Trump knocking down historic East Wing to build Ballroom - is this LEGAL?

GoldenBoy89 · Oct 23, 2025

probinson said:
Common sense would dictate as such. But then, there is already a suggestion in this thread for future Democratic candidates to "...run on specifically tearing down this monstrosity..." and to make it their first order of business to do so.

About as important as pardoning 1500 rioters on your first day.

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN · Oct 23, 2025

probinson said:
Common sense would dictate as such. But then, there is already a suggestion in this thread for future Democratic candidates to "...run on specifically tearing down this monstrosity..." and to make it their first order of business to do so.

Huh? What do you envision this "fun place" to look like?

Dance parties, skating parties, selling baked goods. Bingo. I'm sure a lot of things can be done.

probinson · Oct 23, 2025

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN said:
Dance parties, skating parties, selling baked goods. Bingo. I'm sure a lot of things can be done.

You want to turn the future White House ballroom into a dance hall/skating rink/bingo hall with bake sales on the side to fund social security?

Alrighty then.

probinson · Oct 23, 2025

GoldenBoy89 said:
About as important as pardoning 1500 rioters on your first day.

Is it a contest to see which candidate can come up with the most inane "first order of business" now?

GoldenBoy89 · Oct 23, 2025

probinson said:
Is it a contest to see which candidate can come up with the most inane "first order of business" now?

No. I don’t think a Democratic president will be quite as vindictive as Trump has been. Not even close.

I wouldn’t worry too much about one behaving the same way towards the right side of the country as Trump has been towards the left.

Dems just don’t seem to have that kind of fight in them.

truthuprootsevil · Oct 23, 2025

eclipsenow said:
As an Aussie looking on - I just shake my head in wonder.

First - he was meant to be talking to the head of NATO.

Second - he decides he would rather bring out plans for his ballroom. "No body's ever seen anything like it."
(I mean - can he learn another phrase?)

Third - is this even LEGAL? Isn't there history that should be preserved? Isn't this part of a National Trust or something?

Fourth - who is paying for it?
Because now the bill's gone up to $300 MILLION.
Great estimates Trump! Nice job!

For a gaudy, golden throne-room to his NPD. I mean - I guess it makes sense to retrofit the whole place after his own heart. He owns it. According to his latest Truth Social fantasies - he's the King who poos on his people!

And this is the ultimate metaphor for it.

Tearing down the rose garden, ancient trees, and now the East Wing itself - and remaking it in his own image.

From what this article say because of a 90-year-old exempt from historic preservation rules, the White House and some other buildings, he can do it. And he said he was going to do it and then talk to Congress.

It is reported that it was privately funded privately funded by whom???????

Knowing the antics of Donald Trump he's using taxpayers money, after all he's in the position where he can do what he wants to do and say what he wants to say and it's nothing any one can do about it, nor prove his word false. Unless of course someone decides to leak it and then suffer the vengeful vendettas that Trump puts on those that go against him

probinson · Oct 23, 2025

GoldenBoy89 said:
No. I don’t think a Democratic president will be quite as vindictive as Trump has been. Not even close.

I dunno. Tearing down a structure just because Trump built it seems pretty petty. But then, no one has suggested that but you, and I would agree that I really don't think any candidate is going to make that a pillar of their campaign.

probinson · Oct 23, 2025

truthuprootsevil said:
It is reported that it was privately funded privately funded by whom???????

The White House's list, provided to TIME on Thursday, includes these corporate and individual donors:

Altria Group, Inc.
Amazon
Apple
Booz Allen Hamilton
Caterpillar, Inc.
Coinbase
Comcast Corporation
J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul
Hard Rock International
Google
HP Inc.
Lockheed Martin
Meta Platforms
Micron Technology
Microsoft
NextEra Energy, Inc.
Palantir Technologies Inc.
Ripple
Reynolds American
T-Mobile
Tether America
Union Pacific Railroad
Adelson Family Foundation
Stefan E. Brodie
Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
Charles and Marissa Cascarilla
Edward and Shari Glazer
Harold Hamm
Benjamin Leon Jr.
The Lutnick Family
The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Konstantin Sokolov
Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher
Paolo Tiramani
Cameron Winklevoss
Tyler Winklevoss

Who Is Paying for Trump’s $250 Million Ballroom—and What They Might Get in Return

Trump has begun demolishing the White House's East Wing to make room for a ballroom paid for by private donors.

time.com

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN · Oct 23, 2025

probinson said:
You want to turn the future White House ballroom into a dance hall/skating rink/bingo hall with bake sales on the side to fund social security?

Alrighty then.

People can eat there and play bingo. I think fundraising is a must. Or this building is a waste of money. I do think it's an over price room. And it would be silly to get rid of. With all the windows, it would be my dream plant room. With out all the table and chairs. It's going to be built. So, it might as well be used.

GoldenBoy89 · Oct 23, 2025

probinson said:
The White House's list, provided to TIME on Thursday, includes these corporate and individual donors:

Altria Group, Inc.

Amazon

Apple

Booz Allen Hamilton

Caterpillar, Inc.

Coinbase

Comcast Corporation

J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul

Hard Rock International

Google

HP Inc.

Lockheed Martin

Meta Platforms

Micron Technology

Microsoft

NextEra Energy, Inc.

Palantir Technologies Inc.

Ripple

Reynolds American

T-Mobile

Tether America

Union Pacific Railroad

Adelson Family Foundation

Stefan E. Brodie

Betty Wold Johnson Foundation

Charles and Marissa Cascarilla

Edward and Shari Glazer

Harold Hamm

Benjamin Leon Jr.

The Lutnick Family

The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation

Stephen A. Schwarzman

Konstantin Sokolov

Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher

Paolo Tiramani

Cameron Winklevoss

Tyler Winklevoss

Who Is Paying for Trump’s $250 Million Ballroom—and What They Might Get in Return

Trump has begun demolishing the White House's East Wing to make room for a ballroom paid for by private donors.

time.com

Looks more like a pay-to-play scheme to me.

Always in His Presence · Oct 23, 2025

To put things in perspective, the part being demolished is a carport. Where people got out when the weather is bad

GoldenBoy89 · Oct 23, 2025

Always in His Presence said:
View attachment 371991

To put things in perspective, the part being demolished is a carport. Where people got out when the weather is bad

Looks like a lot more than just a carport gone.

Someone is lying to you.

GoldenBoy89 · Oct 23, 2025

Not a carport:

Not a carport:

Not a carport:

eclipsenow · Oct 23, 2025

camille70 said:
They have daily ballroom events?

Ooooh, maybe I can lose my glass slipper and be discovered by someone! :tutu:

Tuur · Oct 23, 2025

eclipsenow said:
Trump putting a carbon copy of the Kremlin's ballroom smack down on the White House is like someone decided they needed Marvel's Black Widow to replace the Statue of Liberty.

Um...

Did you look at the photos in your post? If you would, I'd like to direct your attention to the ceiling in both. That's not a carbon copy. That's not even a smudged photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. Note in particular the difference in the design of the partitions in the ceiling and the inlays.

On reflection, have been in a surprising number of ballrooms for various conferences. Convention centers often have several, and also have the means to subdivide them for smaller crowds. Conferences I attended usually had one complete ballroom for meals and the keynote speech. And yes, they were ballrooms. Said so right on the signs by the entrances. The wildest one was in what was then a hotel where Al Capone was said to have been an investor. Some of us wondered if the walls might have had a body or two stashed away. Will note that the hotel was conveniently located beside a waterway. Since it was built during Prohibition, why it was beside a waterway is speculation left to the reader.

Anyway, when you have a great big flat ceiling, it's monotonous to look at if it isn't broken by some design. Such was the case with the wide ceiling in a church that shall remain nameless. That one was compounded by keeping the ceiling at the standard room height of 8 feet (2.44 m). Since the room was long and wide, the height of the ceiling gave it an oppressive feeling. Thus was driven home the concept of raising a ceiling high enough to eliminate that effect. So you raise it to get rid of the squashed feeling, and you break up the flat space so it doesn't feel monotonous. Unless an architect is very creative, the norm seem some arrangement of large squares or rectangles. Using banks of lighting is innovative, but could give an office space feel if the architect isn't careful. Or a mural. I wonder if Bill Clinton would have gone with mirrors.

BTW, did a check on that old hotel and found it's now a condominium. Also found a claim that the Teamsters bought and sold it twice over the years. So there wasn't just a connection to Capone, but to Hoffa as well.

Tuur · Oct 23, 2025

durangodawood said:
This new ballroom is weak and sad. Compared to the Russian example its a glorified cafeteria dining room.

The way people are said to walk off with White House silverware, give them melamine plates and plastic cutlery.

Tuur · Oct 23, 2025

Maria Billingsley said:
News flash! The East Wing is being torn down completely. So an East Wing will no longer exist. New Name ( im guessing) will be the Trump Wing.

Call it the Right Wing.

Tuur · Oct 23, 2025

eclipsenow said:
Even if the White house is gradually repaired and replaced plank by plank like the Ship of Theseus - I would have thought by now the White House structure had a place in the heart of Americans.

Maybe in some circles. Give the central structure and press room dates to the latter half of the 20th Century, wouldn't think it was history. Think the cornerstone is, and is still there.

Tuur · Oct 23, 2025

eclipsenow said:
Ooooh, maybe I can lose my glass slipper and be discovered by someone!

Given they couldn't find out who had that bag of cocaine found in the White House, wouldn't hold my breath.

ThatRobGuy · Oct 23, 2025

eclipsenow said:
Trump putting a carbon copy of the Kremlin's ballroom smack down on the White House is like someone decided they needed Marvel's Black Widow to replace the Statue of Liberty.

I guess some people just can't have enough Kitsch.

He really does want to be Vladimir Putin.

View attachment 371963

How is that a carbon copy? Just at first glance I'm seeing lots of differences.

Not to mention, pretty much every ballroom looks that over-the-top and tacky -- it's a ballroom after all. If you search for "most famous ballrooms in the world", you'll notice at pattern... and many have more similarities than these two do.

Does this:

Really look anymore gawdy or tacky than this?

(Le Grand Salon in Paris - regarded as one of the most "elegant" and "classy" ballrooms in Europe)

What, were people expecting a presidential ballroom to look like a conference room at the Airport Holiday Inn? lol

Trump knocking down historic East Wing to build Ballroom - is this LEGAL?

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