WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumphad something urgent to address while flying back to Washington from hisMar-a-Lago estateon a recent Sunday.
It wasn’t theIran war, nor the partial government shutdown overDepartment of Homeland Securityfunding. He was focused on a monumental issue of a different kind, hoisting artist renderings of the $400 million White Houseballroomhe’s building, complete with hand-carved “top-of-the-line” Corinthian columns.
“I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this. I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump said before extensively detailing plans for “the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”
His divided attention has become a Democratic point of attack and a concern for some Republicans whoworry he’s not spending enough timeon issues that voters care most about ahead of November’s midterm races.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up an artist rendering of the new triumphal arch as she speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The contrast was on full display Thursday, when, as Trump flew to Las Vegas to discuss tax cuts for Americans earning tips, his administration was pushing ahead with another of his splashy projects: Plans to build a250-foot Triumphal Archnear the Lincoln Memorial replete with a Lady Liberty-like statue and a pair of golden eagles.
The president’sability to speak to the concerns of working peoplehas alwaysseemed incongruouswith his biography as a billionaire real estate developer. Yet his populist policies andemphasis on the economyduring his 2024 campaign helped catapult him back to the White House.
Republican strategist Rick Tyler noted that, when Trump first ran for president in 2016, his wealth was a selling point.
“While other people, like Mitt Romney, played down how rich he was, Trump was giving free helicopter rides at the Iowa State Fair,” Tyler said. “People loved it.”
ADDS NAME SHARON SIMMONS - President Donald Trump speaks to Sharon Simmons, a Dasher from Arkansas, who delivered him two bags of McDonald’s food outside the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Source: Drudge Report
