'Thank you, George’: Trump’s White House ballroom post takes an unexpected turn

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump thanked George Washington for “brilliant ideas” about his proposed White House ballroom in an AI video posted on Truth Social.

The video places the founding father beside Trump inside the ballroom Trump wants the Supreme Court to permit him to build.

Trump posted the AI video early Sunday, August 16, where he thanked Washington.

Trump turns ballroom project into AI spectacle

Washington appears alongside Trump in the AI-generated scene, which depicts the proposed ballroom even though the project does not yet exist.

Trump’s post came as the ballroom project remained controversial, with Trump seeking permission from the Supreme Court to build it. 

The proposed project is a $400 million construction effort.

Trump wrote, “Thank you, George, for some of your brilliant ideas on this great Military Complex/Ballroom!”

The Daily Beast criticized the post, contrasting Trump’s virtual tour with conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. 

The outlet said live Americans were enduring “brutal conditions” while Trump toured the project with a dead president.

Trump had recently dismissed concerns about sailors “losing their minds” aboard the ship. The reported conditions included moldy showers, food shortages and shortages of basic supplies such as toothpaste, soap and deodorant.

Trump also said Friday that the sailors had not been stuck aboard the ship “nearly long enough.”

Commentator questions why Trump posted it

On MS NOW, host Eugene Daniels shared the AI video with viewers and questioned the point of the post.

“I don't understand — I think it's supposed to be a joke,” Daniels said. “I'm not sure what it is.”

Eric Dougherty of Right Line News shared it on X and called it “awesome.”

Political commentator Brian Krassenstein took the opposite view, writing, “This is something someone posts when they have completely lost their marbles.”

Trump also pushes daylight saving time bill

The ballroom post came alongside another political issue Trump was pressing: his demand that the Senate vote on legislation making daylight saving time permanent.

“The Senate must vote on the NO MORE CHANGING THE CLOCKS ACT as soon as possible,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social, referring to the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025.

The House approved the legislation 308-117 last month. 

Trump has repeatedly urged the Senate to act, but the chamber is out of session until Sept 14.

Trump argued that having more sunlight later in the day “is better (including for fighting crime!)” and said changing clocks twice a year causes “disruption and chaos.”

Several Republican senators have opposed the measure. 

Sen Tom Cotton of Arkansas said Americans dislike changing clocks but argued Congress should consider the “second-order implications” of permanent daylight saving time.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he voted against similar legislation in committee because it could produce very late winter sunrises in his state.

Asked whether the bill had the 60 Senate votes needed to overcome a filibuster, Thune said, “Remains to be seen.”