The White House on Wednesday (October 22) released a list showing that 37 donors have provided funding for President Trump’s $300 million new White House banquet hall project, including tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and Meta.
According to Trump, the White House banquet hall, which spans 90,000 square feet, will be able to accommodate up to 999 guests once completed. Construction workers have begun demolishing the entire East Wing of the White House starting from Monday (December 20).
The list of donors for the White House banquet hall project includes a range of Silicon Valley heavyweight tech companies, as well as defense contractors and cryptocurrency companies.
Among them, Google’s parent company Alphabet donated $22 million as part of a legal settlement after Trump’s YouTube account was banned by the company following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Furthermore, tech giants like Microsoft, Palantir, Coinbase, Comcast, and T-Mobile also appear on the list of donors.
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has pledged over $10 million. The company stated, “We are honored to have the opportunity to help turn the President’s vision into reality.”
Other corporate donors include Caterpillar, Micron Technology, and NextEra Energy.
Individual donors include cryptocurrency entrepreneurs Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his family, and the Adelson Family Foundation.
While Trump leads and promotes the White House banquet hall project with corporate support, it has also sparked severe criticism from some self-proclaimed historical preservationists.
US Senator Hawley questioned if they truly care about preserving historical monuments.
CNN journalist Manu Raju pressured Hawley on Wednesday regarding Trump’s demolition of parts of the White House complex and construction of a new banquet hall, saying, “Reporters noticed that Trump is tearing down a valuable historical building…”. In response, Hawley pointed out that leftists have been supporting the removal of American historical statues in recent years.
Hawley said, “I pointed this out yesterday. Because suddenly, I heard from my liberal friends, they care very much about our history. Really? These people have spent the last four years tearing down every statue they can get their hands on.”
He stated that these left-wing critics lack credibility, as they have been actively trying to remove American historical monuments during so-called racial justice protests.
Hawley remarked, “Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt… They had no interest in history back then. Now suddenly they say, ‘Oh, the East Wing’s architecture is special…'”.
Last week, Trump hosted a dinner at the White House for donors, praising attendees for providing “huge funds,” mentioning that some have expressed willingness to donate another $25 million each. These donations will be managed by the Trust for the National Mall, a non-profit organization that works in cooperation with the National Park Service.