Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitious $300 million renovation of the White House has ignited widespread backlash across social media.
The controversy began months ago—back on July 31 when Trump’s team first unveiled the nine-figure “restoration” plan. The project promised to modernize and expand the White House, but the announcement drew criticism almost immediately, especially over Trump’s reported choice to decorate several parts of the residence with gold accents. Many online have since slammed the decision as “tacky.”
According to the initial statement, roughly $200 million (£150 million) of the total would go toward building an entirely new grand ballroom.
The outrage quickly split into two camps: some critics suspected that Trump’s extravagant renovations were part of a larger plan to extend his time in the Oval Office beyond two terms, while others were simply appalled by the sheer amount of money involved particularly given that the U.S. government entered a shutdown on October 1.
Tensions only intensified when Trump later disclosed that the total cost had risen to $300 million – an increase of $100 million over the original estimate.
In response, the White House released a “fact sheet” addressing what it described as baseless criticism from “unhinged leftists” and the “Fake News” media.
“In the latest instance of manufactured outrage, unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom to the White House – a bold, necessary improvement that continues the tradition of presidential updates to preserve the executive residence as a beacon of American excellence,” the statement read.
The release also listed historical examples of past presidents who had made their own updates to the White House, claiming that Trump was merely “carrying forward that legacy.”
However, historian Ed Lengel of the White House Historical Association argued that Trump’s renovation was unprecedented.
“There’s never been anything like that before,” Lengel told The Hill. “Nothing even close to that scale has ever been done.”
By comparison, previous presidents’ renovations were far more modest. In 2009, Barack Obama turned the existing White House tennis court into a multi-use basketball court by simply repainting the lines and adding hoops – a small project that reportedly cost very little.
During the same period, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the White House Kitchen Garden, a 2,800-square-foot plot designed to promote healthy eating and lifestyle habits among children. According to Business Insider, the garden yields roughly 2,000 pounds of produce annually for the White House kitchen.
Traditionally, each incoming president is given a $100,000 allowance to refurbish the private residence and Oval Office.
But when the Obamas moved in, they declined to use taxpayer money or accept donations, opting instead to pay for their redecorating out of pocket – a decision that kept their budget confidential, New York Magazine reported.
According to PEOPLE and a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget, Trump’s new ballroom will be funded privately through his own finances and contributions from other private donors. As such, it’s reportedly not affected by the ongoing federal budget standoff that led to the shutdown.
