A Fox News co-host offered a blistering take on President Donald Trump’s plans for a White House ballroom Thursday, suggesting that the controversy surrounding the project is being used to obscure the ways his administration is ignoring suffering Americans while the government is at a standstill.
Jessica Tarlov, a Democratic strategist who co-hosts “The Five” on Fox News, deemed the ballroom “a monstrosity,” noting it was “nothing like any of the other renovations” taken on by past presidents and “almost double the size of the White House itself.”
Still, she said she was using her airtime to shift the focus back to the government shutdown, now in its fourth week, as well as criticism over the president’s support for increasing low-tariff beef imports from Argentina to ease record beef prices in the U.S.
“Trump and [White House press secretary] Karoline Leavitt and the whole administration would rather that this is what we’re focused on, and it’s really getting away from the real stories of the moment,” Tarlov explained. “We are in the midst of a government shutdown. The Republican caucus from New Jersey wrote to Mike Johnson, saying, ‘You’ve got to make a short-term deal. Our constituents cannot handle these ACA premium hikes.’ Our farmers are losing their businesses. No soybeans coming out of America.”
She went on to note: “Those are the stories of what is happening in America today. That is how Donald Trump’s administration is hurting everyday Americans, most of whom voted for him.”
As of Friday afternoon, a clip of Tarlov’s remarks had been viewed more than 1.4 million times on X and had drawn an array of responses.
“It’s wild how priorities are so messed up! While farmers are struggling, he’s out here flexing with a huge ballroom,” one person wrote. “Feels like we need to focus on real issues instead of glitz. Hope things change soon!”
Added another: “We should be investing in our American farmers with everything we can. Food doesn’t grow in grocery stores.”
Others, however, insisted it was “exactly what we voted for” and came to the administration’s defense.
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“I’m pretty okay with getting a ballroom for free,” one person wrote.
Previously, Trump insisted his plans for a 90,000-square-foot, $300 million ballroom adjacent to the White House wouldn’t “interfere with the current building.”
On Monday, however, construction crews began dismantling the entirety of the White House’s East Wing, historically used as office space for the first lady and her staff. Since then, before-and-after photos and videos showing the startling scale of the demolition have drawn outrage from preservationists and historians alike.
Trump, meanwhile, is set to depart the U.S. on Friday for a five-day trip to Asia.
Watch Thursday’s installment of “The Five” with Jessica Tarlov below.
