Inside Donald Trump’s White House reno plans
US President Donald Trump has unveiled huge renovation plans for the iconic White House and many Americans have unleashed on the proposal.
Donald Trump’s renovation plans for the White House have been unveiled.
The New York Post reports the US President is planning a “beautiful, magnificent” new ballroom and paving over the grassed area of the Rose Garden to create a Mar-a-Lago-style terrace.
According to the outlet, the 45th and 47th president is determined to make his mark on the White House this time.
“It keeps my real estate juices flowing,” he told a reporter recently.
Mr Trump’s redesign will consist of creating a space for the Rose Garden surrounded by hedges of red tulips and white roses similar to the golden terrace at Mar-a-Lago.
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According to the NY Post, the world leader envisages a convivial private club for him to entertain members of Congress and other visitors.
The most significant change Mr Trump plans to the White House is to add a gigantic ballroom.
It will be accessed through doors in the East Room, which is currently the biggest room in the house. The president believes is inadequate for large gatherings
The politician has often scoffed at Barack Obama and Joe Biden holding state dinners in tents on the South Lawn.
“When a foreign leader comes over … they should not be in a tent,” he has said.
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Mr Trump previously offered to build a 160-foot-long ballroom and pay for the $US100 million ($A157 million) cost himself, but despite approaching “top people” at the Biden administration four or five times, they never responded.
“I am very good at building ballrooms,” he said at a reception in the East Room in February.
“I build beautiful ballrooms … like I have at Mar-a-Lago, as beautiful as it can be.”
He added, “I offered to do it to the Biden administration, a very active administration, but I didn’t hear back [so] I’m going to try to make the offer to myself … because we could use a bigger room … I think we’ve outgrown the tent stuff.”
Mr Trump has architects drawing up plans that are sympathetic to the White House’s Georgian architecture, which he admires enormously, often calling it the most beautiful building in the world.
The NY Post speculates the interior likely will take its cue from the Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago that spans 20,000 square feet and shimmers with Versailles opulence thanks to glittering chandeliers and $US7 million of gold leaf adorning its walls.
“I’ve got more gold in that ballroom than anybody’s ever had in a ballroom before,” he boasted earlier this year.
“So we’re $36T in debt, we added $8.4T in debt during Trump’s first term, we’re cutting taxes on the rich, we run a deficit AND we have money for Trump Celebrity House Flipping,” one reader commented on the New York Post.
“People are losing their jobs and value of 401K’s while DJT is recklessly spending taxpayer money on frivolous and garish renovations,” said another.
“I know presidents have the right to make changes and alterations of the White House, but I feel that this is a disgrace to make any changes that mimic Mar-a-Lago,” said another.
Unlike with his previous property development plays, this time, there is no zoning authority Mr Trump has to go through to build the new two-storey wing that will house the ballroom.
Mr Trump has already made a recent change to the White House.
Last week, he cut down the historic, 200-year-old “Andrew Jackson magnolia” that was half dead and propped up by wires.
“The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed,” he announced on Truth Social, before ordering a new sapling that is a direct descendant of the original tree be planted in its place.
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.
Originally published as Inside Donald Trump’s White House reno plans
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