After a Democratic Victory in Midterm Elections, Trump Focuses on Touting His Ballroom: ‘This Is a Special Structure’

After a midterm election that saw the Democrats take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump spent Wednesday ignoring the results and instead stumping for his $400 million plan to build a ballroom for the White House.

Trump’s ballroom has been controversial from the start, not only because he demolished the White House’s East Wing to make room for it but also because he said it would include a military complex beneath the structure. A series of challenges, both from past presidents and US courts, have questioned whether Trump even has the authority to undertake such a project. And yet, he has largely stuck to his guns, once even labeling the ballroom “THE GREATEST OF ITS KIND!”

Whether Trump would be able to fully proceed with the ballroom plan under a Democratic-majority House and Senate remains an open question. The ballroom has been the subject of a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which aimed to halt its construction. In September, the Supreme Court ruled that it could go forward, saying the National Trust didn’t have the legal grounds to bring the suit.

But Trump seemed totally unbothered Wednesday as he spoke during a ceremony intended to mark the raising of the final beam on the structure. “This is a special structure,” he said, according to the New York Times. “It’s going to be not only one of the biggest, but it’ll be the most beautiful ballroom, I think, anywhere in the world.”

Regarding his repeated efforts to add to or amend preexisting structures in Washington, D.C., he said, “You know, it was sort of mentioned a little bit during the campaign: ‘Why does Trump spend time on the White House?’ Well, first of all, it’s very little time. Second of all, I like it. It’s good. For me, it’s relaxing.”