Press secretary Karoline Leavitt is the latest addition to the list of MAGA members to step up in the defense of critical commentary, both implied and direct, regarding Donald Trump destroying the White House for the construction of his $250 million Ballroom project.
During a recent interaction with Fox News host Jesse Watters, Karoline Leavitt was asked, “Are the Democrats jealous that Trump is building this big beautiful ballroom?” To which Leavitt, straight up, replied, “certainly appears that way.”
Ever since pictures of demolition of the East Wing of the White House have surfaced on the Internet, Trump and his administration have been on the receiving end of incessant trolling and slamming, both from the opposition as well as the common people.
Karoline Leavitt’s over the top statement came after Hilary Clinton shared a post on X, in which she slammed Trump’s move, writing, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”
It’s not his house.
It’s your house.
And he’s destroying it. pic.twitter.com/YchFF5U1nO
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 21, 2025
Dismissing the very evident opinions of millions of Americans, Karoline Leavitt, in a wild claim, called the outrage “fake.” She added, “I believe there’s a lot of fake outrage right now because nearly every single President who has lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own.”
The tales of Trump and his many renovations at the White House are well known. The Ballroom just happens to one. Trump also recently introduced the Presidential Walk of Fame walkway outside the West Wing of the White House.
Per Leavitt, the “builder-in-chief” Trump, who happens to be a former real estate developer, “was re-elected” for a second Presidential term “because he’s good at building things.”
“He has done it his entire life, his entire career. Construction is a process; at the end, the East Wing, which is an entirely separate structure from the executive mansion you see behind me, will be more modern and beautiful than ever,” Leavitt said.
In the wake of the multiple assurances from the White House that the project would not “interfere” with the present structure, pictures of demolition of the East Wing are going viral on social media, leading to chatter around Trump’s alleged lies.
Previously, Trump’s administration claimed that “no taxpayer dollars” will be used and that “patriotic donors” are funding it. Leavitt seems to stands by Trump’s stance, adding, “And then on top of that, the White House is going to have a big beautiful ballroom for generations of Americans to come and the best part of it all, it’s not a dime of the taxpayers’ money.”
Throughout the media interaction, Karoline Leavitt went on to boast about the controversial architectural structure “that can hold hundreds more people than the current East Room and State Dining Rooms can.”
“In fact, President Obama notably complained that during his tenure, he had to hold a state visit on the South Lawn and get a very expensive tent. So while many presidents have privately dreamt about this, it’s President Trump who is actually doing something about it,” Fox News quoted Karoline Leavitt as saying.
Meanwhile, the official X handle of the White House shared an update on the Ballroom construction with this post:
For over 100 years, presidents have enhanced the White House, preserving its legacy as a symbol of our nation. Today, President Trump proudly broke ground on the new, big White House Ballroom.
Privately funded, it costs taxpayers nothing & will be cherished for generations. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/p1rZdYmrOy
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 21, 2025
The White House Ballroom has become the fulcrum around which the controversy has coalesced. However, despite the massive online trolling, the Trump administration continues to boast about the architectural tweaks.
The closest Trump came to defending the demolition of the structure was in his Truth Social post, in which he mentioned that it is “Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete.”
“I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer,” read an excerpt from Donald Trump’s post.
