Trump says military ‘wanted it more than anybody’ in $400M White House ballroom

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said the White House ballroom project has a national security aspect and was “supposed to be secret.” Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 26, he added, “Now it’s no secret, the military wanted it more than anybody,” when discussing the construction.

This has raised questions about why the military would be so interested. Back in January, a report said the project could include a “top secret project.” It also claimed that Trump was “rebuilding a secret bunker under the East Wing.” The ballroom is part of a broader plan Trump set in motion last year, when he ordered the demolition of the East Wing to make way for a $400 million ballroom.

Trump says the military wanted secret White House ballroom

Trump spoke about his White House ballroom project and said, “It was supposed to be secret, but it became un-secret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things. But doesn’t matter, it’s going to be great,” as per The Hill.

He also repeated, “It was supposed to be secret, but it became un-secret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things. But, it doesn't matter, it doesn’t matter. It's going to be great,” to stress his point. He claimed they wanted the $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The Pentagon has not yet responded to questions about this.

At the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, he praised the project, saying, “This ballroom is gonna be something. It's so beautiful for this city, so desperately needed by presidents.” He also said, “I get sued over a ballroom that's the most beautiful ballroom in the country. You won't have tents sitting on the wet White House lawn if it rains, you get wiped out to honor the president of China or the president of France.”

Later, while talking about his pick for Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, Trump mentioned Jerome Powell and cost issues. He joked, “We’re going to have to find him some space in the White House,” and added, “We will put him in the basement of the ballroom.” This comment made Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others laugh.

Trump repeated the same idea again, saying, “We’re going to have to find him some space in the White House,” followed by, “We will put him in the basement of the ballroom,” as per The People.

Trump’s ballroom plan linked to secret work, CNN reports

Back in January this year, CNN reported that the construction of the new ballroom is also being used to upgrade a hidden bunker. This bunker was said to have been built under the East Wing during World War II to protect President Franklin D Roosevelt.

A White House official told CNN that the project would improve “mission-critical functionality” and include “necessary security enhancements,” along with “top secret” work. White House Historical Association historian Bill Seale said at the time that “no public acknowledgement was made of there being a bomb shelter under construction, only the East Wing.”

Now, more than 80 years later, the East Wing is being rebuilt as part of Trump’s ballroom project. The old underground structures have been removed. Reports suggest the space may be redesigned with modern technology to deal with new security threats.