Trump says shooting would never have happened” in proposed White House ballroom

Article Article Article No excerpt President Donald Trump once again made the case for the sprawling ballroom he is constructing at the White House, arguing the shooting at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner “would never have happened” with the planned security measures he intends for the ballroom to feature. “What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump posted to Truth Social Sunday. “This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House,” the president wrote. In the news conference following the shooting, Trump pushed for his project, saying, “This is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House … It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure. It’s drone-proof. It’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it.” The 90,000-square-foot ballroom that’s being built atop the former East Wing is necessary for hosting large state events, Trump has said available.