Ongoing efforts to provide the nation with a “gift” that he himself likely won’t get to enjoy found President Donald Trump describing detractors as “very disloyal to our country.”
(Video Credit: The White House)
Monday in the Oval Office, the president took time out of his schedule to honor the lifesaving heroics of California teen Ryder Williams. After speaking with the lifeguard and the young boy he saved, questions from the press found Trump addressing the White House East Room project, slamming ballroom opposition anew.
Having spoken of the ongoing construction earlier in the meeting, the chief executive was asked about it again near the end of the event: “The people who are opposing the ballroom and challenging it, have they offered any sort of solution or sort of compromise, or are they just — there should be a hole there?”
“The people that are opposing the ballroom are people that, in my opinion, are very disloyal to our country,” the president reacted bluntly. “And I think we’re doing very well. We’re way ahead of schedule. We’re under budget. It’s gonna be the most beautiful ballroom of its kind.”
Regarding the lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction, the commander-in-chief slammed the plaintiffs before the weekend, deeming them “TREASONISTS” for making “Top Military Secrets” about the endeavor public.
‘Treasonists’: Trump lashes out at ‘fake’ group suing to stop White House construction https://t.co/Yv9egMT3QK via @BIZPACReview
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) August 15, 2026
The Oval Office remarks came just a day after he also criticized coverage of the project on “Fox News Sunday,” where host Shannon Bream presented footage from May rather than display more recent images of the construction.
“During Shannon Bream’s show they showed pictures of the Military Complex/Ballroom site at the White House,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Unfortunately, the pictures were months old, before much work had been started.”
The latest edition of “Fox News Sunday” included an interview with Attorney General Todd Blanche, who, when asked about litigation opposing the construction and the potential for congressional approval, said, “We don’t believe we have to go to Congress. We believe Congress has already given us the authority to do what we’re doing. Many presidents have done a tremendous amount of work to the White House, as they should, and Congress has authorized them to do so.”
On top of addressing the aesthetics of the ballroom on Monday, Trump emphasized, “we’re also getting tremendous military protection. Drone protection, the building is drone-proof. It’s missile-proof, as much as something can be missile-proof. It’s totally bulletproof. Any bullet, nothing can go through the windows.”
“It’s very safe. And you know, the one thing, it’s not for me. Cause I’m gonna be here a very short period of time when it’s finished,” he reminded, especially given the delays brought on by court orders stalling construction amid appeals. “This is for future presidents. This isn’t for me.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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