what was Trump's initial price tag 'he was personally going to pay for' vs the $400M now?
Private funding
Trump has said that private donors and large corporations will pay for the ballroom.[29][30] Initially announced at a cost of $200 million, the cost estimate increased to $300 million in October 2025.[31][1][32] By the end of October, $350 million had been raised.[33] The estimate increased to $400 million in December 2025.[34] (The additional cost of the subterranean security structure has not been disclosed; it will be paid for with public funds.)[25]
On October 22, 2025, the White House released a list of companies and private citizens who had donated to the funding of the ballroom, though without disclosing the amount of each donation.[35] On November 1, The New York Times reported that the White House had withheld the names of several donors, among them BlackRock, Nvidia, and Jeff Yass, who have major business concerns that could be impacted by decisions by the Trump Administration.[36]
Also in October, Trump announced that the ballroom project would be built with a large donation of steel valued at $37 million without naming the company. In April 2026, a New York Times investigation found that the donor was ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based steel company, and that the donated steel would be made in Europe. Two days after Trump announced the donation, the White House had issued a proclamation which would cut in half the tariffs of automotive steel from a Canadian plant that ArcelorMittal uses to make steel for the United States market.[37]
Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner held at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026, some Republicans argued that taxpayer funds should be allocated for the ballroom construction, claiming that the White House would be a more secure location for events.[38]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_State_Ballroom
did Mexico pay for the Wall yet?
By
Crnr2Crnr ·
