
Christian broadcaster Eric Metaxas told a National Mall crowd that God spent two centuries preparing Donald Trump to build a £307 million ($400 million) White House ballroom, a claim so eyebrow-raising that Metaxas later scrambled to call it sarcasm.
The remarks landed on 17 May 2026 at Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, a Trump-backed all-day prayer festival on the National Mall tied to America's 250th anniversary.