President Donald Trump is reportedly considering putting his name — in gold letters — on a massive new White House ballroom, the latest twist in an already controversial $350 million East Wing overhaul.
According to a report from ABC News, the 90,000-square-foot vanity project is expected to be called “The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.” The new space, still under construction, is being touted by the administration as a “long overdue modernization” of the East Wing — but critics say it’s beginning to look more like a personal monument.
Asked earlier in the week what he might name the ballroom, Trump dodged. “I won’t get into that now,” he told reporters. But Trump’s penchant for branding everything he touches has fueled speculation about how literal the label might be.
The ballroom’s reported cost sits at around $300 million, but a senior administration official told ABC that Trump has already raised $350 million for the project, claiming the president “has received such positive and overwhelming support for the ballroom that he continues to receive donations.”
Not everyone’s applauding. The East Wing demolition has triggered backlash from historians, critics, and political opponents, many of whom accuse Trump of treating the White House like another Trump property. The use of private donations has also raised eyebrows, with watchdogs warning about potential conflicts of interest.
The list of donors, released by the White House on Thursday, reads like a who’s who of corporate America: Amazon, Apple, Google, the Lutnick family, former Senator Kelly Loeffler, and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman are among the names funding the project.
According to CBS News, companies are being asked to contribute either a lump sum or make payments through 2027.
Still, the image of Trump’s name gilded across a ballroom inside the White House — a building meant to symbolize the presidency, not the president — has stirred a sharp political debate. To supporters, it’s a bold mark of legacy. To critics, it’s one more sign that Trump doesn’t see the White House as a sacred institution — just another piece of real estate to brand.
Trump, for his part, insists this is about history — not ego. “Over the years many presidents have made changes. This obviously would be the biggest change. But this is something they’ve wanted for at least 150 years,” he said last Wednesday, before hosting a private dinner for donors.
But that claim doesn’t hold up. There’s no historical record of any president calling for a new White House ballroom — not in 150 years, not ever. No archived plans, no memos, no mention in presidential correspondence. The “something they’ve wanted” appears to exist only in Trump’s retelling, another rewrite of history meant to make a vanity project sound like destiny.
