Seth Meyers takes 'A Closer Look' at Trump's White House ballroom project

"Trump got elected by claiming he was going to make life more affordable for hard working Americans, and now he's demolishing the White House to build himself a gilded vanity project."
 By 
Shannon Connellan
 on 
Seth Meyers presents "Late Night" beside a picture of Trump and the demolished White House East Wing.
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Seth Meyers took "A Closer Look" at the contrast between voter concerns over rising costs in the 2024 election and Donald Trump's $250 million new ballroom a year later.

Meyers began his deep dive segment on Thursday with a look at how inflation was top of mind for voters last year. The Late Night host then contrasted this with a look at the impact of Trump's tariffs on the price of groceries, as well as the president's expensive and controversial 90,000 square foot ballroom. Demolition of parts of the White House's East Wing, built in 1902, began on Monday. By Thursday, workers had completely pulled it down — all despite Trump's promise in July that his new ballroom "won't interfere with the current building...It'll be near it but not touching it."

"So he basically promised to treat it like his marriage," said Meyers, with a trumpeted womp-womp on cue.

Meyers also spoke on Trump's statement to reporters that knocking down the East Wing was decided "after really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world."

"Oh yeah, who was the architect you talked to, Godzilla?" said Meyers.

"This couldn't be any more of a bait and switch," the host concluded. "Trump got elected by claiming he was going to make life more affordable for hard-working Americans, and now he's demolishing the White House to build himself a gilded vanity project. If you voted for Trump thinking he'd bring down your grocery bills, tough luck."

A photo portrait of a journalist with blonde hair and a band t-shirt.
Shannon Connellan
UK Editor

Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about everything (but not anything) across entertainment, tech, social good, science, and culture. Especially Australian horror.


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