Helipad and Corinthian columns: Trump continues the transformation of the White House

"We are now building a helipad, a magnificent helipad, with the White House seal embedded in the granite, carved into the granite. It's really something very beautiful," the US president told reporters at an event in the Oval Office.

The future helipad will be built on the South Lawn, where US presidents and their families have been photographed for decades as they board or disembark the presidential helicopter "Marine One".

Journalists had noticed the start of the work shortly after the dismantling of the huge stage installed last month on the lawn to host a mixed martial arts (MMA) event.

According to the Republican billionaire, this arrangement aims to solve the problems posed by the new fleet of presidential helicopters manufactured by Sikorsky.

While it is widely reported that the exhaust fumes from these machines burn the lawn, Donald Trump claimed on Monday that the power of the rotors' blast ripped the grass out.

"The helicopter landed and half the lawn ended up in front of the Oval Office door," he recounted.

According to Donald Trump, Sikorsky agreed to finance the project, the company feeling "a little guilty" about the damage done to the lawn.

"It costs between 5 and 6 million dollars. They are paying the entire bill. When I learned that they were funding the project, I thought: let's make something beautiful, not just a slab of concrete painted white," he said.

The Washington Post, however, suggests a cost at least twice as high, in the order of $13 million, also including the renovation of the south portico and the adjacent walkway.

According to the newspaper, the company in charge of the work has been asked to speed up the construction so that it is finished before an upcoming state visit, presumably that of Chinese President Xi Jinping in September.

Lion heads

Meanwhile, construction work continues on a vast ballroom desired by Donald Trump.

This controversial project, which led to the complete demolition of the East Wing of the White House, gave rise to a legal battle over the president's ability to undertake such large-scale work without congressional approval.

Speaking to a group of visitors in the White House's historic Rose Garden—which Donald Trump had redesigned as a terrace in a style reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago residence—the president complained about lawsuits. "In the world we live in, especially when your name is Trump, you end up in court," he declared.

He asserted that the legal action had the unexpected consequence of revealing the existence, beneath the future reception hall, of a "formidable military center" that had been kept secret.

Donald Trump also hinted that he was considering changing the two-hundred-year-old columns of the north portico, currently in the Ionic style, in favor of the Corinthian style, which is more ornate and more to his liking.

Over the weekend, he posted architectural sketches on his Truth Social network showing columns adorned with lion heads on the facade of the White House.