{"id":895741,"date":"2026-03-31T07:11:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/31\/white-house-blasts-new-york-times-criticism-of-ballroom-plans\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T07:11:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:11:50","slug":"white-house-blasts-new-york-times-criticism-of-ballroom-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/31\/white-house-blasts-new-york-times-criticism-of-ballroom-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"White House Blasts New York Times Criticism of Ballroom Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Topline<\/h2>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the authors of a New York Times<\/a> architectural analysis of President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed White House ballroom that published Sunday, lambasting the writers and lauding the president as a builder of \u201cworld-class buildings\u201d but not addressing the criticisms of the structure.<\/p>\n

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Karoline Leavitt called out the critics as people who \u201cnever built anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Key Facts<\/h2>\n
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In a post on X<\/a>, Leavitt lashed out at the authors of the Times story, which included one trained architect<\/a>, as people who \u201cnever built anything\u201d\u2014comparing them negatively to Trump and the lead architect designing the ballroom, Shalom Baranes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Times piece pointed out numerous portions of the facade\u2019s most striking features appear strictly for aesthetics based on released materials, such as the grand staircase on the building\u2019s south portico leads that to a row of columns obstructing the windows, and not to a door or entranceway, noting \u201cits stairs lead nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Times analysis also compared the fast-paced approval process<\/a> 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\u2019s fences took nine months of public meetings during Trump\u2019s first term to make a much less visible adjustment to the grounds.<\/p>\n

Leavitt said the president was \u201censuring the People\u2019s House finally has a beautiful ballroom that\u2019s been needed for decades \u2014 at no expense to the taxpayer,\u201d reiterating Trump\u2019s promise to privately fund the estimated $400 million expansion.<\/p>\n

The White House previously told the Times the president was the \u201cbest builder and developer in the entire world.\u201d <\/p>\n

Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha defended the reporting in a statement to Forbes, saying the article was based on interviews with \u201carchitects, current and former government officials, and historical preservationists,\u201d as well as publicly available building plans and statements from the Trump administration, and the newspaper was \u201cconfident\u201d in its accuracy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Key Background<\/h2>\n

Trump announced plans to demolish the White House\u2019s East Wing in July to make room for a ballroom that is bigger than the existing White House and will dramatically transform the complex\u2019s structure. He quickly moved forward with the demolition in October, removing the wing<\/a> 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\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n

Big Number<\/h2>\n

$400 million. That\u2019s the most recent estimate for the ballroom\u2019s cost, though that figure has been growing since the project was first announced\u2014doubling from the original estimate<\/a> of $200 million.<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n

Forbes<\/span>Trump\u2019s White House Ballroom Receives Fast-Tracked Approval From Arts Panel<\/span>By Antonio Peque\u00f1o IV<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Forbes<\/span>Most Americans Are Upset Trump Bulldozed The East Wing, Poll Says<\/span>By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Forbes<\/span>Trump\u2019s $200 Million Ballroom Addition Is Larger Than The Existing White House: What We Know (With Photos)<\/span>By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Zachary Folk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Topline White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the authors of a New York Times architectural analysis of President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed White House ballroom that published Sunday, lambasting the writers and lauding the president as a builder of \u201cworld-class buildings\u201d but not addressing the criticisms of the structure. Karoline Leavitt called out the critics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":895742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-895741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-house","8":"category-white"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}