September 25, 2026
"As a special treat in honor of President Xi and Madame Peng, I’d like to invite everyone in the room to visit through that beautiful curtain in the back door."
"It’s all lit up and looks beautiful. It's one year away from completion, the new ballroom that you've heard about, and you will see something that you will really love. Presidents have been trying to get this built for 150 years that I can tell you that, tonight, if we had it, we would have had way more than a thousand people, standing room only, and this room has about 145. That's about it. So they've been looking for this for over 150 years. All Presidents. And they will shortly have it. So, in honor of you, you’ll be the first people to step foot on that, and we’ll do that maybe after we’re finished with the entertainment tonight. Anybody who wants to walk into a construction site that’s nice and clean and sparkling, it’s our honor to have you do so, but this is in honor of President Xi, Madame Peng."
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46 comments:
Lemon into lemonade.
…a while back the Chinese delegation was insulted their state dinner was being held in a tent so an indoor event was cobbled together last minute, chopping the guest list to a small fraction…
Trump is completely - and objectively - right about the desperate need for a ballroom. To combine that need with a national security purpose is pure genius.
Obama probably wishes everyday that he would have done it.
Opposition to the ballroom is just another example of TDS. If any other President had built one, he’d be praised to the moon.
I also submit that Trump is our funniest President. The first time I saw him in person, I was surprised how funny he was.
…China doesn’t need a lesson in the absurdity of the TDS opposition to the ballroom…
They probably create at least half of it
So where are the pictures showing us what it looks like?
There's almost nothing to see. A bare concrete floor and a bit of concrete wall.
No one lays on the charm better than our great president.
Correction: construction work is further ahead than I thought. Here is a picture from yesterday:
https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/upi/4292a3a565e59502a371438527de135c/New-Ballroom-Construction-at-the-White-House-in-Washington/
It was fascinating to parse through the guestlist. High high power. All tech and finance. No Hollywood or entertainment.
Question: if the new ballroom fits a thousand, how do you make it still look like a special, elite, full-house event, but still control all of the B-listers and wanna-be's ?
…there’s a questionable assumption that currently only A-listers make the cut due to lack of space but Zuckerberg still ends up at these things…
Thanks for the link Gerda. Mighty interesting how “news” entities fail at the basics, who what where when with a photo that captures the moment.
Perhaps the media guild that joined arms and flounced off on Monday vowing to “boycott” Trump, but which was back to televising him live the next day, is purposely withholding photos of the ballroom out of old fashioned spite.
The internet : "Trump inviting Xi Jinping to tour the White House ballroom construction site is peak Umarell energy."
Trump's granddaughter speaks perfect Mandarin, he showed us years ago...
All the corporate Americans who want soft landings for their kids understand. China is the future. Sell out to get in.
…the term is intended as an insult to the men but the pathetic energy is the manifestation of the glee of people who believe they’ve invented a word…
What’s the German word for that?
Meanwhile in China (hat tip Lawrence Person).
"If any other President had built one, he’d be praised to the moon."
If any other president had done it, it would have cost the taxpayers billions already and it would still be in the planning stage.
The media sometimes seems to purposefully forget that Trump spent his life developing projects. It's what he does. Better him being the catalyst for getting this done than some career politician who has no vision for anything. You may not like Trump's vision, but at least he has one.
Anyway, decades of future Presidents, Secretaries of State, CongressCreatures and other dignitaries will be delighted they have this space. They just can't admit it as long as Trump is around.
As for Trump's delivery on all things: We'll miss him when he's gone and we go back to the usual politico-speak. It'll seem so boring.
Dave Begley said...
Trump is completely - and objectively - right about the desperate need for a ballroom. To combine that need with a national security purpose is pure genius.
Obama probably wishes everyday that he would have done it.
Opposition to the ballroom is just another example of TDS. If any other President had built one, he’d be praised to the moon.
9/25/26, 6:15 AM
————————————
I do recognize the need for the ballroom. I have two problems with Trump’s vision:
1. It is too tall. It matches the height of the White House itself. They need to take at least 10 feet off the top. The White House should be the star and any adjacent buildings should be in supporting roles.
2. Trump’s aesthetic is vulgar. This thing looks like it would fit in on the Vegas strip. Federal buildings should be more republican.
What Mary Beth wrote in her comment.
"Question: if the new ballroom fits a thousand, how do you make it still look like a special, elite, full-house event, but still control all of the B-listers and wanna-be's ?"
That's what donor lists are for.
It truly is impossible to believe that he has convinced his base that a billion-dollar, taxpayer funded ballroom is needed but USAID or science/medical research grants is "wasteful spending".
Sorry, Dunham. The Days of the Fleecing of American taxpayers for USAID, NGOs, etc. are over. At least until the next Democrat Continuing criminal enterprise, masquerading as an administration, slithers its way into power.
There is no historical record showing that “all Presidents” for 150 years wanted a WH ballroom. Trump is turning a longstanding space limitation into a much broader historical claim that the record does not support.
What else to expect? Pomp and ceremony but no substance. What really struck me was the gilded kitsch all over the WH. I thought it was only in the Oval Office. It must be fun for Xi to see how his biggest borrower shows how it spends the borrowed money on him and American billionaires, and making China Great again in the process.
Xi and Putin are best friends and have met over 40 times so all this pomp is a good laugh for them. I find it difficult to believe that there is any overall strategy to the foreign policy of this administration, or even an assessment of the long-term interests of the U.S. Instead their actions seem to be tactical initiatives in a stream of the consciousness of an anti-intellectual in his declining years.
Trump is an eternal optimist, as America's culture has traditionally been.
Dave - the law could not be more explicit that the ballroom needed Congressional approval. But I guess lawyers like you don't care about such pesky details. The rule of law be dammed. You are the one in a cult where the leader can do no wrong.
Is the ballroom taxpayer funded? Last I heard it is not.
@jim5301, and what law is that? If you are not explicit I shall assume you are lying. As usual.
In case after all this time you didn't know - 40 USC 8106 -- A building or structure shall not be erected on any reservation, park, or public grounds of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia without express authority of Congress.”
nothing about who funded it.
@Dunham, USAID is defunded and the USA had not riots over the summer. That does look at all coincidental.
Under the ballroom is a national security project that was approved by Congress, but is classified. The ballroom is largely privately funded. The donors are the people in that room with Trump and Xi.
Begly said..."Obama probably wishes everyday that he would have done it."
Look at that frigging ballroom Trump is building.
Look at what he’s accomplished in the Middle East. If he can bring down the mullahs that's the last holdout, the finally obstacle to lasting peace. Who would have believed it?
Obama must be eating his heart out thinking he could have done so many things and did not. He didn’t believe. He was focused on the wrong things and didn’t even try. He basically surrendered to the mullahs and would surrender to Xi as well.
Hillary too.
The left wants to block any achievements or disparage and undermine and undo them.
The left will steal your human spirit if you let them.
Big Mike - what have I lied about? If you are not explicit I shall assume you are lying. As usual.
"It must be fun for Xi to see how his biggest borrower shows how it spends the borrowed money on him and American billionaires"
This information is inaccurate.
the vile corrupt democratic left will tear that building down.
Rage and hate fuel their every move.
The idea that Trump should NOT roll out the red carpet is typical of petty-minded-snippy people. The usual charge is that Trump is 'cozying up to dictators'. But what has he given away to China? What territory was yielded? Any advantage lost? Blowing money on a big show is what DC does best. We should show off in front of China when they are our guest..
Althouse wanted to see Xi laugh the other day, his viewing of the auto-pen photo was mirth inducing.
"Althouse wanted to see Xi laugh the other day, his viewing of the auto-pen photo was mirth inducing."
He dealt with Biden. He knows he was a turnip.
@Jim5301, you are a hardcore TDS sufferer, and TDS sufferers ignore, twist, or otherwise abuse truth and reality. If you are the rare TDS sufferer who does not, then I apologize. But you are running with a bad crowd.
I did look up 40 USC 8106 and you are right. I will have to research how Trump got around it.
It's pathetic you people care so so so much about this silly side boob attraction.
CLUELESS IN LA LA LEFTYLAND!
"One of the challenges we face globally is old men clinging to power."
—— Barack Obama”Big Zer0” Obama
Everyone considered him the Howard of the Houndry…
Dementia ridden grifter rolls out red carpet for US enemy. If the REAL TDS wasnt so rampant in these comments, that would be the accurate takeaway.
I wonder if Xi was impressed by the aroma of Donald Trump's diaper full of feces?
@Jim5301, Trump got around the statute on (1) national security grounds and (2) standing (lack thereof). People get around statutes all. The. Time.
Deal with it.
@Jim5301, looking at the comment at 12:59, do you see what I meant? You cannot run with people like that and expect automatic respect.
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