Late Night host Seth Meyers ridiculed Donald Trump’s claim that his proposed White House ballroom is “top secret” even though the president talks about it “all the time.”
During Monday night’s episode, Meyers discussed the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in which an alleged assassination attempt against the president was foiled.
“The question is, what do we do about the rising tide of political violence in America? It’s unacceptable and has no place in a functioning democracy. Mr. President, can you give us any guidance, any leadership? What’s one thing we can do?” Meyers asked.
The host then wryly played multiple media reports, television interviews, and Truth Social posts of the president insisting that the incident at the Washington Hilton means construction of his $400 million ballroom project must resume.
Meyers singled out one particular plea from the president, which he posted on social media on Sunday: “What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote.
“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!” the president added.
“What do you mean? It’s top secret. You talk about it all the time. That’s the opposite of top secret,” Meyers shot back. “You’ve literally held up poster boards with designs for the ballroom you claim is top secret. This is militarily top secret in the same way a stealth bomber would be if it was pulling a banner that read, ‘invisible plane.’”
Meyers went on to joke that aliens must not be real, because if they were, “Trump would not only talk about it nonstop, he would have them in his Cabinet.”
Last month, a federal judge ordered that construction of the ballroom be halted unless it receives approval from Congress. The preliminary injunction came in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which demanded that the project be paused until it passes all necessary reviews and approvals, including those from lawmakers.
“In all the hubbub about whether we need a ballroom or don’t need a ballroom, let’s not forget that if he just followed the law, he might get the f---ing thing,” Meyers added. “The guy came from New York real estate, and he thought he could build a ballroom without the permits?”
