US President Donald Trump proposed plans to build a lavish $100 million ballroom at the White House, drawing inspiration from the one at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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The proposed ballroom would serve as a venue for high-profile events, including parties and state dinners. Interestingly, Trump promises to cover the entire cost of construction by himself, according to The Times report.

During a signing ceremony in the East Room, Trump, on Wednesday (Feb 5), expressed his desire to construct a "beautiful, beautiful ballroom" like the one that he has at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The US president, referring to the East Room, said that there were “people outside that can’t even get in,” calling it a "packed" space.

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He said that he had earlier offered to construct the ballroom during Joe Biden's presidency, but was met with rejection.

“’It was going to cost $100 million dollars . . . I offered to do it to the Biden administration,” he said.

However, officials from the Obama administration have reportedly claimed that Trump first made this offer to them after a state dinner was staged in a tent on the White House lawn for the then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

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'Will make the offer to myself'

Trump then said that he would try and make the offer again.

“I’m going to try and make the offer to myself,” he jokingly remarked. 

“We’ll see if Trump will approve it.”

Trump first made the offer in 2010

Trump had first proposed the plan to construct the ballroom in the year 2010, said David Axelrod, who served as Barack Obama's adviser.

“I see you have these state dinners on the lawn there in these sh*t little tents,” Axelrod recalled in his memoir, Believer. “I build ballrooms. Beautiful ballrooms. You can go to Tampa and check one of them out for yourself.”  

“Trust me. It’ll look great,” Trump said, according to Axelrod.

Seating capacity of the East Room

The East Room can seat up to 120 people for dinner.

The state dinner, which was held in the year 2009 for the Indian prime minister and nearly 350 other guests, was held in a "massive pavilion, complete with an orchestra platform, theatrical lighting, a professional sound system, full heating, satellite kitchens and a dozen chandeliers bedecked with sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy,” according to Vanity Fair.

It took five days to build the structure which reportedly cost over $100,000.

Trump, in 2011, told Rush Limbaugh, that holding state dinner in a tent was a disgrace.

“When a dignitary comes in from India, from anywhere, they open up a tent,” he said. “A tent! … An old, rotten tent that frankly they probably rented, pay a guy millions of dollars for it even though it’s worth about $2, okay?”

(With inputs from agencies)