President Donald Trump had promised everyone an epic reveal of his brand-new $200 million White House ballroom. However, the hype seemed disappointing when guests got a peek at a dusty construction site.
Trump hosted a private dinner party in the East Room of the White House this Wednesday. The 79-year-old president gathered one of the biggest names in the business world and thanked them for funding the lavish project. As per The Wall Street Journal, the attendee list included old billionaire Harold Hamm, Steve Schwarzman, the Blackstone CEO, and crypto twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
Other big shots, like representatives of Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Amazon, and defense giant Lockheed Martin, were also in attendance.
As per the dinner invitations sent out, the celebration was described as “Establish the Magnificent White House Ballroom.” Trump had been hyping the project as a big architectural moment. He hyped up the designs and the innumerable renovations. He mocked the audience by saying, “Should I show you? I guess maybe so they can see, right?” Trump then had a person open the curtains behind him.
The entire crowd waited patiently, expecting a magnificent ballroom, but what they witnessed was very different. The ballroom was just a half-lit construction site covered in dust, floodlights, and scaffolding. “We don’t really want you to walk on there, but you can take a look if you want,” Trump added, downplaying the anticlimax.
Exclusive: More than three dozen organizations and individuals are expected to attend a dinner with President Trump after opening their checkbooks to support a $250 million White House ballroom.
See the list of expected attendees: https://t.co/mZ7FRrCO5J pic.twitter.com/mYSmMOZIgm
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 16, 2025
Trump then swiftly pointed at a miniature model of his talked about ballroom design. He said the excavation had already started. “I’m very good at building things on time and on budget,” he explained to the crowd confidently, but did not state a proper timeline for construction. The White House previously said the project would be finished “long before the end of President Trump’s term.” After an underwhelming reveal, he ordered to close the curtains.
While addressing the gathering, Trump lost track of his script several times, complaining again about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. However, he composed himself and shifted back to appreciating his guests and their wallets. “That’s why we’re here to celebrate you,” he said, “because you’ve given tremendous amounts of money to see a ballroom built for the first time at the White House. For over 150 years, they’ve wanted a ballroom, and it never happened — because they never had a real estate person.”
He also boasted about how generous his donors are and joked. He said, “A couple of you were saying, ‘Uh, sir, would $25 million be appropriate?’ I said, ‘I’ll take it.’ It doesn’t take too many 25s to get it done.”
Trump claimed that the ballroom would be spacious enough to “literally hold an inauguration if we want.” He also stated that it would be covered by bulletproof glass on four sides with seating for 999 people. Some social media users pointed out that the last time Trump had claimed the ballroom had a capacity of 650 people, which has now increased.
