President Donald Trump is a pretty romantic at heart! At a private White House dinner for billionaire donors on October 15, he shared a personal memory from his first night in the residence after the 2016 win with First Lady Melania Trump.
“To me, there’s nothing like the White House,” Trump said. “After I won, that first night, I was standing in the hallway upstairs with Melania, looking into the Lincoln Bedroom, and I said, ‘Can you believe this? We’re in the White House, and that’s the Lincoln Bedroom!’ It was surreal.”
As per The Daily Beast, Donald Trump admitted the experience still feels extraordinary, even years later. “It takes a while to get used to it… I’m still probably not used to it. It’s just a special place.”
TRUMP: THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THE WHITE HOUSE!
“To me there’s nothing like the White House. Even after I won the first night I’m standing in the residential hallway with Melania and I’m looking into the Lincoln bedroom. I said that was a surreal experience. I’m saying do you… pic.twitter.com/ZPLMrsQUF2
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) October 16, 2025
For the unversed, Melania Trump met the real estate mogul in 1998 at a Fashion Week party in NYC. At that time, Trump was divorced from Marla Maples. Despite the considerable age gap, their connection progressed, and the duo married on January 22, 2005. The wedding occurred at the historic Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in 2005, followed by a lavish reception at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Meanwhile, the Lincoln bedroom is a guest suite located on the second floor of the White House. It’s named after the former president Abraham Lincoln, who served as the president from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. It’s not the room he slept in, but rather the office and cabinet room where he lived. Today, the room is used to host dignitaries and guests.
Besides taking a walk down memory lane, Trump also pitched ongoing renovations to the White House, including a $200 million ballroom funded by some of the attendees. Trump’s proposal includes constructing a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom to be added to the East Wing before the end of his four-year tenure in 2029.
Celebrating 20 years with my beautiful wife and our incredible First Lady, Melania. You’re an extraordinary wife and a wonderful mother.
Happy Anniversary, @FLOTUS! pic.twitter.com/BPTfeGpA7x
— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) January 22, 2025
It would mark one of the most significant renovations to the building in decades. The design for the ballroom is being led by McCrery Architects, whose founder, James McCrery, served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts after being appointed by Trump in 2019.
In addition to the anticipated ballroom, he is planning another lavish construction project in Washington, D.C. This triumphal arch could rival the Lincoln Memorial in size and grandeur. Last week, a correspondent captured images of a large model of the proposed arch, complete with a winged golden figure sitting atop the Resolute Desk, reminiscent of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe.
The president also renovated the iconic Rose Garden in the White House a few months back, paving it to add patio seating and creating a “Presidential Hall of Fame” along the West Colonnade, alongside the Oval Office, with gold accents, which received negative reviews on X (formerly Twitter).
The White House has not confirmed anything officially yet. But people have slammed the Trump administration for spending billions of dollars on renovations, especially since America has witnessed a total government shutdown on October 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), disrupting essential national security and public safety services after Congress failed to pass a new funding bill.
