WASHINGTON — A beaming President Trump described plans to install Corinthian columns inside his under-construction White House ballroom Wednesday — turning to renovation projects to lift his spirits after Republicans suffered a devastating election blowout fewer than 24 hours earlier.
“You’ll be able to have dinners for as many people as you want. We had King Charles here, and we could,” Trump said as he focused on his plans to renovate or build various DC landmarks.
Follow for live updates on the 2026 Midterm Elections
“We ordered the marble for the floor. The marble is really magnificent marble. It’s a cut, it’s a vein that people have been after for 50 years.”
His new White House helipad was “so good I never even got sued,” he added.
The bizarre event mirrored Trump’s final election appeal to voters at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, where the president spoke at length about re-lining the shallow body of water, and took 24 minutes to get around to mentioning the looming election.
More coverage of the 2026 midterm elections:
Exit polls found that 71% of voters said Congress must do more to check Trump and 62% blamed him for higher prices — with incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) vowing Wednesday to bring Trump’s agenda to a screeching halt with “legislative razor wire.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
