President Donald Trump said on Sunday that construction on the new helipad he requested at the White House has finished.
“Dwight Eisenhower didn’t need a Helipad at the White House for those little Choppers, but America needs one now — Just completed, and MAGNIFICENT!” Trump said on social media alongside a photo of former President Dwight Eisenhower, who was the first president to fly in a helicopter. Trump requested changes to the helipad last month after expressing dissatisfaction with the project.
Construction began in June after the UFC fights on the White House’s South Lawn that commemorated both Trump’s 80th birthday and the Fourth of July.
The helipad has drawn less attention over the summer than other construction and beautification projects in Washington, D.C., that the Trump administration has spearheaded. Construction on the new White House ballroom and demolition of the East Wing have faced significant legal challenges, though the Supreme Court recently ruled in a 5-4 decision that construction can continue. Other projects include repainting the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool, building a “Triumphal Arch,” and upgrading and repairing fountains and statues throughout the district.
Democratic lawmakers have been critical of Trump’s focus on such projects, but the president has maintained changes are necessary to “reflect and inspire awe and appreciation” for the country’s heritage.
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Trump said, “One thing I know how to do is build,” while showing off the helipad construction to reporters last month. He noted it would look “incredible from the air and from every place else” and said that the project must be completed before Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping visits the White House at the end of the month.
“This will be much better for state arrivals,” he said. “And in fact, instead of being on grass, now they’ll be using that almost like a table. They can have events on it. They can have people go there for cocktails and then walk to the ballroom after that’s finished.”