Trump rants against judge on White House ballroom ruling - 'no future President can ever be safe'

Donald Trump went on a rant against the judge who halted construction of the above-ground portion of his White House ballroom project, only allowing for an underground bunker to proceed. The American president called him "out of control Trump-hating" judge "who has gone out of his way to undermine National Security." Trump stressed multiple times in his post that the ballroom he wants to build at the White House is crucial for national security. He has used this reason in the past as well, and the judge took note of it in the latest ruling. In a Thursday night post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that the ballroom has been a requirement for over 150 years and "Presidents have desperately wanted and desired" it.

Judge Richard Leon wrote in his ruling on Thursday, "National security is not a blank cheque to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity." He said that Congress must approve the project, and that Trump is trying to ignore a previous court order by reclassifying the ballroom plans as vital for national security. Notably, the National Trust for Historic Preservation had sued the White House, arguing that it began construction without filing plans with the National Capital Planning Commission, did not seek an environmental assessment of the project, and did not seek authorisation from Congress, all of which are illegal.

Trump accused the judge in a Truth Social post on Thursday night of "attempting to prevent future Presidents and World Leaders from having a safe and secure large-scale meeting place, or Ballroom." He then listed all the features the ballroom would have that would make it a safe - "Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Installations, Structures, and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass."

Trump claimed that without this ballroom, "no future President, living in the White House, can ever be Safe and Secure at Events, Future Inaugurations, or Global Summits." He continued to target his anger at the judge, saying, "this highly political Judge, and his illegal overreach, is out of control, and costing our Nation greatly. This is a mockery to our Court System!" He again came back to the point of national security in the same post, saying, "The Ballroom is deeply important to our National Security, and no Judge can be allowed to stop this Historic and Militarily Imperative Project."

Trump also asked why no one raised an objection before the construction at the ballroom started. He said that "all material necessary for its construction is being built and/or on its way to the site, ready for installation and erection. Much of it has already been paid for, costing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars." Trump attacked those against the ballroom, and asked, "If somebody, especially one with no standing, had a complaint — Why wasn’t it filed many months earlier, long before Construction was started? The Public Record was open for all to see."

In another post, the President said that the "Trump Hating Judge, for the first time in History, wants Congress to pay Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for a Glorious Ballroom, instead of accepting Donations from Great American Companies and Citizens." This is a first — In other words, he wants Tax Payers to pay for the Ballroom." The White House has said the project's estimated cost is $400m and was being funded entirely by private donors.

His tirade against the judge continued as he even said that "this Judge, who works for another Judge who was just MANDAMUSED for the unfair and biased way he treats me, should be ashamed of himself!" Trump is trying to reshape Washington's landscape, apparently to leave his mark behind in the political scene. Besides the ballroom, his 250-ft victory arch, similar to France's Arc de Triomphe, is also generating controversy. The Commission of Fine Arts, a federal panel comprising people Trump appointed, approved the project on Thursday. It has been dubbed the "Arc de Trump" and would exceed the height of the US Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial.