Trump rebuts NYT report on grand White House ballroom, says ‘we have no fake windows’

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Donald Trump sang praises of his controversial White House ballroom in front of the media on Sunday, March 29, while slamming a New York Times report that pointed out its apparent design flaws. 

The president appeared on Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, where he showed large boards featuring images of how his $400 million ballroom will look once constructed.

Trump shows ballroom designs, calling it the 'greatest anywhere in the world'

He told reporters, “I thought I’d do this now because I’m so busy, I don’t have time to do this—I’m fighting wars and other things, but this is very important because this is going to be with us for a long time, and I think it’ll be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”

Trump claimed that the new ballroom would be “the finest ballroom of its kind anywhere in the world.” 

“A lot of people are giving it really good reviews. Some are giving it reviews without even seeing the building,” he shared.

“It matches and fits the White House. It's also capable of handling the inauguration. We have all bulletproof glass. We have drone proof roofs, ceilings, everything’s drone proof and bullet proof,” Trump added.

Trump calls out NYT, claims 'we have no fake windows'

The Republican leader then went on to thrash The New York Times. He said, “I think The Times wrote, ‘Gee, some of the windows are fake.’ We have no fake windows. They said they talked about a stairway in the south. We don’t have a stairway in the south. That was replaced a long time ago.”

During the conversation, Trump also added that the ballroom is “almost a twin to the White House. It’s something we just wanted to pay tribute to the White House.”

The commander in chief’s remarks came after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted The New York Times after the paper claimed the upcoming 90,000-square-foot building has “fake windows on the north side,” columns that “block interior ballroom view,” and an “unnecessarily big” rooftop area.

Leavitt says new ballroom is made 'at no expense to the taxpayer'

In a post on X, she wrote, “The New York Times had three random people who have ‘studied fine arts,’ ‘long written about urban planning,’ and never built anything to write an article criticizing the new White House ballroom.”

“President Trump and his lead architect have built world-class buildings around the world, and they are ensuring the People’s House finally has a beautiful ballroom that’s been needed for decades — at no expense to the taxpayer,” Leavitt added.

NYT insists design issues

However, Danielle Rhoades Ha, a representative of The Times, has claimed that they are “confident in the accuracy of our story.”

“Our article is based on interviews with architects, current and former government officials, and historical preservationists. Compared with other major projects in Washington, this one has had little time for public review, and experts warn the design has many issues,” Ha told The Daily Beast.