wing (in July, when that statement was made) were part of the existing building. The Oval office is in the White House, just as The Office of the First Lady is an entity within the White House.

He lied - again, and you seemingly support it (thus you have my prayers).
I agree that he is inarticulate, he's also dishonest and has proven so time and again. This is merely another example.

It's like the Bonwit Tellers affair all over again. Make promises to shut the critics up, then break the promises and fait accompli and there's nothing to be done about it.

It's being paid for by private donations

In exchange for what? Who is giving how much? Who is contracting this and for how much? Is there money laundering involved and how would we even know? There really ought to be an accounting before not just after.

 

[Landon Caeli]

In exchange for what? Who is giving how much? Who is contracting this and for how much? Is there money laundering involved and how would we even know? There really ought to be an accounting before not just after

Is that how you want the world to operate? We have no evidence of wrongdoing, but let's investigate everything anyways, just in case we might be able to find something.

That's communist mentality!

...Who's going to investigate the investigators then?

 

[Landon Caeli]

I suspect taxpayers and private donors are paying. And the latter will come with favors in return...

Everyone's a suspect on account of possibility. That's from a totalitarian frame of mind.

...Let's not be that way.

 

[DaisyDay]

Is that how you want the world to operate? We have no evidence of wrongdoing, but let's investigate everything anyways, just in case we might be able to find something.

Simple oversight and common accounting is the usual way of avoiding corruption both private and public. Trust BUT verify.

That's communist mentality!

Utter nonsense.

...Who's going to investigate the investigators then?

Sycophantic toadies, if we're speaking of the current administration which fired all the inspector generals.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Simple oversight and common accounting is the usual way of avoiding corruption both private and public. Trust BUT verify.

You said you were concerned about "money laundering" in post #48 - as in illegally acquired money being used to build the ballroom, disguised as innocent, private donations.

...Now you say verifying the legality of the donations is "simple oversight". What a joke.

It would be extremely difficult (not simple at all) to ask private donors on the origins of the funds they donated, just to check if they were legally earned or not. It seems way overboard. But that *is* the definition of money laundering, unless you meant something else.

 

[Landon Caeli]

To me, it seems like the left really wants to punish everyone who donated money for this ballroom, through extensive legal investigations on the origins of their money.

Realistically it's just attacks on everything Trump. On and on...

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Is that how you want the world to operate? We have no evidence of wrongdoing, but let's investigate everything anyways, just in case we might be able to find something.

That's communist mentality!

...Who's going to investigate the investigators then?

Investigate?

Why wouldn’t the White House just be open and transparent with We the People about the expenses and changes being made to the White House?

 

[Landon Caeli]

Investigate?

Why wouldn’t the White House just be open and transparent with We the People about the expenses and changes being made to the White House?

What is your fear about it?

You think it's stolen money?

 

[Goonie]

They are demolishing the east wing, yet have not even submitted the plans for the ballroom to the relevant govt office.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

What is your fear about it?

No fear.

Aren’t you concerned where the money is coming from? Who it’s coming from and what they might want in return for their investment?

No one just spends that kind of money not expecting something in return. Let’s not be naive here.

You think it's stolen money?

I don’t know.

Can you answer my question as to why the White House isn’t being transparent about where the money is coming from?

 

[wing2000]

They are demolishing the east wing, yet have not even submitted the plans for the ballroom to the relevant govt office.

Demolish and ask questions later.

Meanwhile, the price has jumped 50%....to 300 Million. But I'm sure "friends" such as Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Palantir Technologies will make up the difference.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday raised the estimate of his planned White House ballroom, saying that the project would cost $300 million — up from his initial claim of $200 million — and defended the decision to tear down the East Wing amid widespread complaints.

“In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, showing off renderings of the project and saying that the new ballroom would be connected by a “glass bridge” to the main White House structure. “We don’t touch the White House.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/22/trump-white-house-ballroom/

So yes, the entire East Wing will be history by this weekend.

 

[Landon Caeli]

No one just spends that kind of money not expecting something in return. Let’s not be naive here.

People do it all the time. It's called a "donation" (dow·nay·shn)

Can you answer my question as to why the White House isn’t being transparent about where the money is coming from?

Because the money hasn't come in yet.

 

[truthuprootsevil]

HIS ballroom _ sounds like you plans on staying even after the 4-year term is up.