President Donald Trump made an unexpected appearance on the White House roof on August 5, 2025, spending approximately 20 minutes surveying the grounds and engaging with reporters from above the press briefing room. The 79-year-old president emerged from a door connected to the State Dining Room and stepped onto the roof above the west colonnade, flanked by bodyguards and protected by snipers.
When questioned by reporters about his presence on the roof, Trump explained he was “taking a little walk” and indicated he was looking for ways to spend money on improvements for the country. The president appeared to be inspecting the area in connection with his planned White House renovations, particularly the proposed $200 million ballroom expansion.
The rooftop appearance followed Trump’s ongoing efforts to remake the White House in the image of his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Workers recently completed paving over the iconic Rose Garden lawn, replacing the historic grassy expanse with plain white concrete slabs. Trump justified the Rose Garden renovation by explaining that women’s high heels got stuck in the grass.
The president has also added white patio furniture and yellow-and-white striped umbrellas to the Rose Garden that mirror the outdoor furniture at his private Mar-a-Lago club. The Rose Garden, originally created in 1903 by former First Lady Edith Roosevelt and redesigned for President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy during the early 1960s, has long been used for press conferences, bill signings, formal dinners, and other official events.
Trump announced plans for a 90,000-square-foot expansion of the East Wing that will house an opulent new ballroom, similar to the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago. The expansion is expected to cost approximately $200 million, paid for by Trump and other donors described as “patriot donors” according to a White House news release.
During his rooftop appearance, Trump shouted to reporters below and made various gestures, including joking about installing nuclear missiles on the roof. The president responded to questions from afar and raised his fist several times during the 20-minute stroll across the flat roof surface.
Following the authentic rooftop appearance, a fake video circulated online purporting to show Trump dancing to the song “YMCA” while on the White House roof. The altered video included a C-SPAN logo, leading many viewers to believe it was genuine footage from the network. However, fact-checkers confirmed the dancing video was AI-generated and did not occur during Trump’s actual rooftop visit.
Snopes verified that the original C-SPAN footage shows no dancing, and AFP journalists present at the scene confirmed they did not observe Trump dancing during his rooftop appearance. The fake video originated from an X account called “drefanzor memes,” which identifies itself as posting “doctored videos” and is associated with the “Dilley Meme Team,” an online collective of pro-Trump influencers.
Days after the initial rooftop appearance, Fox News captured additional footage showing Trump pointing and gesturing out a residence window toward the roof, suggesting continued interest in the area for his renovation plans. The president indicated that something described as “beautiful” was in development to accompany the planned ballroom, though he declined to provide specific details about the project.
A White House spokesperson indicated that Trump, described as a builder at heart, wants to make the White House as exceptional as possible for future generations of Americans. The spokesperson noted that the Rose Garden renovation represents just one of many projects the president is undertaking to improve the White House complex and enhance its beauty.
The planned ballroom expansion will mark the first structural change to the Executive Mansion itself since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948. Construction on the new ballroom is scheduled to begin in September 2025, representing a significant modification to the historic presidential residence.
Trump’s White House modifications have drawn attention for their resemblance to his private Mar-a-Lago property, where crypto executives, business leaders, and others seeking to curry favor with the president have been paying record fees for access to the club and its facilities.
