Trump’s White House Renovations Spotlight Helipad Tour

On September 11, President Donald Trump, 80, and First Lady Melania Trump, 56, toured the new granite helipad on the White House South Lawn after returning from a Pentagon memorial service. The visit included Donald Trump Jr., 48. Two days earlier, on September 9, Melania hosted a group of historians at the White House Historical Association’s annual presidential sites summit to showcase the renovated Rose Garden.

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Since the start of Trump’s second administration, the historic residence has undergone extensive changes. The East Wing was demolished to make way for a new ballroom, the Rose Garden was converted into a patio, and a 100-foot-wide granite helipad for Marine One was installed. The combined estimated cost of the helipad and ballroom projects is $927 million, according to reporting on the White House’s construction budget.

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President Trump said the helipad’s slope required adjustment, stating, “We had a lot of slope on it, and I felt it was too much slope,” — Donald Trump, president — Donald Trump, president. Melania emphasized the symbolic importance of the White House’s architecture, declaring, “The White House stands as an architectural autobiography of America, embodying the enduring values of ambition, democracy, and civic life through its design, craftsmanship, and the objects within,” — Melania — Melania Trump, First Lady. In March, Trump told reporters that Melania “doesn’t love” the sound of pile drivers used in the renovations, indicating her personal discomfort with the construction activity.

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• “We had a lot of slope on it, and I felt it was too much slope,” — Donald Trump, president

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• “The White House stands as an architectural autobiography of America, embodying the enduring values of ambition, democracy, and civic life through its design, craftsmanship, and the objects within,” — Melania Trump, First Lady

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