Trump’s White House Ballroom Plan Is About More Than a Building

US President Donald Trump holds a rendering of the proposed East Wing of the White House while speaking to members of the media on Air Force One on March 29.Photographer: Nathan Howard/Getty Images

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By Jeff Mason, Courtney Subramanian, and Skylar Woodhouse

April 2, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTC

Updated on

April 2, 2026 at 9:28 PM UTC

With oil surging past $4 a gallon as the war in Iran raged on, President Donald Trump gathered reporters around the Resolute Desk on Tuesday afternoon and pulled out pages of notes in his signature Sharpie scrawl.

But it wasn’t the ongoing conflict or market vacillations that had earned handwritten talking points.