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White House Ballroom - Scale

The ballroom, by October 2025 expected to have tripled in size to nearly 125,000 square feet, would be significantly larger than the White House itself. The ballroom building is shockingly out of scale and proportion with the existing White House. Renderings of the enlarged 125,000 square foot design revealed in September 2025 demonstrate the extent to which the existing White House is reducced to a minor annex to the primary structure, Trump's new audience hall. Once the project was officially underway, Trump revealed that the ballroom will be larger than initially planned. During an interview with NBC News, the President stated, “We’re making it a little bigger. It will be top of the line, as good as it can get anywhere in the world.” The lavishly gilded space would now have a seating capacity of 900, up from 650—an increase of almost 40 percent.

The main building of the White House, excluding the wings, contains 55,000 square feet of floor space, according to the White House Historical ssociation. Considering the proposed size of the ballroom, it would likely appear much larger than the main building, although initially that did not appear to be the case in the official renderings for the 55,000 square feet design.

The White House State Ballroom, a new addition to the East Wing announced in July 2025 under the Trump administration, was initially planned as a 90,000-square-foot venue with seating for 650 people. Subsequent updates from President Trump indicated the project had been expanded "a little bigger," with capacity increased to 900 people. Based on this proportional increase, media reports estimate the ballroom's size at nearly 125,000 square feet, making it more than twice the size of the existing White House residence (approximately 55,000 square feet). The latest mock-ups, obtained in September 2025 by CBS News, showed just how much the structure will tower over the 233-year-old executive mansion.

Edward Lengel, former Chief Historian of the White House Historical Association, told NPR that “The thing that changes the aesthetic, I think, in a very profound way - and I've looked at the renderings of this - it's a very large building that's proposed to be built here, over what had been the East Wing, that rivals the size of the presidential mansion itself. My concern is that it really transitions the whole thing into a presidential palace. And I think that that in some ways contradicts the original concept of the White House that the founders intended... a concept dating back to the founding era - and I'm a George Washington historian, so I'm attached to that era - that a message of what the executive branch and what our government is supposed to represent as a democratic symbol in a common community, a democratic community, they'll see that that's been lost. I know our president is fond of superlatives, and this is a superlative. There's never been anything like this before - absolutely not. This dwarfs everything that has ever been done on that property before. So it's a change that'll practically be irreversible."

A few days after the ballroom project’s unveiling, American Institute of Architects President Eveylyn Lee and AIA Interim EVP/CEO Stephen Ayers sent an open letter to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, "The proposed 90,000-square-foot addition raises concerns regarding scale and balance. The design absolutely must harmonize with the White House’s existing architectural proportions while preserving its role as both a national museum for the people, and the functional seat of power representative of the people. We urge careful consideration of adjustments that would align the proposed additions more closely with the White House’s historic character."

Michael J. Crosbie noted "The most puzzling aspect of this project is its gargantuan square footage. Press releases and articles describe the ballroom as 90,000 square feet, but this is not possible on this site, nor is it reflected in the renderings. The north wall of the existing East Wing is approximately 80 feet wide (scaling off Google maps). To fit a 90,000-square-foot single-level ballroom of that width, the addition would have to be more than a thousand feet long, stretching beyond the White House fence to the south. I suspect that the 90,000 number is the total area of the addition, with modernized East Wing offices; kitchens, food prep, and support spaces; staff areas; and storage located on two levels under the ballroom. The ballroom as a single space would be closer to 25,000 square feet, about the size of the Mar-a-Lago ballroom Trump built in 2005.... with diagrams showing the new addition’s footprint at about twice the length of the existing East Wing, approximately 280 feet. This means that two lower levels would account for 50,000 square feet and a ballroom of 25,000. With the new connection to Hoban’s White House, the project would be close to 90,000 square feet."

The White House ballroom will be close in size to the 1,000-seat Grand Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate and private club in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump was adamant that the new 20,000-square-foot ballroom needed to be larger than the 15,000-square-foot Ponce de Leon Ballroom at The Breakers Palm Beach resort. The Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom was completed at Mar-a-Lago in late 2004 and had its grand opening in 2005. The decor drew on Versailles, with shining marble floors, intricate gold leaf designs, crystal chandeliers and soaring 40-foot coffered ceilings.

State dinners (and state visits) are important diplomatic tools. The purpose is for the host to show great honor to the guest, cementing relationships between the stated. They’re also reciprocal, though not necessarily with the same Presidents / Heads of State (time passes, the participants change). Lyndon Johnson had them at a rate of one per month. State dinners have dwindled steadily over the years. President Carter made the most of his single term, hosting 40 state dinners with 66 heads of state. By comparison, Presidents George W. Bush and Obama hosted just 13 dinners combined.

While running in 2016, Trump said he would get rid of state dinners because they were a ripoff: “Forget the state dinners — that cost, by the way, a fortune.” During his first presidency, Donald Trump only hosted two state dinners, one for Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, and another for Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia. When he held formal dinners he appeared to prefer Mar-a-Largo over the White House.

Designing a venue with the right capacity ensures that events feel elegant, comfortable, and memorable. One of the most critical factors to consider is capacity - ensuring guests have enough space to enjoy the celebration comfortably. A cocktail party or standing reception may allow for a higher guest count compared to a formal seated dinner. Guests require different amounts space depending on the room's use. An overly crowded venue can lead to discomfort, while a too-spacious venue may make the event feel less intimate.

The general rule of thumb is to start with 16 square feet per person as the bare minimum space required to hold guests, or 20 square feet for a more relaxed feel. This accounts for the dining area, chairs, and room to move comfortably. For an indoor ballroom reception, the standard guest capacity is 12 to 15 square feet per person for a seated dinner and 8 to 9 square feet per person for a standing cocktail-style event. A more generous estimate for a comfortable seated reception is 20 square feet per guest. A sit down plated dinner with dancing would need 20-22 square feet per person. For a dance floor, the recommendation is for 4.5 square feet per person. Usually, between 33 percent and 50 percent of guests will use the dance floor. The general guideline to follow when accommodating a standing crowd is to allocate six square feet per person. A ceremony with partial seating might need 6-8 square feet per person, while a ceremony with full seating would require 8-10 square feet per person.