Donald Trump Is Expected to Name the New White House Ballroom After Himself: Report

President Donald Trump is expected to name the new White House Ballroom in his own honor, according to new reporting.

ABC News reported on Friday, Oct. 24, that although the ballroom’s name has not been officially confirmed, senior officials within the administration are already referring to it as “The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.” The report suggests that the name is likely to be permanent.

When ABC News’ chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce asked Trump on Thursday if he had chosen a name for the $300 million ballroom, the president smiled and said only, “I won’t get into that now.”

White House spokesman Davis Ingle suggested the report should be viewed cautiously, saying, “Any announcement made on the name of the ballroom will come directly from President Trump himself, and not through anonymous and unnamed sources.”

“The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom” would be in keeping with Trump’s long-standing habit of putting his name on major projects — from Trump Tower in Manhattan to Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, as well as his many golf courses around the world.

The move also aligns with recent White House renovations inspired by Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. For instance, the newly resurfaced Rose Garden was rebranded as “The Rose Garden Club at the White House,” giving the space a more exclusive, club-like identity within the traditionally public residence.

A social source said in August that both Donald and First Lady Melania Trump “would prefer to be in Palm Beach,” so they’ve opted instead to “bring Mar-a-Lago to Washington.” The source added that “anytime Melania and Donald can make the White House feel more like Mar-a-Lago, they will. They love Mar-a-Lago. Not only is it their home, but Donald personally created much of the current décor and takes pride in showing it to guests.”

Plans for the White House ballroom reportedly mirror those of the Mar-a-Lago ballroom, which is itself named “The Donald J. Trump Ballroom.”

Trump has faced criticism over the ballroom project after viral photos and video revealed unexpected demolition in the White House’s East Wing. His administration was later forced to retract previous claims that the Roosevelt-era wing would remain untouched.

On Wednesday, Oct. 22, The New York Times reported that a senior official had confirmed the East Wing’s complete demolition. The teardown, which was expected to be completed by the weekend, also included the removal of the adjacent Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, originally dedicated to the former first lady after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

During a July 31 press conference, Trump had insisted the ballroom construction “won’t interfere with the current building.”

“It’ll be near it but not touching it,” he said at the time. “And it pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”

Following the revelation of the demolition, Trump clashed with a White House reporter who questioned his transparency about the project during an Oct. 23 press conference in the Oval Office. Raising his voice at Reuters journalist Jeff Mason, Trump said, “I haven’t been transparent? Really?”

“I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen. Third-rate reporters didn’t see it because they didn’t look. You’re a third-rate reporter, always have been,” he continued. “Anybody that asked—these pictures have been in newspapers, they’ve been all over the place, and you know, we’re very proud of it. It’s gotten great reviews.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has also dismissed the criticism, calling it “fake outrage.”

“While many presidents have dreamt about this, it is actually President Trump who is doing something about it. And he is the builder-in-chief. In large part, he was re-elected to this people’s house because he is good at building things,” she said in an interview with Fox News earlier this week.

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