President Donald Trump marked the construction of a new White House ballroom on Wednesday in his first public appearance since Republicans' heavy defeats in the midterm elections, CBS News reports. He gathered reporters and construction workers inside the unfinished building as its final steel beam was prepared for lifting, and signed the beam alongside the workers' names.
Trump described the ballroom and a nearby helipad as beautiful additions and said presidents had wanted such a venue for decades. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised him as a builder. Asked why he was focusing on projects in Washington, which rank low among voters' concerns, Trump said he found construction relaxing. He also responded to Vice-President JD Vance's post blaming the Iran war for the party's losses, saying it was largely true because the war had pushed up fuel prices.
Source: CBS News