In the main photo of this article, US President Donald Trump displays an image of the ballroom he plans to build in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, DC, on October 22, 2025
When the history of Donald Trump’s presidency is written, it is very likely that one word will stand out: arrogance.
Just look at how he has tried to apply his name — and his aesthetic — throughout the government and throughout America.
In a period of notable economic crisis, Trump decided, out of nowhere, to demolish the East Wing of the White House to build a large and luxurious ballroom, with the aim of holding parties with powerful people.
Even with his popularity in freefall, reaching levels rarely seen in recent US history, Trump insists on unconventional efforts to stamp his name and image on all types of government buildings and products — from the Kennedy Center and the US Institute of Peace, to tickets for national parks, savings accounts, a medicine website, a new class of warships, fighter jets, visas for the rich, gold coins, dollar bills and, most recently, passports.
Until now, we have had little statistical research to assess how these initiatives have been received by the American people. However, it seems that Americans consider these things to be as horrible as they seem.
Early opinion polls about the ballroom show that it was extremely unpopular.
However, even at that time, it was understandable that it was thought to be a temporary idea. Maybe it was just shocking for Americans to see the demolition of a large portion of the White House. Perhaps they would see the value of a larger space to host events in a complex like the White House — and which Trump says is privately funded.
Or maybe not.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that Americans hate the idea, both today and in October.
If at the time they were opposed to the demolition of the East Wing and the new ballroom project with a distribution of 56% against 28%, today the opposition is (also) 56% against 28%.
Construction crews continue to remove the East Wing of the White House and prepare the ground for construction of the new ballroom, as seen from the newly reopened Washington Monument on November 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
Republicans seem to have realized there is an opportunity here. They threw themselves headlong into a campaign in favor of the ballroom following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel.
According to the initial presentation of the idea, a ballroom would be a safer place for this type of event – even if, in reality, it does not work for the said dinner, for a series of reasons. It was even considered spending 400 million dollars of taxpayers’ money – and not the private donations that Trump always claimed would finance the event.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted both before and after the shooting. And although it found a modest increase in Republican support for the ballroom after the incident, a statistical analysis showed that, overall, “there was no significant change in opinion associated with the shooting.”
Americans continue to oppose the project, on a 2-to-1 scale. Those with strong opinions on the issue still oppose it by a 3-to-1 margin — just like before the shooting.
The poll’s verdict was even worse for two other Trump decoration attempts.
Trump’s plan to build a 250-foot triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery?
There are 52% of Americans who oppose it, compared to 21%.
Only a slim majority of Republicans (51%) support the proposal. Independents oppose her by a nearly 5-to-1 ratio (57% to 12%).
The proposal for the arch, like the ballroom, also received extremely negative public feedback from the relevant regulatory commission.
What about the US Treasury’s decision to put Trump’s signature on the notes? This is the first time this has happened to a sitting president.
US President Donald Trump stands next to models of a proposed “Independence Arch” as he speaks at a dinner with ballroom donors in the East Room of the White House on October 15, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
Americans are even more opposed: 68% against 12%.
Even Republicans oppose this proposal by a double-digit margin, 42% to 28%. And there is virtually no support outside of Trump’s Republican supporters. Non-Trump-supporting Republicans oppose it on a scale of 64% to 10%.
There is also new data from the Pew Research Center showing that only 9% of Americans consider it appropriate to name government buildings after Trump while he is still president.
Another 21% said it would be acceptable after Trump leaves office. There are 50% who say that it would not be acceptable in one way or another. The remaining 19% did not issue their verdict.
Apart from these polls, there is not much other data about Trump’s efforts to stamp his name on everything.
A CNN poll conducted in January, after the Kennedy Center board of directors voted to put Trump’s name on the building, appears to confirm that Americans generally dislike such “changes to cultural institutions” like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian.
62% of Americans — including 30% of Republicans — said Trump had “gone too far” with these changes.
Of the eight Trump initiatives that were subjected to scrutiny, this was the one that was most recognized with the “exceeded the limits” stamp.
In the world of political analysis, it sometimes seems like Trump isn’t harmed by anything he does. After all, his approval rate proved resilient, albeit low, for a long period.
However, sometimes actions that seem crazy to the naked eye end up being perceived that way by the American people.
Now that the US president is losing support like never before, because of the war with Iran and high gasoline prices, it is clear that gilding Washington and adorning the US government with more Trump is not helping anything.
