Political consultant David Axelrod said President Donald Trump first floated a White House ballroom plan during the Obama administration.
The anecdote has resurfaced as Trump's current, privately funded East Wing ballroom project enters key federal design reviews and faces a court fight over whether required oversight was bypassed.
In the account Axelrod gave The New York Times, as quoted in The Hill, Trump contacted him after cleanup began following the 2010 BP oil spill and offered to fund a state-dinner venue because presidents were hosting major events in temporary tents.
Trump complained, "You have these state dinners, and you have them in these [expletive] little tents out in the backyard.
"Let me build a modular ballroom that you can assemble when you have state dinners, so it'll look good."
Axelrod said he told Trump he would pass the idea along.
"I said: "Well, that's really nice of you. I'm going to pass this on to the social secretary, and I'll have her call you," adding, "I did. She didn't."
The concept is no longer hypothetical.
As of Feb. 17, the Trump administration's East Wing modernization plan calls for a roughly $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom addition on the site where the East Wing was demolished in October 2025, with the National Capital Planning Commission scheduled to consider the project on Mar. 5.
Supporters within the administration argue that the project solves practical problems, not just aesthetic ones.
In a Feb. 5 memo submitted to NCPC, White House Office of Administration director Joshua Fisher said the government's evaluation after demolition was that the east facade was "excellently preserved," and he cited structural deterioration, water intrusion, mold contamination, life-safety issues, and incomplete accessibility compliance as reasons the East Wing required a full rebuild.
The administration has also argued that moving large functions indoors could reduce event-related security closures around the complex, according to Fisher's memo.
Opponents say the project's scale and process threaten a historic site and sidestep public review.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in federal court in Washington in December 2025, seeking to halt further work until the government completes what it calls legally required reviews and approvals, including public participation.
Axelrod condemned the current project as "a gaudy monument to vanity, corruption, and excess" and wrote that the partially demolished East Wing was "a metaphor for broader, reckless destruction."
Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and historic preservation groups have raised similar concerns.
In January, Trump described the ballroom as a gift and argued that it was too late to reverse course, citing the materials already ordered and work already underway.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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