Donald Trump is still fixated on his beloved White House ballroom. That’s a problem for Republicans staring down the barrel of a November midterms blowout, as polling indicates that American voters oppose the project by 2-to-1.
Given that the nation is going through a cost-of-living crisis and high fuel prices caused by Trump’s war with Iran, it’s easy to understand why an opulent 90,000-square-foot ballroom that (despite his previous insistence) will be partly funded by regular Americans’ tax dollars isn’t the most popular project.
However, the ballroom being electoral cyanide hasn’t stopped Trump from excitedly talking it up. Speaking at a White House event to mark Hispanic Heritage Month, he excitedly told those present that he would take them to visit “what will be, I think, the greatest ballroom ever built. It’s also a tremendous military complex with a drone port on top. It’s quite the place!”
“The greatest ballroom ever built”
Then Trump made the bizarre assertion that those present should be careful not to fall over the edge as “it’s a long way down.” Then added, “Only a Hispanic could survive that fall…” It was not immediately clear what he meant by this comment.
Trump: "The greatest ballroom ever built — it's also a tremendous military complex with a drone port on top. Be careful. Don't fall over the edge. And only a Hispanic could survive that fall." pic.twitter.com/Zae5MG3hAT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2026
A Trump supporter defended the president in the comments, saying, “I’d like someone to explain in detail what exactly is racist about what he said.” The responses pointed out that this doesn’t even make sense as a racist comment, it’s just strange: “Like what the **** does it even mean? You know, that old longstanding prejudice about Mexican people… Um… Falling.”
Others just said his comment “literally makes zero sense, can’t even racism right,” that Hispanic people being immune to fall damage are “racial stereotypes I’ve never even comprehended,” and just, simply, “What does this even mean?“
The ballroom itself is scheduled to be completed sometime around summer 2028, leaving Trump little time to enjoy it before he departs the presidency in January 2029. However, estimates vary on how far along it is. The Trump administration says it’s 65% complete, though independent reporting and internal documents have suggested it may be closer to 30% complete.
There’s also a continuing swirl of litigation around the ballroom, and work has already been halted on several occasions. However, the Supreme Court has now ruled that work can proceed on it while the lower-court cases proceed. Whether that might change after the November midterms is anyone’s guess, as Trump may suddenly find his grand plans to transform DC stymied by Democrat control of the House, or the House and Senate.
