WRECKING BALL

Trump Calls White House Demolition ‘Music to My Ears’

The president touted construction of the $250 million ballroom as the government shutdown continues.

President Donald Trump celebrated the demolition of the East Wing while hosting a Republican senator at the White House on Tuesday.

The lunch gathering in the Rose Garden marked the 21st day of the government shutdown. While the president briefly touched on the stalemate in Washington, he spent the beginning of his remarks touting the renovations taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It comes as a wrecking crew this week began tearing down part of the East Wing to make way for Trump’s massive ballroom, despite the president insisting in July that his plans would not interfere with the current building.

“You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back,” Trump told senators on Tuesday. “You hear that sound? Oh, that’s music to my ears. I love that sound.”

The approximately 90,000-square-foot ballroom will cost about $250 million to build, up from the $100 million Trump previously claimed it would cost and the $200 million first announced when the White House revealed the official plans over the summer.

“I’m going to get a ballroom built, and we’re putting up our own money. The government is paying for nothing,” Trump told senators.

While the president recently hosted a dinner for ballroom donors at the White House, the exact amount of money donors would be forking over has not been disclosed. Trump originally said he would be footing the bill before opening it up to others as well.

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“I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money,” Trump said of the construction. “In this case, it reminds me of lack of money because I’m paying for it.”

The president insisted it would be one of the “most beautiful ballrooms anywhere in the world.”

Trump was hosting GOP lawmakers in the Rose Garden, where earlier this year he ripped up the grass and replaced it with a patio. The space is now decorated with the same umbrellas as his private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Since the renovations, he has been using the space to host a series of exclusive sit-down meals with lawmakers, top Trump officials and wealthy friends. He refers to it as the “Rose Garden Club.”

“We got a stone that’s the exact same stone and color as the White House itself because we wanted the friendly feeling of that light color, and it reflects the sun, and it keeps you cool even in the summer,” Trump bragged on Tuesday.

Moments later, he claimed no one could use the Rose Garden before because of the grass, despite it being used for numerous press conferences for years.

Trump also touted his makeover of the Palm Room, leading out to the garden, which the president referred to as the Rose Hall.

“Did you notice the white marble floor that was put there?” Trump asked. “That was made out of Home Depot tiles about one foot by one foot. They were all broken, about 30 years old, and I replaced it with book-matched marble.”

The lawmakers were gathered at the White House as the stalemate over the government shutdown continues. It is now tied for the second longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Trump accused Democrats on Tuesday of holding the government hostage and signaled Republicans would not negotiate.

The Senate has now held 11 failed votes on the GOP short-term spending bill, but neither side has caved.

Democrats are demanding that Congress address the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, which will cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket at the end of the year, as part of the deal. Republicans have said they won’t talk about health care until the government is reopened.

Trump indicated Republicans will not budge on their approach while Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will keep voting on the bill until Democrats relent.

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Sarah Ewall-WicePolitical Reporter

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