Donald Trump has made a bizarre brag about his ballroom.
The president, 80, has become obsessed with the White House redevelopment project since returning to office and knocking down the East Wing in 2025.
It has drawn widespread criticism, but that hasn’t stopped the real-estate mogul from promoting it every opportunity, even suggesting on Sunday that its eye-watering expense was a good thing.
“First interior renderings of the magnificent new Ballroom at the White House,” he said on Truth Social. “Massively expensive, but free of charge to the American Taxpayer—On budget, and ahead of schedule!”
The weird brag came complete with a trio of gold-heavy renderings, showing the huge space with floor-to-ceiling windows and giant chandeliers.
Trump is well known for his love of gold—he is even suspected of fitting the Oval Office out with several $58 Home Depot gold-colored appliqués—and the ballroom appears to be no exception.
It’s not the first time he’s shared drawings of the inside of the 90,000-square-foot project, but the latest offers a level of detail not seen before.
It also repeated his claims that America vitally needs the project, which he said is imperative for the safety of future presidents and state events.
A military facility with an emergency bunker is also being constructed underneath the ballroom.
“The very complex and expensive structure, being built for the United States Military, at the East Wing of the White House,” Trump said in a familiar brag in early August with a picture showing the project site.
“The Project is on cost, and substantially ahead of schedule. We are working very closely with the United States Secret Service, and Military, and this Military Complex is the best of the best! It will provide the highest level of Defense, Offense, and Safety for the people of Washington, D.C., and for, importantly, future Presidents.
“Also rising is the desperately needed Ballroom, something which former Presidents have wanted for 150 years, which sits directly under the elevated DronePort, and is paid for by Great American Patriots—No Taxpayer Money!”
The latest mock-up was posted on his Truth Social account just four minutes before a second image showing what appears to be the roof of the new ballroom, with several twin-copters on the roof and with armed guards. Fireworks in America-coded hues of red, white, and blue exploded in the background around the Washington Monument.
“DronePort,” the caption to the highly probable AI rendering reads.
It’s not the first time the president has fired off a social media post about a drone port.
“This great and very important military asset sits atop the heavily protected Ballroom at the White House. It provides National Security for Washington, D.C., and will protect future Presidents!!!” he said in a post in August.
He also previously shared an image of what he thinks the Drone Port may look like, although some versions have lacked the patriotic color scheme. The latest image is a reused image from a post he shared in late May.
In his caption at that time, he said, “The DronePort at the White House Ballroom will be, perhaps, the most sophisticated anywhere in the World! It will safeguard our Nation’s Capital, Washington, D.C., long into the future.”
The administration has admitted the development will cost $400 million, but insists that none of that will come from the taxpayer.
However, an internal cost estimate by contractor Clark Construction in March put that number at $600 million, the Washington Post reported.
A contractor project summary obtained by the newspaper and published in June reportedly shows that more than half of the cost would come from taxpayers.
In August, the administration told the Supreme Court that the project was “65 percent finished,” and that it had already spent “around $200 million,” a second Post report revealed.
Construction on the ballroom was blocked by a D.C. court in August. The case was kicked up to the Supreme Court, which has temporarily unfrozen construction as it chews over its ruling.
The White House has been approached for comment.
