MS Now host, Symone D. Sanders, blasted Donald Trump for focusing on ballroom projects amid the ongoing war. At a panel discussion, Sanders, who previously served as the Senior Advisor and Chief Spokesperson to Kamala Harris, discussed current issues and Trump’s focus on other priorities.
The discussion centered around Trump’s repeated comments about the ballroom construction. Recently, Trump even showed a picture of the design renderings aboard Air Force One.
Trump on Ballroom: I thought I’d do this now because it’s easier. I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this—fighting wars and other things. This is very important. pic.twitter.com/XL2QZPHkfv
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 30, 2026
As reported by NBC News, Trump said, “I thought I’d do this now because it’s easier. I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this, but I’m fighting wars and other things.”
He added, “But this is very important, because this is going to be with us for a long time, and it’s going to be, I think it’ll be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”
Highlighting this, Sanders commented on MS Now, “I just wanna note the American people are struggling. There are folks in this country who.. their parents… who have gone to bed tonight hungry because they only had enough money to put food on the table to feed their children.”
She added, “There are folks who are literally pricing out how many times they can drive to work this week because gas is too high. And the president is bragging about gold and marble and ballrooms.”
The panel also discussed the legal question surrounding the construction of the ballroom, citing a report from The Washington Post. According to that report, a judge appointed by former President George W. Bush had been skeptical of the Trump administration’s claim that it had the authority to do the construction.
The judge also criticized Trump’s reliance on donations from private firms to fund the alleged $400 million ballroom.
Previously, CNN had reported that Trump was renovating an underground facility along with plans for a ballroom to host events.
The original structure of the East Wing was built during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency as a bomb shelter. As the project would be involved in secret enhancements, usual approvals were skipped according to Joshua Fisher, White House director of management and administration.
Trump: This ballroom is gonna be something that’s so beautiful for the city, so desperately needed by presidents. It was supposed to be secret but it became unsecret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things but doesn’t matter doesn’t matter. It’s gonna be… pic.twitter.com/1aONvQVpmr
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) March 26, 2026
He said during a meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, “There are some things regarding this project that are, frankly, of top-secret nature that we are currently working on. That does not preclude us from changing the above-grade structure, but that work needed to be considered when doing this project, which was not part of the NCPC process.”
Trump had defended this project at a cabinet meeting earlier, stating, “I get sued over a ballroom that’s the most beautiful ballroom in the country. You won’t have tents sitting on the wet White House lawn — if it rains, you get wiped out — to honor the president of China or the president of France,” as reported by People.
