President Donald Trump hosted a grand dinner on Wednesday night for his private donors who backed the $200 million White House ballroom project. Almost three dozen organizations and individuals attended the event hosted in the East Room of the White House. The guest list included companies with matters pending before the federal government.
Firms that sent representatives to the party included Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Palantir. The Wall Street Journal has shared the reports of the party.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed nearly 130 deep-pocketed donors, allies and representatives of major companies for a dinner at the White House to reward them for their pledged contributions to a massive new ballroom. https://t.co/2Q26k4Sz0n
— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News) October 16, 2025
Trump, however, faced some technical difficulties during the start of the event, especially with the audio on several live streams. It seemed like his microphone was not linked properly to the broadcasts. This left viewers with little to understand and only relying on the ambient room sound. Soon, people on social media called for the dismissal of the person handling the audio.
“How embarrassing, they didn’t have his mic on. Second time today you guys haven’t connected the mic to the online feed. Trump should fire you,” one user posted on X. “You would think the audio team would be top notch,” another commented.
The president lauded dozens of executives and businesspeople for the “tremendous amounts of money” they have pledged for his project, which has prompted ethical concerns.https://t.co/Dv4yR93RP7 pic.twitter.com/d53Btu24YW
— Cornelius (@cornelius_cen) October 16, 2025
The president, during his speech at the gathering, showed initial renderings of what the White House ballroom would look like after completion. As per the initial projections, the project would not be finished till the conclusion of Trump’s term in office.
During his speech at the event, Trump mentioned the usual “cliche topics”, like his tariffs, which he stated were making the nation “very rich.” A Trump speech is incomplete without him boasting about himself. He self-praised himself for stopping eight wars, referring to a brief conflict between Pakistan and India this year. He also mentioned the latest ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. “I stopped 8 wars in 8 month” – “I saved hundreds of millions of lives. Did I get a Nobel Peace Prize? No,” Trump declared.
Trump’s obsession with renovating the White House building, and his latest installation can be a multimillion-dollar project. According to White House officials, the changes will proceed as planned, even during the ongoing government shutdown.
“There will not be a stoppage of ballroom work when the shutdown occurs,” a White House official confirmed.
The ballroom will be the first structural change to the Executive Mansion since the Truman Balcony was completed in 1948. In fact, it is also the most recent addition to what is known as “The People’s House” since Trump took office again in January.
Trump has already significantly altered the Oval Office, including adding presidential pictures, cherubs, and gilded accents. Additionally, he erected big flagpoles for the American flag on the north and south lawns.
Stone and patio tables similar at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, replete with outdoor speakers, were used in place of the Rose Garden lawn.
