More than $350 million has been raised so far to fund construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
President Donald Trump dismissed reports on Oct. 24 suggesting that he was planning to name the upcoming $300 million White House ballroom after himself.
“I don’t have any plans to call it after myself. That was fake news,” the president told reporters outside the White House before departing on his trip to Asia.
Trump suggested the ballroom could be named the “presidential ballroom or something like that,” though he noted that the White House has not decided on a name yet.
According to the president, more than $350 million has been raised so far to fund construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, up from the initial $200 million estimate when the project was announced in July.
Trump signaled that the extra funds could go towards building an arch in Washington.
“Looks like we might, you know, we’re going to be building the arch. We’ve raised a lot of money for the ballroom,” he told reporters.
“The arch is going to be incredible for Washington D.C.”
Trump announced early this week that construction is underway on the new ballroom, beginning with the demolition of the White House’s East Wing.
Built in 1902 and expanded with a second story in 1942, the East Wing houses the office of the First Lady.
In a Truth Social post on Oct. 20, Trump said the East Wing will be “fully modernized” as part of the construction process, and that the ballroom will stand apart from the main building of the White House.
“For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway—with zero cost to the American Taxpayer,” he stated.
Trump said at a dinner event last week that the ballroom would be able to accommodate up to 999 people.
Currently, only about 200 people can be seated in the East Room, where many social events at the White House are held.
