Trump in March: “We have no taxpayer putting up even 10 cents”
After months of Donald Trump vowing that his White House ballroom would be “taxpayer-free,” new reporting reveals that the White House planned to have taxpayers fund more than half of the total construction cost of $600 million, a significant increase in total cost from past statements.
REMINDER: Trump initially said the ballroom renovations would cost $200 million and promised that construction would be “fully financed by private donors” as he raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations — even saying “we’ll have money left over.” Trump promised point blank: “The ballroom is all being funded by my money and donors’ money. This is tax free. No government dollars.”
In response, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:
“Donald Trump is looting taxpayers for his billionaire ballroom, just like all the vanity projects he is funding with public dollars, while continuing to raise costs on American families. Trump’s promises are worthless. He promised that his ballroom wouldn’t cost Americans ‘even ten cents,’ but now he’s sticking families with the bill as they struggle to get by in his economy. He promised to bring down prices on Day One, but has raised prices on everything from groceries and healthcare to gas and utilities. Trump is funnelling our taxpayer dollars to pay for his pet projects instead of making life more affordable, and that’s how it’s been since he took office: Trump first, Americans last.”
Trump is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds on vanity projects. Trump wants $100 million from taxpayers for his “Arc de Trump;” over $13 million to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool; and $7.5 million to coat four horses near the Lincoln Memorial in gold.
Two-in-three Americans oppose Trump destroying the East Wing of the White House for his ballroom, as most Americans feel Trump is focused on the wrong things.
