Karoline Leavitt Fires Back After NYT Experts Critique Trump's Grand Ballroom

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to social media to express her frustration over a New York Times article that criticized the design of President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom.

On Sunday, Leavitt dismissed the insights of three experts featured in the NYT piece, which scrutinized the plans for the new ballroom intended to replace the East Wing. "The New York Times had three random people who have 'studied fine arts,' 'long written about urban planning,' and never built anything to write an article criticizing the new White House ballroom," she stated.

While she specifically mentioned Larry Buchanan and Emily Badger, who have backgrounds in fine arts and urban planning respectively, she offered little commentary on Junho Lee, a trained architect also cited in the article. All three contributed to the critical feature.

Leavitt defended the project, asserting, "President Trump and his lead architect have built world-class buildings around the world, and they are ensuring the People’s House finally has a beautiful ballroom that’s been needed for decades — at no expense to the taxpayer." The ballroom is projected to cost around $400 million, with Trump claiming it will be funded entirely through private donations.

The NYT feature that sparked Leavitt's ire raised several concerns regarding both the design and timeline for construction. It highlighted that "the White House has said it plans to begin building in the spring, a timeline that would mean construction documents would have to be prepared even as the design was still under review."

Architect Thomas Gallas was quoted expressing skepticism about the proposed timeline, stating, "never made any sense to me." The article also pointed out that the ballroom, when viewed from the south, would dominate the landscape, being 60 percent larger than the White House itself, potentially disrupting the site's symmetry.

Concerns were also raised about the building's south portico, which was not part of its original design. The grand staircase leading to this portico reportedly leads nowhere, lacking doors that would provide access to the ballroom from that side.

Experts noted that the ballroom's south face would feature large columns that could obstruct views from within and limit natural light. Shalom Baranes, the ballroom's architect, acknowledged during a recent planning commission review that the south portico was more of an “aesthetic decision” than a functional element.

Additionally, the east colonnade connecting the Executive Residence to the new East Wing and ballroom will appear to have windows from the north; however, these will actually be “masonry niches designed to look like windows,” according to the report.

The National Capital Planning Commission is set to conduct a final vote on Thursday regarding approval for Trump’s ballroom project.