White House ballroom will 'protect all of Washington', Trump vows as he unveils designs for 'drone-proof' military complex
Donald Trump has said his "drone-proof" White House ballroom will help the US military keep the entire US capital safe.
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The US president unveiled fresh designs for the estimated $400million project while speaking to reporters at the construction site on Tuesday.
“It's developed in such a way that we can have military there,” he said, explaining that the tall roof will be flat to facilitate army personnel and technology.
“Not only is it drone proof, if a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won’t have any impact”, he said while holding up an image of the design.
He claimed the roof of the building “protects all of Washington”, adding that the ballroom is a “shield” that will protect “all of the things that are built here”.
Trump added that the ballroom is “built for our snipers, not the enemy snipers”, adding that the height of the building gives a “very clear view of everything all over Washington”.
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“On top of the roof, we [will] have the greatest drone empire that you've ever seen, and it's going to protect Washington,” he said.
It will also feature a “drone port” housing autonomous weaponry, Trump said, adding that there could also be drone manufacturing capabilities inside the ballroom.
“Also for the drone building capacity, some of that takes place right down here,” he said while pointing at the building site.
“You can see the very large piping and the other things that it's a very complex building. It's all knit together,” Trump added.
The controversial project is has faced legal hurdles after a judge ordered a pause to its construction.
In April, US District Judge Richard Leon granted a temporary halt to construction following legal action brought by the conservationist group National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Trump fumed at the ruling and has insisted the new building is needed as a safe and secure location for important events.
He also claimed the third assassination attempt he has faced would “never have happened" if a "large, safe and secure ballroom" had been built on the grounds of the White House.
"It cannot be built fast enough!" he added.
"While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the world, the White House."
The incident saw the US president being pulled off stage at the White House Correspondents Dinner held at the Washington Hilton Hotel as gun shots were fired.
The ballroom is being built the site where the East Wing of the White House used to be and Trump has previously said it is being funded by $400million (£300million) in donations.
“This is a gift… This is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer,” he said.