President Donald Trump began his Sunday by using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to demand that opposition to his planned ballroom “immediately” be dropped.
The 79-year-old president took to Truth Social to rage against the lawsuit holding up his East Wing eyesore, claiming the “ridiculous” legal challenge was brought by a “woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit.”
He then demanded that the suit, which was actually brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, be dropped. A federal judge ruled last month that the $400 million ballroom project can’t continue without congressional approval, though he said actions necessary for the “safety and security” of the White House were an exception—leading Trump and his allies to begin framing the construction as a matter of national security.
“Nothing should be allowed to interfere with with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!!” Trump wrote Sunday.
“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he wrote. “It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”
Speaking directly after the incident last night, Trump also pushed for the “top secret” project to go ahead unimpeded.
He claimed on Sunday morning that the ballroom has been sought after for 150 years.
“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.”
A few days earlier, he argued that the ballroom was vital to better entertain visiting dignitaries and leaders. Discussing King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s imminent visit to Washington on Thursday, Trump declared “if I had that ballroom built it would be full.”
“You know we have a little, a room that’s not big enough to handle what would be a big crowd.”
The British royals are still scheduled to arrive in Washington on Monday, despite the changing security situation.
