President Donald Trump divulged that one part of his White House makeover project didn’t sit too well with the first lady.
Trump, 79, greeted his “friends” at a Rose Garden Club dinner on Monday evening, opening his address by talking about the changes he’s made to the White House exterior.
One change in particular apparently wasn’t appreciated by his wife, Melania Trump.
“I want to welcome you to the Rose Garden. You know, this is a whole new thing,” the president said, gesturing to the newly installed patio, which replaced the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.
“This used to be grass,” he continued. “And I took a little heat from my wife, she said, uh, ‘Darling, what did you do with my grass?’ I said, ‘People got tired of standing in mud.’”
“You know, the White House—you don’t realize this—it’s built on a wetland. So when it doesn’t—it didn’t have to rain. The grass was always soaking wet,“ he went on. ”If you had a news conference, the reporters—who are back there, I think—the reporters, they walk out with their shoes. The female reporters, in particular, they weren’t thrilled.“
“But I said we’re gonna get a gorgeous stone, which we did. And we’re gonna put this up here,” Trump added. “I don’t know if you got to see. It was just completed with the granite, the black granite.”
Trump called the historic People’s House a “s--- house” later in his speech, again to the first lady’s chagrin.
“This place was not properly taken care of,” he said, referring to the White House. “I was told by my wife, ‘You have to act presidential, so don’t use foul language.’ I won’t, therefore.”
“Normally, I would have said it was a s--- house,” he added. “But I don’t want to say that.”
Trump said that the historic building “is tippy-top now,” mentioning his newly installed black granite walkway, which the president clarified was “no-slip,” along the West Wing Colonnade.
Since entering office for the second time, the near-octogenarian has made numerous changes to the White House, including his additions of gaudy gold to the Oval Office, his bulldozing of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and his demolishing of the East Wing to make room for his $400 million ballroom, which he also talked about on Monday.
“The big thing is, we’re building a ballroom in the back, which will be, I think, the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world. You’ll never see anything like it,” Trump said. “And it’ll also be very safe, it’s got glass this thick.”
“It’s at the highest level of safety, and you won’t have a situation like you had two weeks ago on Saturday night,” the president added, referring to the chaotic White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on April 25.
