Trump showcases White House ballroom
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WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump reacted Wednesday to Republicans' midterm election losses by showing off the White House ballroom he's building as he demonstrated the kind of detached behavior that voters around the country said was a key reason they opted to reject his party.
In an extraordinary scene, Trump summoned reporters to the hulking construction site that he demolished the East Wing to make room for and the Republican president spoke for nearly 20 minutes about minute building details. He did not mention his party losing control of Congress after defeats in some of the country's deepest GOP strongholds, including Texas and South Carolina, or voter concerns about the high cost of living and federal corruption that helped cause the election losses.
"This has been a structure the likes of which has never been seen anywhere," Trump said.
He talked at length about how the ballroom would be the "safest place in Washington" upon completion, stretching five stories underground and featuring a cut of marble that he called "a vein that people have been after for 50 years."
"We have large staircases coming from the kitchen. If I put the kitchen on top, you would lose three walls, because a kitchen takes about 30% of the space," Trump said of his choice to make the ballroom's kitchen subterranean.
"It's going to be top of the line," he added.
Unusual for day after an election
Presidents usually speak with reporters the day after the midterms. It's normal for those whose party endured big losses to shoulder publicly at least part of the responsibility.
But Trump began the day with a schedule that showed only private meetings, then suggested he had decided at the last minute to invite the press to watch as the final steel beam -- topped with a small evergreen tree symbolizing growth and luck -- was hoisted into place on the ballroom roof.
Trump signed the beam with a marker during the ceremony, writing "Love!" followed by his name.
His appearance came after midterm voters said they thought the president was focused on the wrong issues. About two-thirds of voters said Trump does not have the right priorities, according to The AP Voter Poll, and the overwhelming majority of these voters supported Democratic House candidates.
The post-midterm ceremony might also reinforce voter concerns about whether Trump, 80, is up for the rigors of the presidency.
Biden dropped out of his reelection race in 2024 after a disastrous debate with Trump.
Trump seeks to shift blame for midterms
Trump eventually took questions at the ballroom site and sought to shift responsibility for the broad Republican losses. He insisted he didn't lead the party into an Election Day blowout despite staging a flurry of rallies where he implored supporters to pretend that he was on the ballot.
"If I were on the ballot I would have won," Trump insisted.
He said campaign rallies in mostly Republican states or conservative parts of more closely divided ones featured enthusiastic crowds "but we weren't able to transfer love to the candidates."
The beam-raising was not his first unusual political moment this week. On Monday, Trump gave his closing message of the midterm cycle in a long speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, shining a spotlight at a pivotal time on a project marred by algae, leaks and delays.
"I heard it was a very good speech, got great reviews," he said on Wednesday.