Maher Warns Trump’s $300M White House Ballroom He’s ‘Not Leaving’

“Real Time” host Bill Maher sounded the alarm over the “symbolism” behind the president By Donald Trump Renovated the White House and revealed what “bothers” him about the East Wing demolition.

“The symbolism is that he doesn’t quit,” the late-night host told his panel on Friday. “If you’re leaving, who’s going to put you in the huge ballroom?”

On Friday, the East Wing, where guests and tourists flocked for events, was demolished.

Trump’s plan to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom is estimated to cost $300 million, which he says has been privately funded by himself, several large tech companies and “many generous patriots.”

Chelsea Clinton slams Trump’s ‘ignorance of history’ with White House ballroom construction

Democratic leaders and liberal media figures this week condemned President Donald Trump over the White House ballroom construction project. (Andrew Harnick/Getty)

Although Maher objected to Trump’s demolition, he sparred with former RNC Chairman Michael Steele over whether the White House is “just a building.”

“We saw this week the destruction of a symbol of this government,” Steele lamented. “Of our democracy, of our pluralistic society.”

“You’re talking about the White House?” Maher countered. “Hey, it’s the building, Mike.”

“Well, Bill, maybe it’s the building for you, but it’s not for most Americans,” argued the MSNBC political analyst.

Democrats, liberal media blast Trump for demolishing White House East Wing for ballroom

Steele called the White House his “childhood” and described what it meant to him as he grew up. Washington, DC

“I’ll tell you as a kid growing up in DC, when my dad took me by ‘that building,’ it meant something to me as a 10-year-old,” he continued.

The White House said President Donald Trump will directly reveal the name of the upcoming White House Ballroom. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It meant something to me to grow up in a town where everybody in this country came and protested and cried and screamed and laughed,” Steele said. “And I was a part of that. So that building, to me, was my childhood.”

The White House responded to reports that the new ballroom was named after Trump himself

Steele then said Trump tore down the East Wing “without accountability.” The Late Night Host He said he agreed with Steele on this.

“You know, he had to get permits, but that’s the kind of thing he does,” Maher said. “I agree, but it’s just a building, first of all.”

“That part of the building wasn’t always there,” he added. “Presidents change buildings. Nixon put a bowling alley in. Obama turned a tennis court into a basketball court. I can’t be mad about everything, Mike. I can’t.”

Photo of President Truman’s White House during renovations. (Harry S. Truman Library Presidential Library and Museum/NARA)

Steele’s fellow panelist, former Biden White House communications director Kate Bedingfield, weighed in on the controversy.

“If this was the only impulsive, reckless, you know, out of his own desire for self-aggrandizement, if that’s all he did on that front, I’ll give you that one building,” Bedingfield admitted.

“But it’s not. It’s part of a system of governance that’s tearing down some of the foundations, the institutional foundations of this country,” she argued. “And it’s scary.”

Click here to get the Fox News app

Like his panelists, the late-night host warned that Trump was “drunk with power” on the second leg of the show.

“What can’t President Trump do?” Maher asked.