President Trump responded on Monday to Michelle Obama's criticism of his renovations of the East Wing of the White House, in preparation for the new privately funded ballroom.
Last week, the former first lady told Vanity Fair, “When we talk about the East Wing, it is the heart of the work. And to denigrate it, to tear it down, to pretend like it doesn’t matter—it’s a reflection of how you think of that role."
“Whether the West Wing understood it or not, I used to tell them: All the stuff we do on the East Wing, from the clothes I wear to [family dogs] Bo and Sunny to Malia and Sasha and grandma, those were five extra approval points that he got, because we provided a balance," she continued.
President Trump blasted her comments, arguing that with the ballroom, they will be able to hold large events in the WHite House, rather than setting up a tent on the lawn.
"The East Wing is being spent by private donors. It's a $250, $300 million building. It's going to be the most beautiful anywhere in the world," President Trump told Laura Ingram. "They had an event [at the White House] the other day. With tables, they could hold 79 people. Now, if you have President Xi from China, or if you have some big state event, we have no place to have it. You know what they did? …They will put a tent on the lawn. It was a low section because that's the only section you have… If it rained, you were sitting in six inches of water. It was a disaster."
Laura Ingraham asks President Trump about the White House Ballroom and what First Lady Melania thinks after criticism from Michelle Obama pic.twitter.com/dlUZzjPPas
— FLOTUS Report (@MELANIAJTRUMP) November 11, 2025
As the president argued, many view the construction of the White House Ballroom as a long-overdue project. In any case, it’s certainly more useful than President Obama's project, which turned the White House's tennis court into a fully functional basketball court. Yet Democrats seem determined to dogpile on whatever President Trump undertakes, not based on the merits of his projects, but simply because he’s the one behind them.
