The White House monstrosity that will be a monument to Trump’s crassness

Hours after the Republicans suffered their worst midterms defeat in decades, Donald Trump appeared to have just one thing on his mind: the progress on his $600m (£452m) ballroom. “Envision chandeliers all over,” the President told reporters during a walkthrough. “Envision marble floor. Oh, it’s going to be beautiful.” That’s not quite the word being used to describe the project this week. The latest images of the gigantic half-finished structure towering over the White House have drawn comments likening it to an Amazon warehouse or a data centre. Others called the building – a planned 90,000-square-foot venue for state dinners and formal functions, with a roof that can hold up to 100 drones and a six-storey military bunker – a monstrosity that will serve largely as a monument to Trump’s vanity. “The ballroom saga is all about Trump’s persona and his crude delusions,” said John Owens, professor of US politics at the University of Westminster. “To call his gilded ballroom a vanity project is a gross understatement.” Trump has become laser-focused on legacy following his party’s midterms collapse, pursuing his pet projects with renewed vigour before the Democrats take control of Congress in January and as he enters his final two years in office. The President may now face difficulty in getting further funding for the event space, said to be suitable for up to 999 guests, approved. Trump initially said it would cost around $200m (£152m) and would be self-funded with the help of private donors, but that estimate later doubled to $400m (£294m). A contractor report uncovered by The Washington Post in March suggested it would cost a total of $600m, with more than half of that coming from public funds. Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Google and Lockheed Martin have all donated to the ballroom. Dr David Andersen, an associate professor in US Politics at Durham University, told The i Paper that the project was in “shockingly poor taste”. The gigantic extension to the White House has been described as gaudy, in poor taste and a testament to Trump’s crude delusions (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty) “No other president in American history would have endorsed or constructed such a mockery of a ballroom, and particularly not when so many Americans are under such serious financial stress,” he said. “I can’t think of worse imagery for what should be one of the central focuses of the American government.” The entire historic White House East Wing was demolished in October 2025 to make way for the ballroom, including the East Colonnade, White House Family Theatre and parts of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. It is expected to have marble floors, 40ft-high ceilings, bulletproof glass and Corinthian columns carved out of limestone. “With Trump, size matters,” added Andrew Moran, professor of politics and international relations at London Metropolitan University. “Looking at these pictures, I feel like it distracts from the intimacy and history of the White House.” Trump has attempted to justify the high cost by amping up the ballroom’s security credentials, describing it as a “shed” for a “massive” bunker being built underneath, which is being designed to replace the Presidential Emergency Operations Centre. Trump has described the ballroom, which is forecast to cost $600m, as a ‘shed’ that will sit atop a fortified military bunker designed to improve White House security (Photo: Alex Brandon/AP Photo) “I don’t believe for a moment there is an essential national security rationale for it,” said Jason Reifler, a professor of political science at Southampton University. “All that being said, the White House is incredibly small… not that that justifies this all.” The Democrats have loudly criticised the ballroom, but have had little power to do anything about it. When sworn into the majority of both chambers of Congress, Democrats can try to pass legislation to delay or stop the ballroom construction. Trump, however, can simply veto those bills. What may be more successful, said Andersen, is if Democrats make their investigations into the ballroom so embarrassing for the President and his party that Republicans in Congress work with Democrats to override a veto. “Given the current unpopularity of President Trump, the massive public opinion that is against the ballroom, and the desire of some congressional Republicans to shed the perception of corruption …this may actually be possible,” he said. Democrats are mounting investigations into the funding of the ballroom, which Trump says has come from private donors (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty) Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal has said he plans to investigate the ballroom’s funding, but a top federal prosecutor appointed by Trump this week threatened “significant legal consequences”, calling the investigation an “abuse of power”. Reifler thinks it’s unlikely a future president will tear down the ballroom because of the costs involved. “More likely, they will severely tone down its likely gaudiness,” said Owens. Andersen suggested that “once constructed, the ballroom will be occasionally useful and will make certain presidential events easier to manage, so there is value to the project”. Plans for the building feature marble floors and Corinthian pillars, but investigations say the project has been badly designed (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty) But he noted that “the design of the structure was rushed, the proportions are wrong for the complex, and the symbolism of its creation is incredibly poor given the current state of the country”. An investigation by The New York Times in March into the ballroom design found its portico is too big, its stairs lead nowhere and its columns will block views from inside the ballroom. For many, the ballroom is yet another attempt by Trump to mould parts of Washington DC in his image. His face is already emblazoned across buildings throughout the nation’s capital and he claims his 250ft triumphal arch will protect the city with a weapons arsenal – although work has been temporarily halted and the Kennedy family is suing on the grounds that it would block the view of the former president’s grave, as well as those of other veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. Whatever Trump’s future holds, there will be no avoiding this highly visible testament to his extraordinary presidency.