The White House has detailed its latest plans regarding Donald Trump’s new ballroom which is set to cost a whopping $400 million.
It’s intended to house 650 people at once and could become a near 90,000-square-foot addition to the executive mansion should it be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission in March.
The president tore down the entire East Wing in October last year to make room for the ballroom, much to the anger of political opposition.
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No construction plans for the new building had been submitted at that point, making the more even more bizarre.
However, the White House has since issued its most detailed plans for the White House ballroom. including photos of what it may look like from vantage points including near the Capitol building, Jefferson Memorial and areas across the White House campus.Taking to Truth Social after the plans were released, Trump said: « Two views of the Great Ballroom being built on the site of our wonderful White House — It is on budget, and ahead of schedule! When completed, it will be the finest Ballroom ever built anywhere in the World, one that has been sought by Presidents for over 150 years — and now they are getting THE BEST!
« Because of its unprecedented structural, safety, and security features, it will also be used for future Presidential Inaugurations. »
While the demolition of the East Wing was hugely divisive, the Trump administration say they’ve kept some materials from the demolishment which will be used in the new ballroom building.
There’s also items that were found in the building that will be present in the hugely expensive new build.
« These items include, but are not limited to, the East Wing cornerstone and plaque, movie theater furniture, the East Colonnade columns, the Porte-cochere columns, interior wood paneling, chandeliers, historic windows and doors, and other hardware and fixtures, » the plan says. »Our goal is to ensure that some of these items will be integrated into the new structure. »
The ballroom building will also house office space and a two-story colonnade, and is said to be the same height as the existing executive residence in the White House grounds.
Josh Fisher, director of White House management and administration, said: « Demolition of the existing East Wing structure and reconstruction of a new East Wing provided the most effective solution to many longstanding issues affecting the White House and delivered the best long-term risk reduction. »
The East Wing project was originally meant to cost $250 million, before rising to $300 million. Now, the work is expected to cost a staggering $400 at the time of completion.
The White House has issued some wild responses in the past year. Ever since President Donald Trump started his second term, there has been no shortage of eyebrow-raising statements that have sparked concern.
The latest response has to do with Trump’s health, an area of intrigue for many. The 79-year-old world leader gave a speech at the White House’s ‘Champion of Coal’ event on Wednesday.
Trump signed an executive order which directed the Department of War to purchase coal power, after which he was hailed as the ‘undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal’ and received a trophy. Trump addressed the audience, but viewers noticed that he appeared to slur his words.
In light of the furore caused by the public appearance, the White House responded with a fiery statement. « President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history,” spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Daily Beast. “While the deranged and failing Daily Beast has their lightweight, glue-sniffing interns push baseless conspiracy theories — President Trump spent the day unleashing energy dominance, lowering costs, and putting the American people first. »
What did the White House say about Mark Ruffalo?
While on the red carpet at the Golden Globes this year, the Marvel star was interviewed by USA Today and was asked about the ‘BE GOOD’ pin he was wearing.
« This is for Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered, » the actor said. Good was the 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the actions of the ICE officer who shot Good.
While explaining the significance of his pin, Ruffalo also had some strong words, accusing Vice President JD Vance of ‘lying about what’s happening’.
Turning his attention to Trump, the actor said: « We’re in the middle of a war with Venezuela that we illegally invaded. [Trump’s] telling the world that international law doesn’t matter to him.
« The only thing that matters to him is his own morality, but the guy is a convicted felon; a convicted rapist. » »He’s a pedophile, » Ruffalo continued. « He’s the worst human being. If we’re relying on this guy’s morality for the most powerful country in the world, then we’re all in a lot of trouble. »
Trump has also never been charged with a sex crime, including pedophilia.
Steven Cheung, Assistant to the President and White House Director of Communications, said: « More impressively, he’s an even worse human being by spewing outright lies because deep down inside, he hates himself for knowingly subjecting the public to his god-awful performance. »
What did the White House say about South Park?
There were plenty of jabs at the president in season 27, and in true South Park fashion this included jokes about his private parts and scenes showing him in bed with Satan.
Trey Parker, one of the show’s creators, addressed the controversy the scenes stirred at San Diego’s Comic-Con International. And by addressed we mean he simply said ‘we’re terribly sorry,’ followed by a long, deadpan-comic stare.The White House followed with a stern statement, as White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers said: “The Left’s hypocrisy truly has no end — for years, they have come after South Park for what they labeled as ‘offense’ [sic] content, but suddenly they are praising the show.”
He then turned his attention to the show itself and added: “Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows.
“This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.
« President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
What did the White House say about White Stripes’ Jack White?
It started last August when Jack White posted a message on Instagram along with an image of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump meeting in the White House.
He said: “Look at how disgusting trump has transformed the historic White House. It’s now a vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler’s dressing room. Can’t wait for the UFC match on the front lawn too, he’s almost fully achieved the movie ‘Idiocracy’.
“Look at his disgusting taste, would you even buy a used car from this conman, let alone give him the nuclear codes? A gold plated trump bible would look perfect up on that mantle, with a pair of trump shoes on either side wouldn’t it?
“What an embarrassment to American history. Also pictured in this photograph, a REAL leader of a nation in a black suit.”
At this point, it should come as no surprise that the White House wasn’t happy about this.
White House communications director Steven Cheung told the Daily Beast, “Jack White is a washed-up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career.”
He continued, “It’s apparent he’s been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendor and significance of the Oval Office inside of ‘The People’s House’.”
But the beef didn’t end there. The Grammy winner hit back with his own lengthy statement. He said: “How petty and pathetic and thin-skinned could this administration get? ‘Masquerading as a real artist’? Thank you for giving me my tombstone engraving! Well here’s my opinion, trump is masquerading as a human being.”
He said in part: “That orange grifter has spent more tax payer money cheating at golf than helping ANYONE in the country. Improve. Anything. There is no progress with him, only smoke and mirrors and tax breaks for the ultra wealthy.”
What did the White House say to a White House correspondent?
We can’t talk about unhinged responses without mentioning White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
With a fair share of responses to choose from, it was when a reporter quizzed her on the importance of a particular detail regarding Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin.
In October last year, as peace talks regarding Ukraine and Russia ensued, a spat unfolded when HuffPost’s White House correspondent, S.V. Dáte, pressed Leavitt on whether the Trump administration knew that the last deal struck between the Russians and Ukraine in Budapest was violated by Putin.
His text message, which Leavitt leaked on Twitter, read: « Is the president aware of the significance of Budapest? In 1994, Russia promised, in Budapest, not to invade Ukraine if it gave up the nuclear weapons it inherited when the Soviet Union dissolved.
« Does he not see why Ukraine might object to that site? Who suggested Budapest? Thanks. »The press secretary responded with the wildest, most unexpected response you can imagine (and no, she didn’t leave the reporter on ‘read’ but maybe that would have been better). She simply said: “Your mom did.”
To which Leavitt responded: « It’s funny to me that you actually consider yourself a journal [sic]. You are a far left hack who nobody takes seriously, including your colleagues in the media, they just don’t tell you that to your face. Stop texting me your disingenuous, biased, and bulls*** questions. »
The president recently sparked health concerns following a speech he gave at the White House’s ‘Champion of Coal’ event on Wednesday (February 11).
During the event, Trump signed an executive order which directed the Department of War to purchase coal power, after which he was hailed as the ‘undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal’ and received a trophy.
James Grech, CEO of Peabody Energy, was the one to give the POTUS the award.
Trump addressed the audience at the event and praised coal workers in America. « I’m thrilled to welcome to the White House the men and women who light our cities. You know, you do things that people don’t even understand, » he said.
« You heat our homes, fuel our factories, and turn natural resources into American riches and dreams. Our amazing coal miners. »
But further on his address, the president appeared to start slurring his words, and it worried people online. Take a look:
One person said: « What is happening with him? I guess we’re gonna pretend we didn’t hear it and, sure, he’s perfectly healthy. »
« My grandpa [had] dementia, in the early stages he would talk exactly like this and then try to distract, » said another.
In light of people’s concerns, the White House has issued a bizarre and very fiery statement on the matter.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Daily Beast when it reached out for comment: « President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history.
« While the deranged and failing Daily Beast has their lightweight, glue-sniffing interns push baseless conspiracy theories — President Trump spent the day unleashing energy dominance, lowering costs, and putting the American people first. »Some have shared their thoughts on the statement issued to the publication.
« It’s insane to me that anyone would read this and think ‘yeah this country is in the best place it’s ever been, » somebody wrote on Reddit, adding that the statement was ‘wild’.
« Is this real???? Holy f**king sh*t, » questioned another.
This isn’t the first time that it’s been pointed out that Trump sometimes slurs his words.
Back in 2017, the president became the butt of many comedians’ jokes when giving a public speech about relocating the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and started talking gibberish, ABC News reported at the time.
A politician who was allowed to view the unredacted Epstein files has said that President Trump’s name appears more than 1 million times in the infamous documents that have been heavily censored by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
After the redactions, variations of Trump’s name appears at least 5000 times in the millions of files released by the DOJ on January 30, which have implicated major public figures including Howard Lutnick, Larry Summers and even Elon Musk, as associating with Epstein after his 2008 conviction.
The Democrats’ ranking House judiciary committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin viewed the uncensored documents earlier this week, causing him to echo concerns about ‘mysterious redactions’ of names relating to criminality.
Raskin also revealed that ‘Trump’s name… appears more than a million times. So it’s all over the place’ after he searched the unredacted files for variations of ‘Trump, Donald or Don’ a the DOJ’s Washington headquarters.While Raskin, speaking to Axios, questioned why the president appeared to be named so frequently, he added: « I obviously didn’t have the time to review each one, and I obviously cannot guarantee that every mention of a Donald is Donald Trump as opposed to some other Donald. »
The files were only released after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, which required the department to release all its files relating to the dead convicted pedophile – with only limited redactions to protect the identities of victims.
However, many of the names blacked-out by the DOJ are not those of victims, something Raskin was able to confirm after viewing the uncensored files on Monday.
He said: « I was able to determine, at least I believe, that there were tons of completely unnecessary redactions, in addition to the failure to redact the names of victims, and so that was troubling to us.”
Raskin added: « I saw the names of lots of people, who were redacted for mysterious or baffling or inscrutable reasons. » Those included former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, who helped kickstart Epstein’s wealth and whose association with him has long been public.“You read through these files, and you read about 15-year-old girls, 14-year-old girls, 10-year-old girls,” Raskin told the Daily Mail. “I saw a mention of a nine-year-old girl today. I mean, this is just preposterous and scandalous.”
The Maryland congressman was joined at the DOJ by Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie, who have led the charge in the house for full transparency over the files. After the viewing the files, they decided to reveal six names that had been redacted.
One was Wexner, another was Italian politician Nicola Caputo, and Dubai-based shipping magnate Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem was also named. The other three are unknown individuals – Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze and Leonic Leonov.
Being named in the files does not necessarily imply criminality.
Rep. Khanna said: « If we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files? »
After Raskin’s claims of a ‘cover-up’ at the DOJ, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche fired back, saying: « The document you cite has numerous victim names.
« We have just unredacted Les Wexner’s name from this document, but his name already appears in the files thousands of times. DOJ is hiding nothing. »
Donald Trump has doubled down he ‘wasn’t friendly’ with Jeffrey Epstein following Trevor Noah’s Grammys joke alongside the latest release of Epstein files.
Proving it’s not just the Golden Globes and Oscars which can get a bit risqué with the jokes, Trevor Noah took to the stage at the 2026 Grammy Awards and took a shot at none other than US President Donald Trump.
While the POTUS’ ear may’ve not ended up bloody this time, it did end up scorned, so much so, Trump has since threatened to sue the comedian over his comment.
Taking to the stage on February 1 to announce Song of the Year, Noah not only referenced Trump’s continuous demands to take over Greenland, but also his former relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Noah said: « Song of the Year — that is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton. »
Despite knowing Epstein, Clinton has denied any knowledge of the paedophile’s criminal activities and Trump has felt the need to speak out clarifying the extent of his relationship with Epstein yet again too.
Wasting little time after Noah’s joke, Trump took to Truth Social to slam the Grammy Awards as ‘the WORST’ and ‘virtually unwatchable’,’ condemning Noah as ‘almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards’.
The POTUS stressed Noah said ‘INCORRECTLY’ that he and Clinton ‘spent time on Epstein island’ but that the comedian is ‘WRONG’.
Adding while he ‘can’t speak for Bill,’ Trump alleged he’s ‘never been to Epstein island, nor anywhere close’, slamming Noah’s joke as a ‘false and defamatory statement’ before threatening the ‘total loser’ with the prospect of ‘suing him for plenty$’ – adding in he’s ‘poor, pathetic’ and ‘talentless’ for good measure.
LADbible Group previously contacted Noah’s representatives for comment.
And in a post shared February 2, Trump added: « Not only wasn’t I friendly with Jeffrey Epstein but, based upon information that has just been released by the Department of Justice, Epstein and a SLEAZEBAG lying ‘author’ named Michael Wolff, conspired in order to damage me and/or my Presidency. »The post continued: « So much for the Radical Left’s hope against hope, some of whom I’ll be suing. Additionally, unlike so many people that like to ‘talk’ trash, I never went to the infested Epstein island but, almost all of these Crooked Democrats, and their Donors, did. »
Michael Wolff is a journalist who has written multiple books about Trump’s presidency, with his 2018 release sparking backlash from the White House.
On an episode of his podcast, Wolff also claimed he ‘probably [has] 100 hours of Epstein talking about the inner workings of the Trump White House and about his long-standing, deep relationship with Donald Trump’.
Trump’s outburst follows another release of the infamous Epstein files by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
Millions of pages, images and videos were publicly released, including emails between Epstein and high-profile figures. It’s important to note that being named or photographed in the files does not indicate any wrongdoing.
Several unverified tips sent to the FBI in August 2025 are reported as revealing some serious allegations against the POTUS.One complaint alleges a ‘redacted’ name ‘reported an unidentified female friend’ being ‘forced to perform oral sex on President Trump 35 years ago in New [Jersey]’ – the friend ‘approximately 13-14 years old’ at the time of the alleged incident.
The DOJ and the White House said in a statement that a few of documents ‘contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election’.
The statement added: « To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already. »
