Trump Jr. defends father’s White House ballroom plan amid criticism

Donald Trump Jr. claims Democrats have “lost the plot” over his father’s plan to tear down part of the White House to make way for a new ballroom.

Democrats have accused President Donald Trump of destroying part of the White House’s history. The East Wing was built under President Franklin D. Roosevelt decades ago. But the Trump administration has argued the president is following in the footsteps of predecessors by making improvements to the property.

“They have nothing else to talk about anymore. They’ve lost the plot. They’ve stopped making any kind of sense,” Trump Jr. said Thursday on “Fox & Friends.”

Photos showing demolition work on part of the East Wing sparked an uproar online, prompting a response from the White House team.

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“Unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom,” they wrote in a statement, calling the project a “bold, necessary addition.”

White House officials also noted that several presidents made major changes during their terms, including President Theodore Roosevelt’s addition of the West Wing, President Barack Obama’s basketball court and President Bill Clinton’s restoration of the Executive Mansion.

Trump Jr. emphasized that his father’s years of experience in construction and real estate make him well-suited for such an undertaking.

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“The great irony of my father actually improving the White House, a construction guy, a guy that’s known for building luxury, is actually improving the White House with private funding, his own and other donors,” Trump Jr. said.

“It’s costing the taxpayer nothing. It’s making the White House more usable.”

He added that while the White House is a beautiful building, the Trump family has sometimes found it “small” and unable to accommodate larger state dinners or events.

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Critics have raised ethics concerns about the more than $200 million in private funds being used and the companies contributing to the project.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned what leverage contributors might have over Trump if they are donating to the renovation.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also criticized the move, writing on X Tuesday: “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”

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Trump Jr. called Clinton’s remarks “the greatest irony.”

“The Democrats freaking out about it is absolutely insane,” he said.

“Hillary Clinton, who, with her husband, literally had to return furniture and silverware that they stole from the White House. That was actually the property of the people,” said Trump Jr.

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The Clintons were criticized for taking thousands of dollars’ worth of furniture and gifts when they left the White House in 2001. They eventually returned the disputed items, claiming they believed they were personal gifts, rather than gifts for the White House itself.

Despite the controversy surrounding the project, Trump Jr. insists the renovations will benefit presidents for years to come.

“This is for the betterment of the property,” he said.

“It costs the American taxpayer nothing. And it’s [going to] add value not just to my father’s presidency, but to every president after him.”