'It's one thing to have the bunker': Ty Cobb points to another Trump project
WASHINGTON, DC: Former White House attorney Ty Cobb said the modernization of White House bunker protections could be justified, but questioned the need for President Trump’s 9,000-square-foot ballroom.
Cobb said the bunker could modernize protections already at the White House, while he described the ballroom as unnecessary there.
He made the comments on Friday, September 4, while speaking on former CNN anchor Jim Acosta’s show.
Ty Cobb: "It's one thing to have a bunker. It's another thing to have a 9,000sq ft ballroom which will go unused 99.9% of the time. Having paved the Rose Garden, put up offense memes about Democratic presidents under their photos, gold leaf the Oval Office turning it into a… pic.twitter.com/O99MWTxo4X
— Reggie B. (@reggiebblue) September 5, 2026
Ty Cobb distinguishes bunker from ballroom
“You could look at the bunker as the modernization of some of the protections that have long existed there,” Cobb said, calling that “a legitimate argument.”
“But on the other hand, you know, it’s one thing to have the bunker; it’s another thing to have a 9,000 square foot ballroom,” he said.
Cobb, a Trump critic, then focused his criticism on the ballroom, arguing that it would have little practical use.
“You know will go unused 99.9% of the time,” he said, adding that it is “something that we clearly don’t need.”
The comments came during a discussion about Trump’s remarks after a reporter asked whether he was building himself a bunker so he could remain in the White House after the 2028 election.
Trump responded that it would be “awfully tough to get you out” and that “Nobody would be able to get you out,” according to the exchange presented on Acosta’s show.
Acosta said Trump was lying and argued that, based on his own view of Trump, the president had thought of the bunker as a personal refuge.
Cobb agreed that the idea was “definitely in his brain.”
I asked Trump if he was building himself a bunker so he could hole up in the White House after the 2028 election.
— Ben Terris (@bterris) September 4, 2026
“I haven’t heard that one,” he said. “But I tell you what, it would be awfully tough to get you out. Nobody would be able to get you out.”https://t.co/5Sio8jZgXX
Cobb also criticized the physical effect he believes the ballroom would have on the White House grounds.
He called it “an eyesore” that “dwarfs” existing structures and “destroys the grounds,” while pointing to other changes he attributed to Trump.
Former White House attorney broadens criticism to Trump’s image
Cobb cited Trump’s paving of the Rose Garden, what he described as “offensive memes” about Democratic presidents, and gold leaf in the Oval Office.
He pointed to Trump “building this arch,” putting his picture on coins and having airports named after himself.
Cobb also referenced Trump’s recent visit to Mount Rushmore.
“I don’t think anybody in the country, you know, didn’t think when he visited Mount Rushmore recently that he was measuring it for himself,” Cobb said.
Ty Cobb raises election interference allegation
Cobb, who served in Trump’s first administration but is now a vocal critic, said on MS NOW on Thursday that Trump was “sitting on $400 million in campaign money that he could donate to some of these elections and he’s not.”
The former White House attorney offered his own explanation, saying, “The thinking is that he would rather keep it for his presidential library or other personal interests.”
Cobb also raised an allegation about Trump’s intentions for future elections, saying, “I think Trump doesn’t feel he needs to spend this money because it is his intention to interfere with the elections.”
