Topline
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the authors of a New York Times architectural analysis of President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom that published Sunday, lambasting the writers and lauding the president as a builder of “world-class buildings” but not addressing the criticisms of the structure.
Karoline Leavitt called out the critics as people who “never built anything.”
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Key Facts
In a post on X, Leavitt lashed out at the authors of the Times story, which included one trained architect, as people who “never built anything”—comparing them negatively to Trump and the lead architect designing the ballroom, Shalom Baranes.
The Times piece pointed out numerous portions of the facade’s most striking features appear strictly for aesthetics based on released materials, such as the grand staircase on the building’s south portico leads that to a row of columns obstructing the windows, and not to a door or entranceway, noting “its stairs lead nowhere.”
The Times analysis also compared the fast-paced approval process from the Commission of Fine Arts for the controversial ballroom project to other recent changes to the White House grounds, noting that a change to the building’s fences took nine months of public meetings during Trump’s first term to make a much less visible adjustment to the grounds.
Leavitt said the president was “ensuring the People’s House finally has a beautiful ballroom that’s been needed for decades — at no expense to the taxpayer,” reiterating Trump’s promise to privately fund the estimated $400 million expansion.
The White House previously told the Times the president was the “best builder and developer in the entire world.”
Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha defended the reporting in a statement to Forbes, saying the article was based on interviews with “architects, current and former government officials, and historical preservationists,” as well as publicly available building plans and statements from the Trump administration, and the newspaper was “confident” in its accuracy.
Key Background
Trump announced plans to demolish the White House’s East Wing in July to make room for a ballroom that is bigger than the existing White House and will dramatically transform the complex’s structure. He quickly moved forward with the demolition in October, removing the wing that previously housed office space for the first lady and a movie theater, though the project is still facing a legal challenge from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Commission of Fine Arts, which is staffed with Trump allies, unanimously approved the project in a February vote. It still faces an approval vote from the National Capital Planning Commission on Thursday, although the board is also expected to approve the president’s plan.
Big Number
$400 million. That’s the most recent estimate for the ballroom’s cost, though that figure has been growing since the project was first announced—doubling from the original estimate of $200 million.
Further Reading
ForbesMost Americans Are Upset Trump Bulldozed The East Wing, Poll SaysBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs
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Zachary Folk