Donald Trump posted a lengthy rant about why the new ballroom worth about $400 million should be constructed in the White House.
Trump Says $400 Million White House Ballroom Could Have Prevented WHCA Dinner Shooting
Hours after the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner on Saturday, April 25, President Donald Trump pushed for the $400 million White House ballroom. He added that the incident would never have happened at the new structure, which he alleges has the “highest level security feature.”
MAGA allies and even a Senate Democrat echoed the same desire, as attendees ducked under their tables for cover. At the same time, a gunman reportedly opened fire during the annual event organized at the Washington Hilton.
Since July 2025, when Trump first announced his plans to build a new ballroom at the White House, he has shown consistent enthusiasm for the project, delving into its progress during random, unrelated moments. For the unversed, the POTUS also ordered the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for the new structure.
However, earlier this month, a federal judge halted construction of the project.
Donald Trump Makes Fresh Calls for $400 Million White House Ballroom.
In the aftermath of the shooting incident at the WHCA dinner, Trump made fresh calls for the construction of the luxurious ballroom.
In the early hours of Sunday, April 26, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social and posted a long rant about why a new ballroom for White House events is important.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote.
Donald Trump makes the case for his $400 million White House ballroom in the aftermath of the WHCA dinner shooting.
Trump said that the new “Militarily Top Secret” ballroom would boast of security measures of the “highest level.” “This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House.”
“It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House,” he continued.
Support Pours In for Trump’s New Ballroom
Following Trump’s post, many Republicans voiced their opinions in support of Donald Trump. Among them was conservative Meghan McCain, former co-host of The View. “I don’t want to hear one more f***ing criticism of Trump’s new ballroom at the White House,” she wrote.
Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who attended the Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday, also backed Trump. Calling out his fellow Democrats in a social media post on Sunday, Fetterman said that they should “drop the [Trump Derangement Syndrome]”.
“That venue wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government. After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these,” Fetterman wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Democrat John Fetterman backs Trump's call for a new White House ballroom.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials identified 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen as the suspected shooter at the WHCD Saturday night. Allen is from Torrance, California, and was an educator with an engineering degree from a prestigious university.
According to CBS, which cited two law enforcement officials, five to eight gunshots were fired during the incident. Trump shared CCTV footage online, which showed a person rushing past security officials, who then turned and chased him. Allen was apprehended at the scene.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were safely evacuated from the location, and none of the attendees suffered serious injuries, authorities said.