President Donald Trump on Friday highlighted progress on the White House ballroom now under construction, saying the long-needed expansion will significantly increase capacity and allow the administration to host much larger events.
Speaking to reporters Friday night before boarding Air Force One, Trump said the lack of space limited attendance at meetings earlier in the day with oil industry executives.
"They love the ballroom. We need it," Trump said. "If we would have had the ballroom today, we could have had all the oil companies here."
"We don't have the space. They've needed it for a long time," he said.
Trump said the new ballroom will be unmatched once completed.
"This ballroom will be the best anywhere in the world," he said.
Earlier Friday, Trump made similar remarks during a meeting with oil company executives, noting that attendance had to be capped due to space constraints.
"We have many others we were not able to get in," Trump said. "I said if we had a ballroom, we'd have over 1,000 people."
After delivering his opening comments, Trump stood up to personally inspect the progress from the White House.
"I gotta look at this myself," Trump said, looking at the construction.
"Wow, what a view. Unusual time to look, but I figured we might as well.
"We're ahead of schedule on the ballroom and under budget," he added.
Trump has long argued the White House needs a larger, modern event space to accommodate major gatherings and visiting dignitaries, calling the ballroom a practical and overdue upgrade.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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