Karoline Leavitt responds to Obama's ballroom remark

Name: Karoline Leavitt responds to Obama's ballroom remark
Uploaded: 2026-10-28T08:30:22.000Z
Duration: 12 min 52 s
Description: Fox News posted a YouTube video titled "Leavitt FIRES BACK at Obama's ballroom jab" on October 28, 2026.

Karoline Leavitt cited past presidential renovations while answering criticism of the East Wing project on Fox News as midterm voting neared.

IDBy IJR Editor DeskOct 29, 2026

Fox News posted a YouTube video titled "Leavitt FIRES BACK at Obama's ballroom jab" on October 28, 2026.

The channel's own description says Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson reports from Corpus Christi, Texas, where supporters wait for President Donald Trump's campaign rally to stump for Ken Paxton in the Senate race, and that Fox News contributor Karoline Leavitt also joined "America's Newsroom" to discuss the president's midterm blitz as voters head to the polls. Separate Fox listings for a 56-second segment that aired the same day on "America's Newsroom" state that Leavitt joined to discuss Obama's jab over Trump's White House renovations. Those shorter cuts carry titles including "Leavitt rips Obama over Trump jab: 'Fell flat'."

The ballroom fight had already played out in the press room. A Hannity staff post dated October 24, 2025, describes a Thursday exchange in which CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang pressed Leavitt over East Wing demolition and presidential oversight. "No, it’s something that presidents have done for years and years," Leavitt said, according to that account. She pulled photos from a folder. "In fact, I have some photos here to show you the construction that’s taken place on the White House grounds. This is the construction of the West Wing in 1902. Look at this, the construction of the West Terrace in 1902. These images look quite similar to what you and the American people are seeing today. The construction of the East Terrace as well."

Jiang answered, the post reports: "So it sounds like the answer is yes, he can tear down whatever he wants." Leavitt did not accept the framing. "I mean, that’s not what we’re saying. That’s a legal opinion that’s been held for many years," she said, then turned to more images. "Look at the construction of the West Wing expansion in 1934. So look, this is a legal opinion that’s been held for many years. Look, this is 1950." When Jiang pressed again, Leavitt pointed to a 1950 renovation photo and asked: "What do you think that rubble is? How did that rubble get there?" Benny Johnson had posted a clip of the same exchange a day earlier, on October 23, 2025.

The Hannity write-up places the work in a longer line of White House changes: Teddy Roosevelt's 1902 rebuild, Harry Truman's gut renovation, Richard Nixon's briefing room and bowling alley, and Barack Obama's tennis-to-basketball court swap. It names Democrats Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Gavin Newsom as accusing Trump of abusing his power and treating the People's House as his own.

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Fox NewsOct 28, 2026

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Leavitt FIRES BACK at Obama's ballroom jab

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Two days before the Hannity post, on October 22, 2025, Jesse Watters asked Leavitt on air about the politics of the project. "Are the Democrats jealous that Trump is building this big beautiful ballroom?" Watters said, according to a joemygod.com article published that day. Leavitt replied: "It certainly appears that way. I believe there’s a lot of fake outrage right now because nearly every single president who has lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own. He has done it his entire life, his entire career. Construction is a process; at the end, the East Wing, which is an entirely separate structure from the executive mansion you see behind me, will be more modern and beautiful than ever. In fact, President Obama notably complained that during his tenure, he had to hold a state visit on the South Lawn and get a very expensive tent. So while many presidents have privately dreamt about this, it’s President Trump who is actually doing something about it."

The same joemygod.com article states that Obama never complained about the tent. It quotes him saying: "As we all know, in India some of life’s most treasured moments are often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent. It’s a little like tonight."