The Republican president has said he's adding a 90,000-square-foot ballroom because the East Room, the largest room in the White House with an approximately 200-person capacity, is too small.

Demolition crews began tearing down parts of the White House East Wing facade on Monday to make way for a new ballroom.

Plans to build an enormous $250 million (€215 million) ballroom addition to the White House – one of the largest projects at the White House in more than a century – emerged in July.