Trump floats White House renovation projects and meeting with Xi

US President Donald Trump says he expects to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping around September 24th as a new ballroom and a helipad are under construction at the White House.

The Republican president floats several of his renovation projects at the White House during a Rose Garden luncheon on Monday, during which he cites Xi's potential visit to the US as one of the reasons for building the new ballroom.

Trump says: "For instance, President Xi is coming here in the, toward the end of September 24, I believe. What we need is a big ballroom, we could hold thousands of people to see him. Everyone wants to see him."

The 90,000-square-feet structure will replace White House's demolished East Wing.

The construction's budget was estimated at 200 million US dollars when Trump unveiled the plan last summer, but it's currently facing significant overruns to reach 400 million dollars.

As reported by The Washington Post, Trump is also building a granite landing pad to accommodate the new fleet of presidential choppers Marine One on the South Lawn.

Contractors have been asked to shave off over a month of the planned deadline, requiring around the clock work, to finish the project no later than September 17th.

Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office he believes the costs will be upwards of 6 million dollars and the project will be privately funded by Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary.

"So now we are building a helipad, a beautiful helipad. And it's got the seal of the White House on its granite, in carved granite. It's really a beautiful thing. And I'll tell you, Sikorsky is paying for it. You know why? Because they didn't tell us how powerful these helicopters were, and they felt a little bit guilty."

This as the new-generation VH-92A Patriot built by Sikorsky was too powerful to land with exhaust vents aiming heat downward.

Trump says the helicopters not only singed the grass but also "ripped it out," and they saw limited service after being delivered in 2024.

The White House has had to keep using the older fleet, VH-3D, for South Lawn departures and arrivals.

{Danni Zhou TVB News}

{Trump floats White House renovation projects, says he'll meet Xi in September}

{TAG:}