The bizarre moment Reporters gathered in the White House grounds shouted questions up at the President, who had been on a tour of the roof
Donald Trump tours White House roof hinting at further renovations
Donald Trump performed a very unusual gesture during a walkabout on the roof of the White House – just after apparently claiming he wanted to install nuclear missiles up there.
Reporters gathered in the White House grounds shouted questions up at the President, who had been on a tour of the roof of the building.
He’s planning extensive renovations to the iconic residence and office building.
His first change was to pave over the famous Rose Garden – something that has sparked anger among critics.
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The next project he has announced is to tack a huge ballroom on the side of the East Wing – designs of which closely resemble the ballroom in his Mar A Lago club in Florida.
Today, he responded to questions about what he wanted to build next by apparently shouting “missiles. Nuclear missiles.”
He pointed to the roof of the White House beneath his feet, then made a stiff-armed gesture, twice.
It seems likely that the President was merely miming the launch of a missile.
But after the furore around a similar gesture Elon Musk compared at a party to celebrate his inauguration, it’s likely his critics will note the gesture’s similarity to a Nazi salute.
Trump appeared to be taking stock of several areas including the roof of the press briefing room and the Rose Garden.
Wearing a suit with a red tie, Trump walked the area with several other people, as someone with them took photographs.
Trump may have been surveying ongoing renovation and construction work at the White House. He returned to the presidency with grand ideas for remaking the building, like paving over the Rose Garden and building a massive ballroom.
After making observations from the White House roof, Trump walked over to an area above the briefing room, briefly interacting with reporters gathered below.
Asked why he was on the roof, Trump said he was “taking a little walk” and mentioned the “ballroom on the other side.”
Last month, the White House announced that construction on a massive, new $200 million ballroom — the first structural change to the Executive Mansion itself since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948 — would begin in September. One of the five men with him appeared to be James McCrery, architect for the project.
“Just another way to spend my money for this country,” Trump said. “Anything I do is financed by me.”