Did White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt describe the ballroom construction at the White House as President Trump's "main priority"? Yes, she did, but social media posts took the quote out of context. When Leavitt said "the ballroom is really the President's main priority", she was not addressing the overall state of affairs in the country or abroad. Leavitt was answering a question about other renovation projects at the Executive Residence.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X where it was published on October 23, 2025. It opened:
So, Trump's MAIN priority is a $300 MILLION ballroom? Not lowering costs. Not saving health care. Not reopening the government. Got it.
The post included a short video of Leavitt in which she was heard saying:
At this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the President's main priority.
This is what the video in the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at. x.com/HouseDemocrats)
So, Trump's MAIN priority is a $300 MILLION ballroom? Not lowering costs. Not saving health care. Not reopening the government.
-- House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) October 23, 2025
Got it. pic.twitter.com/6wvM9B3s2M
The quote came from the White House press secretary's briefing held on October 23, 2025 (archived here). At the 19:27 mark (archived here), we can hear the following exchange:
REPORTER: In addition to the ballroom and the Rose Garden patio, is the president looking at any other renovations or significant kind of projects here at the White House?
LEAVITT: Uh, not to my knowledge, no. But he's a builder at heart, clearly, uh, and so his, his heart and his mind is always churning about how to improve things here on the White House grounds. But at this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president's main priority.
As the transcript above demonstrates, Leavitt said the words from the viral quote in response to a specific question about construction at the White House, not addressing anything else outside of that context.
