Trump's latest reason for his new ballroom: A rooftop 'DronePort'

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Source: USA today


The president said that if a judge doesn't approve the new White House ballroom, he'll be "held responsible for the Death and Destruction."

Josh Meyer Updated May 31, 2026, 4:45 p.m. ET



WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump unveiled yet another purported justification for his controversial plan to build a massive new ballroom and bunker under the East Wing of the White House he demolished: a rooftop "DronePort" that he says is needed to defend the nation's capital from modern threats.

In a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday, May 31, Trump claimed the proposed drone facility would be "perhaps, the most sophisticated anywhere in the World" that’s needed to safeguard Washington, DC, "long into the future.”



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U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a President George W. Bush appointee, ruled in late March that Trump lacked legal authority to ​build the 90,000-square-foot ballroom "absent express authorization from Congress."

Leon issued an injunction that halted "above-ground construction ‌of ⁠the planned ballroom," but his order was quickly put on hold by an appeals court. Construction has continued, and so has legal wrangling over the project.

In the Truth Social post, Trump also accused Leon of having created "enough problems by allowing 'Top Secret' information to be released and exposed" in an amended lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation last month.
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But Trump included in his post two detailed renderings of various drones on a massive rooftop like that envisioned for his new East Wing, despite criticizing Leon for sharing what he said was sensitive information.........................

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/31/trumps-white-house-ballroom-rooftop-droneport/90344026007/?taid=6a1ca16816ca9c0001d5b70f&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

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Trump:

The DronePort at the White House Ballroom will be, perhaps, the most sophisticated anywhere in the World! It will safeguard our Nation’s Capital, Washington, D.C., long into the future.

With the advent of highly sophisticated, and powerful, modern day weaponry, we can no longer defend Washington, D.C., with rifles and pistols, alone.
11:32 AM · May 31, 2026
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