President Donald Trump said White House renovation work helps him relax, Anadolu Agency reported, as he defended repairs and the East Wing ballroom project at a rally Monday in Corinth, Mississippi.
Trump said the residence was in poor condition when he took office. He described its exterior plaster as falling off and said ornamentation around several windows had come off completely or partly. He said workers used a mold made from an intact detail to reproduce missing pieces.
The White House dates the start of ballroom work to September 2025. Its project page puts the planned space at roughly 90,000 square feet, with capacity for 650 people; Trump and other donors are funding it. Trump said he wanted to build the ballroom during his first term but lacked time, describing himself as “under siege by the radical lunatics.”
The Associated Press reported that former President Barack Obama made a joke about the renovations at a Cleveland rally Saturday, Oct. 24, saying the White House looked as if “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” Trump replied that Obama disliked successful companies. EconoTimes previously covered Trump’s response to an earlier renovation-related jibe.
Trump described the White House as a symbol of the country and said it should be properly maintained.
