The White House has revealed that tech giants and major corporations are funding US President Donald Trump's $300 million White House ballroom.
Sponsors for the new project include Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, Coinbase, and Meta, the White House said, according to the CNN. Some of the other listed donors are the defense contractors Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir, as well as communication companies T-Mobile and Comcast.
Some of the donors are invited to a White House dinner on 15th October. A pledge form seen by CBS News suggests that donors could be eligible for "recognition" for their contributions, which could include names etched into the structure.
Based on the court documents, YouTube will contribute $22m towards the project as part of its $24.5 million settlement with Trump over the suspension of his account after the January 6th, 2021, Capitol riot.
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Trump has previously said that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom is privately funded, meaning that it won’t cost taxpayers anything. Specifically, he assured that the ballroom “is being paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine”.
The price for the ballroom’s construction has already gone up from the initially announced $200 million. A White House official confirmed to ABC News that $350 million has been raised for the project, but the construction price is currently expected to be $300 million. It’s not currently clear where the additional $50 million will be allocated.
The original seating capacity was expected to be 650 people, but that value has since jumped to 999 people.
The works have started this week with the demolition of the East Wing. Responding to the news of the demolition, Trump said the East Wing “was never thought of as being much,” adding that “in order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure.”
House Democrats disapproved of the demolition “of an iconic symbol” in a letter written to the White House, saying:
“This project represents one of the most substantial alterations to the White House in modern history. The decisions were made in complete secrecy and undertaken without public disclosure or proper consultation.”
According to reports, the ballroom will likely be named after Trump, with officials already referring to it as "The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom."
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