Donald Trump confirmed Monday that work is underway to build a “magnificent” helipad at the White House, the latest development in a series of personal projects intended to transform the iconic building.
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“We are now building a helipad, a magnificent helipad, with the seal of the White House inlaid in the granite, carved in the granite. It’s really something very beautiful,” the American president told journalists during an event in the Oval Office.
The future heliport will be located on the South Lawn, where American presidents and their families have been photographed for decades as they join or leave the presidential helicopter “Marine One”.
Journalists noticed the start of the work shortly after the dismantling of the huge stage installed last month on the lawn to host a mixed martial arts (MMA) event.
According to the Republican billionaire, this development aims to resolve the problems posed by the new fleet of presidential helicopters manufactured by Sikorsky.
While it is widely reported that the exhaust gases from these devices burn the lawn, Donald Trump claimed Monday that the power of the blast from the rotors tears up the grass. “The helicopter landed and half the lawn was in front of the door to the Oval Office,” he said.
According to Donald Trump, Sikorsky agreed to finance the project, the company feeling “a little guilty” for the damage caused to the lawn. “It costs between $5 and $6 million. They pay the entire bill. When I heard they were funding the project, I thought, let’s do something beautiful, not just a concrete slab painted white,” he said.
The Washington Post However, the cost is at least twice as high, in the order of $13 million, also including the renovation of the south portico and the adjacent alley.
According to the daily, the company responsible for the work was invited to speed up the construction so that it could be completed before a future state visit, probably that of Chinese President Xi Jinping in September.
Lion heads
At the same time, construction work on a vast ballroom desired by Donald Trump continues.
This controversial project, which led to the complete demolition of the East Wing of the White House, sparked a legal battle over the president’s ability to undertake such large-scale work without Congressional approval.
Speaking to a group of visitors in the historic White House Rose Garden, which Donald Trump had remodeled into a terrace in a style reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago residence, the president complained about the lawsuits. “In the world we live in, especially when your name is Trump, you end up in court,” he said.
He assured that the legal action had had the unexpected consequence of revealing the existence, under the future reception room, of a “formidable military center” kept secret.
Donald Trump also suggested that he was considering modifying the bicentennial columns of the north portico, currently in the Ionic style, in favor of the Corinthian style, more ornate and more to his taste.
Over the weekend, he published architectural sketches on his Truth Social network showing columns decorated with lion heads on the facade of the White House.
