(Washington) Donald Trump, continuing to reshape the White House to his liking, will add a large ballroom for official receptions, announced its spokesperson on Thursday.
She said that the president himself and private donors, whose identity has not been revealed, would finance this project at 200 million dollars.
“For 150 years, the presidents, governments and staff of the White House have been waiting for a large reception hall at the White House,” said Karoline Leavitt.
The new building must have a capacity of 650 people, and the work must start in September so as to end “long before” the end of Donald Trump’s second term on January 20, 2029, said the spokesperson.
The objective is to welcome in particular the great dinners given in honor of foreign heads of state, so far organized in a vast pavilion temporarily planted in the gardens.
The ballroom will, according to models made public by the White House, a white building flanked by columns and a frontispiece recalling the entrance to the main building.
It must be built on the site of the current eastern wing, or East Wing, where the first lady’s offices are traditionally located.
Donald Trump has long mentioned his desire to build a ballroom, saying that he wanted to draw inspiration from his private properties, in particular his sumptuous Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida.
The latter serves him more or less a model to shape the White House in his image.
The republican billionaire, inspired by Mar-A-Lago patios, for example dalsed the lawn of the famous White House Roseraie.
Donald Trump, who never stops in front of ostentation, also instructed the oval office with golden ornaments and installed two huge American flags on the lawns of the White House.
