Trump Didn’t Know About SCOTUS Ruling Because He Was Busy With His Ballroom
President Donald Trump said he was so busy planning his new ballroom that he hadn’t even heard about Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling that guts the landmark Voting Rights Act.
A reporter at the White House asked Trump what he thought of the court’s 6-3 ruling, which invalidated a Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander. Trump didn’t know what the reporter was talking about.
“I don’t know, you’ll have to tell me, when did the ruling come out?” Trump asked. “I’ve been with the astronauts. I’ve been with contractors because we’re trying to get the ballroom built ahead of schedule. It’s right on schedule now, it’s ahead of schedule now, I want to keep it that way.”
Trump plans to build a $400 million ballroom on the site of the historic East Wing, which he had torn down. Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, Trump addressed reporters at the White House and used the opportunity to promote the ballroom.
“We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say that it’s not a particularly secure building,” Trump said about the Washington Hilton, where a gunman was captured after firing shots during the event.
“And uh, I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House,” he continued.
Trump said the new ballroom will be “drone proof.”
“It’s actually a larger room and it’s much more secure,” Trump said. “It’s got — it’s drone proof, it’s bulletproof glass. That’s why the Secret Service, the military, are demanding it.”
