Trump defends White House ballroom as 'shed' for secret military complex beneath

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump says an important part of the $400 million ballroom he is building for the White House is a "massive military complex" underneath it that was supposed to remain secret.

Trump’s explanation came as he unveiled architectural drawings of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which critics have said is out of scale to the rest of the building. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is fighting the ballroom in federal court, which is where details about the military aspect of the project were revealed.

“Now the military is building a big complex under the ballroom, which has come out recently because of a stupid lawsuit that was filed, but the military's building a massive complex under the ballroom, and that's under construction and we're doing very well,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on March 29.

A bunker was installed beneath the East Wing during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration to protect the chief executive. The Presidential Emergency Operations Center was created and updated over the years to protect the president from attacks, including potentially a nuclear war.

Trump has already bulldozed the East Wing, which had been built in 1902 during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration and expanded in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt’s administration.

Trump argued the White House has needed a ballroom for 150 years because the largest room, the East Room, holds only 125 people for formal dinners. Larger events were held in tents on the South Lawn, where Trump said soggy ground often left foreign leaders with wet feet.

Trump has promoted the new ballroom, which is being privately funded, for seating 1,000 people. He showed drawings to reporters of the ballroom flanked by Corinthian columns and featuring bulletproof and drone-proof windows.

“I think it'll be the finest ballroom of its kind anywhere in the world,” Trump said.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against the ballroom for allegedly building without required approvals or congressional authorization. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon held a hearing on March 17 as he considers whether to block the project temporarily.

Trump raised the military aspect of the project during a Cabinet meeting on March 26.

“I mean, now it's no secret, the military wanted it more than anybody,” Trump said. “It was supposed to be secret, but it became secret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things, but doesn't matter, doesn't matter. It's going to be great.”

Aboard Air Force One, Trump characterized the ballroom as a shelter for the military component.

“The ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what's being built under the military, including from drones and including from any other thing,” Trump said.