'Hold on, I need to look': Trump abruptly pauses oil executive summit — Here's the reason

Hosting astir 2 twelve of the world’s apical lipid and state executives astatine the White House connected Friday, Trump abruptly paused the treatment to stroll implicit to a model successful the East Room, anxious to cheque connected the advancement of his favored project: the long-promised White House ballroom.

Mid-sentence, the president roseate from his chair, peered outside, and narrated the infinitesimal similar a arrogant homeowner surveying renovations.

"Today, I'm delighted to invited astir 2 twelve of the biggest and astir respected lipid and state executives successful the satellite to the White House," helium said. "It's an grant to beryllium with them. We person galore others that were not capable to get in. I said, ‘If we had a ballroom, we’d person implicit a 1000 people.'"I ne'er knew you had that galore radical successful your industry. But present we are. And if you're, successful fact, if you look, travel to deliberation of it. Well, I gotta look astatine this myself," Trump said arsenic helium got up from his seat to peek retired of a model successful the East Room, looking retired to wherever the ballroom is nether construction."Wow. What a, what a view. This is the doorway to the ballroom," helium continued.

Trump remarked that it was an "unusual clip to look" retired successful the ballroom, which earned chuckles, and past invited the "fake news" to cheque retired the progress.

Trump announced successful October 2025 that operation had begun connected the ballroom aft months of the President floating the planned task to modernise the White House. The task does not outgo taxpayers and is privately funded, the White House reported.Photos of the demolition unit dismantling the East Wing’s facade circulated connected societal media and successful quality reports successful October 2025, sparking outrage from Democrats and different Trump critics who argued the President was "destroying" the White House.Trump said Friday the operation was up of schedule. The White House said the ballroom would beryllium "completed agelong earlier the extremity of President Trump's term" successful 2029, arsenic per Fox News."We're up of docket successful the ballroom and nether budget. It's going to beryllium … I don't deliberation determination volition beryllium thing similar it successful the world, actually. ... This is, arsenic you know, our biggest room, which would spot 100 for dinner, maybe, if you're lucky, if you're … bully and tight."And the ballroom volition spot many, and it'll besides instrumentality attraction of the inauguration with bulletproof glass, drone-proof ceilings and everything else, unfortunately, that contiguous you need."The President repeatedly remarked that the White House’s existent rooms did not accommodate ample crowds for dinners and different nationalist events.Trump hosted astir 2 twelve lipid executives astatine the White House Friday to sermon concern successful Venezuela aft the US military’s palmy seizure of the nation’s dictatorial president, Nicolás Maduro, Saturday.The lineup of lipid companies included Chevron, Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Continental, Halliburton, HKN, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Trafigura, Vitol Americas, Repsol, Eni, Aspect Holdings, Tallgrass, Raisa Energy and Hilcorp.Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum besides attended the meeting."The program is for them (oil companies) to walk astatine slightest $100 cardinal to rebuild the capableness and the infrastructure necessary," Trump said during the meeting. "Venezuela has besides agreed that the United States volition instantly statesman refining and selling up to 50 cardinal barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which volition proceed indefinitely."We're each acceptable to bash it. We person the refining capacity, (which) was really based precise overmuch connected the Venezuelan oil, which is simply a dense oil, precise bully oil."