Comcast is one of 37 ‘patriot donors’ paying for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom
Neither Comcast nor the White House said how much the company will contribute to the estimated $300 million cost of the project that will replace the East Wing.
Comcast is among 37 corporations, foundations, and individuals donating money to build President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood, according to CNN and various news reports.
The exact amount that the Philadelphia-based global media and technology company will be contributing toward the estimated $300 million construction cost was not included on a list of donors provided to news media by the White House.
Comcast officials didn’t comment Friday.
The company has supported Trump in the past. It donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee in December, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. And it made a $250,000 donation to his 2017 inauguration, according to CNN.
Despite the contributions, the Trump administration has attacked Comcast-owned media outlets such as NBC and MSNBC for content he’s found objectionable.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom, to be named after Trump, could hold close to 1,000 people for state dinners and events, Time magazine reported.
The project is not without controversy.
Trump lacked approval for construction from the National Capital Planning Commission, which signs off on construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area, according to the Associated Press.
Ethics experts wonder whether donors are looking for special consideration from Trump.
Claire Finkelstein, a University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor and director of the school’s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, said the ballroom project rouses “a lot of concerns,” according to FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at Penn.
“Is he really going to use it for the duties of his office, or will he entertain a lot of individuals trying to curry favor with the administration or him personally?” Finkelstein asked. She wondered whether it could be “a misuse of public real estate.”
Others complain that the administration initially pledged not to demolish the East Wing, which turned out “to be a lie,” according to New York Magazine.
Comcast joins an elite roster of ballroom underwriters, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, according to NBC News.
Also on the list are crypto, oil, and tobacco companies, owners of sports teams, and the foundations of several billionaires.
Trump said he’ll contribute his own money to the ballroom’s construction, joining the list of what he calls “patriot donors.”
Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.