President Trump told a cheering crowd in Las Vegas on Wednesday that the White House’s new ballroom sits atop what he called a major military installation, boasting that the project involves elements he “can’t even talk about” publicly. “I’m building this big military complex. It’s including a lot of different things, and some of the things I can’t even talk about unless become very public, ’cause like usual, everything I do, they get sued,” Trump said, according to video of his remarks at Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa. He went on to describe the ballroom itself, comparing it favorably to a venue owned by billionaire Tilman Fertitta: “I’m telling you, Fertitta, that’s gonna be nicer.”
What Trump Has Said the Complex Actually Contains
Wednesday’s remarks were an abbreviated version of a far more detailed description Trump gave reporters during a May 19 site tour, recorded in an official transcript maintained by The American Presidency Project. At that tour, Trump said the underground portion extends roughly six stories deep and includes “a hospital. They’re building — it’s a military hospital. They’re building — all sorts of research facilities, also meeting rooms and rooms that go hand in hand for the military.” He described the ballroom structure itself as functioning as protective cover for what’s built beneath it: “The ballroom is really a shield and protecting all of the things that are built here… Without that, they couldn’t have this. They couldn’t build the lower floors without that shield over the top of it.”
The Rooftop “Drone Port”
Trump has repeatedly emphasized the roof as a distinct military feature. At the May tour, he described it as “dead flat, with absolutely nothing but strength on it,” made of “very strong steel” that is “drone-proof, and it’s meant for our military to be able to stay on it.” He said the roof would give personnel “a 360-degree vision of Washington, DC” and “a massive drone capacity,” adding: “Not only is it drone-proof — if a drone hits it, it bounces off. It won’t have any impact. But it’s also meant as a drone port, so it protects all of Washington, the roof of the building.” He also described the glass used in the structure as roughly four inches thick and capable of stopping “just about anything.”
Why Trump Says This Design Was Necessary
Trump has tied the security features directly to a specific incident: a shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner earlier this year. At the May tour, he said, “As an example, what happened a couple of weeks ago at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner could not happen here,” and that the new venue eliminates the need for outdoor tents, which he said have historically flooded during rain because the South Lawn sits on a wetland.
Who’s Paying, According to Trump
Trump has consistently described the ballroom itself as privately financed while acknowledging a separate pool of government money for surrounding security work. At the May tour, he said, “This is all my money and donors’ money… This is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer,” later specifying that companies and individual donors had put up “close to $400 million.” He distinguished that from money Congress was separately considering: “Congress is approving money for security. It may go — some of it may go here for additional security… But this building — I mean, I put up the money to build this building.” Separate reporting has indicated Congress considered as much as $1 billion in additional funding tied to the broader White House security perimeter, a figure distinct from the ballroom’s privately raised construction costs.
The Legal Fight Over the Project
The ballroom has been the subject of active litigation since shortly after construction began. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in December, arguing in its complaint that “no president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” and that the administration had skipped legally required reviews by the National Capital Planning Commission and Congress before demolishing the East Wing in October. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the group’s request for a preliminary injunction in February, finding the Trust had not demonstrated the “irreparable harm” needed to halt construction, though he later expressed sharp skepticism of the administration’s legal reasoning at a subsequent hearing, telling a government attorney he saw “no basis” — “None… Zero” — for the claim that the National Park Service’s gift-acceptance authority permitted raising $400 million in private donations for the project.
Ethics Concerns From Watchdog Groups
The privately funded structure of the project has drawn scrutiny beyond the preservation lawsuit itself. The Campaign Legal Center and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a joint amicus brief arguing that financing a major White House construction project through private donations “presents risks of corruption or the appearance of corruption” by allowing “wealthy special interests” to “purchase access, influence and favor from public officials” — a concern distinct from the historic-preservation questions at the core of the National Trust’s own lawsuit.
How the Cost Estimate Has Grown
The project’s price tag has climbed substantially since it was first announced. Reporting on the ballroom’s funding has tracked the estimate rising from an initial $200 million when the project was unveiled in July 2025, to $300 million by the time the National Trust filed suit in December, to the $400 million figure Trump cited in his May remarks — an increase Trump has attributed to the military’s request to double the facility’s original size.
Trump’s Broader Renovation Push
The ballroom is one piece of a wider set of White House and National Mall renovation projects Trump has personally overseen. At the same May press availability, he described funding the resurfacing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, restoring dozens of long-dormant Washington fountains, and donating roughly $10 million toward renovating Lafayette Park, contrasting his approach with what he said were costlier, less successful renovation efforts under prior administrations.
What the Las Vegas Speech Was Otherwise About
The ballroom digression came during a speech Trump delivered primarily to promote tax policy changes, including the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay, alongside remarks on border security, crime, and attacks on Democratic officials. The Las Vegas appearance was part of a broader West Coast swing, and Trump’s comments on the military complex arrived as an unscripted aside rather than a planned focus of the event.
Where the Project Stands Now
As of Trump’s Wednesday remarks, construction was continuing under the injunction denial, with first-floor framing of the new East Wing visible by late July according to earlier reporting, even as the National Trust’s underlying legal challenge to the project’s legitimacy remained unresolved in federal court.