Saturday, President Trump gave his daughter-in-law, Fox News personality Lara Trump, a walk around the White House and described some of the features of the East Wing remodeling that's underway; this includes the new White House ballroom.
First, the president describes the East Wing's planned new structure, including a glass tunnel.
.@POTUS shows @LaraLeaTrump where the glass tunnel to the future East Wing will stand upon completion:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 31, 2026
"It's a gift from me and from great patriots... it's the most secure facility ever built, and obviously with the way the world is now, that's very important." pic.twitter.com/nxVqrTWPCy
Here's that conversation:
President Trump: This will be the entrance into the ballroom. The ballroom will be right here. This is a glass, beautiful glass tunnel. Beautiful tunnel that goes right into the ballroom, ballroom's right there. Pretty good, right?
Lara Trump: You’ve had so much fun, I feel like, designing this.
President Trump: Well, I did. It’s going to be one of the greatest... I would say it will be the greatest facility of its kind ever built by far. There’ll never be anything like it. And we’re ahead of schedule. We’re right on budget.
Lara Trump: That’s par for the course.
President Trump: And it’s a gift from me and from great patriots… You know, It’s going to cost the country nothing.
Lara Trump: But you still had Democrats and people try to stop you with legal challenges. It's crazy.
President Trump: Well, they want us out only because it’s me. If anybody else were doing this, you know, they want to stop it… But the ballroom is a gift for America. For me and from Apple, and from lots of great people and companies… 400 million dollars. It was going to be 2; we doubled it up, because they needed more space. The military's involved. The Secret Service is involved. It's very secure. The most secure facility ever built. And obviously with the way the world is now, that’s very important. When you have President Xi… you’ve got King and Queen of England; we had the King and Queen in this room, but we could hold 107 people. And we would have had 2,000 people. We've got to have one that, nobody will have one like that. But you come in, and you have the entire White House main floor, cocktails, everything. And then they go in the door, and they go into the dinner.
It's an ambitious project, and President Trump is likely correct about the various lawsuits; if Barack Obama or Joe Biden had undertaken this same project, it would have been hailed by the legacy media and Democrats as a heroic effort and a vital national security measure.
The glass tunnel is an interesting touch. Obviously this won't be glass, but some impact-resistant polymer, but that won't spoil the view any.
Read More: Hot Takes: Hillary Clinton Decimated by Backlash After Attacking Trump White House Construction
Between the WH Ballroom and Major Events Like the FIFA World Cup, Counter-Drone Tech Is a Big Deal
Next, the tour went outside.
"The funny thing is... other presidents will have it for 200 years. I'll have it for about 6 months."@POTUS walks @LaraLeaTrump around the construction site of the East Wing modernization project. pic.twitter.com/fQKHhfPrmJ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 31, 2026
Here's what was said:
Lara Trump: What is our projected end date here?
President Trump: Well, we'll have this. I'll have this... Actually, the funny thing is, from the standpoint of usage, other presidents will have it for 200 years. I'll have it for about six months. In other words, when it's finished, I'll only have it for... the use of it for six months. It's a great facility, and we're gonna have the inauguration here.
Lara Trump: Oh wow.
President Trump: We'll have the inauguration here. It holds... I had mine in the Capitol. Uh, in the Capitol I had 902 people, and it was still beautiful, but it was 902 people, and it's not safe like this. This would be totally fair. I'm going to look over here anyway; they'll want to see what's happening. (Speaking to workers) Pretty good fellas, huh?
Lara Trump: Well, the best part is this is what you used to do as a developer,
President Trump: It is what I do.
Lara Trump: You loved going out there.
President Trump: I did this better than anybody. Your man is very good, I have to say. Eric Trump is a really good builder. He has the gene. He has a gene that I have. I have my gene. And Eric really has it. He's done a great job. Fantastic build. He looked at this, understood it immediately. Look at the amount of rebar in there. That is not a normal situation, is what I'm saying. This is not what you do for a normal floor. Look at that, it's all, it's all rebar.
Lara Trump: How often are you coming out here to check the progress?
President Trump: A lot. But I can also check it right from the windows. This is all military.
Lara Trump: We're on what will be kind of the ground floor of the ballroom, here.
President Trump: This will be the kitchen floor.
Lara Trump: The kitchen, and then the floor above. There will be one above that.
President Trump: And then you have the drone ports, and then you have the sniper ports, you have everything above.
President Trump has indicated in the past that the military was involved in the design and construction, as well as the Secret Service, and that the lower levels of the new addition will be devoted to national security concerns. But drone ports and sniper ports? The massive extra layers of rebar? This looks to be a structure that is not only spacious and beautiful, but capable of holding off an attack by a pretty good-sized force.
Another interesting observation from all this is how at home the president seems in discussing all this. He's been in politics long enough now that we, on occasion, have to be reminded that for most of his adult life he was a builder, and a pretty successful one. He seems in his element in this interview, reminding us that he came up as a real estate guy from Queens.
Construction continues. Stay tuned!
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member