Trump said his wife was annoyed by the construction of a ballroom in the White House

During a press conference with reporters on March 2, US President Donald Trump took a break from the topic of the Iranian conflict to tell the audience about the construction of a new ballroom in the White House.

According to him, the building should be magnificent, but the noise of the builders is very annoying to the First Lady— Melania Trump.

"When will these piling machines stop?!" Trump quoted his wife.

At the same time, the US president said that he had built more than one ballroom in his lifetime, and he likes the noise of construction because "that's how money sounds."

According to Trump, the construction of the main residence will last another year and a half. He hopes that he will manage not to exceed the amount of $400 million. As the president admitted, he had already saved money on the curtains.

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The Hill newspaper reported on August 2, 2025, that Trump's plan to create a ballroom in the White House with an area of 90,000 square feet (8.3 thousand square meters) and a cost of approximately $200 million was criticized in the United States. According to the publication, construction will begin in September 2025, and the deadline for its completion is scheduled for January 2029. The publication cites Trump's claims that "not a single government dollar will be spent on this project, which his predecessors have been trying to implement for the past 150 years."

The Washington Post reported on October 20, 2025, that construction crews had begun demolishing the east wing of the White House to build the Trump ballroom. According to the publication, the area of the ballroom will be 89 thousand square meters, it will accommodate up to 650 people. It is planned to spend about $250 million on the entire project.

On December 7, 2025, Trump called CNN journalist Caitlin Collins "stupid and vile" in response to her statement about the excessive cost of building a ballroom in the White House. Trump noted that the project was indeed changed and the building was made larger than originally planned.

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