Kid Rock is making a pitch to be the first musician to perform in President Donald Trump’s new $300 million White House ballroom.
After demolition began this week, the entirety of the East Wing has been torn down to make way for Trump’s gold-plated ballroom, which has been privately funded by wealthy donors. The president has personally vowed to donate “millions” to the project that could be completed by the end of his term.
The 54-year-old country singer, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, made a case on Jesse Watters Primetime Thursday to be the first musician to perform in the 90,000 square-foot space.
“Kid, we’re hearing, from sources, that you might be the one to be the first to play in the big beautiful ballroom. That true?” the Fox News host asked.
“I hope so!” Kid Rock said. “Ball ‘til you fall, that’s what I say.”
Watters then asked the singer about the controversy surrounding the project.
“I’ve heard all the talking points like you have from the left wing, especially the media,” he said. “Which is ‘This is the people’s house’. That is correct. That is the people’s house, and guess what? We the people elected this man overwhelmingly to be in that house. And he’s going to build a big beautiful addition. It’s not gonna take any of the taxpayers’ money to do it, and thank God.”
“If he’s going to sidestep a few regulations, which I don’t know that to be a fact, but I wouldn’t be mad at him,” the musician said. “I can only imagine the regulations if he tried to do it all exactly by the book. All he has to do is say ‘We are going to put in a gender-neutral bathroom’ and they’ll be like ‘Oh, we love your ballroom idea.’”
“That’s all they need to do and then they’ll be dancing the night away,” Watters replied with a chuckle.
Several Democrats have branded the project as Trump’s "billionaire ballroom” and pointed out that the massive demolition is underway during the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
In July, the president said he wouldn’t interfere with the existing structure of the East Wing, but this week, he changed his tune, telling reporters "to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure."
The price tag of the ballroom has also risen since the process began, increasing from $250 million to $300 million. He’s repeatedly touted that the project won’t cost American taxpayers a dime.
At a briefing Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the demolition and the changing cost: “With any construction project, there are changes over time as you assess what the project is going to look like, and we’ll continue to keep you apprised of all of those changes.”
She called Trump the “builder-in-chief” and urged people to “trust the process.”
Using visual aids, Leavitt emphasized Trump is far from the only president to renovate the historic building. “There have been many presidents in the past who have made their mark on this beautiful White House complex,” she said.
Kid Rock has been an outspoken supporter of Trump for years, frequently performing at his rallies, including the MAGA victory rally ahead of the president’s inauguration ceremony in January. The musician has golfed with the president, visited the Oval Office and even opened up a restaurant, which Trump called a “very friendly MAGA establishment.”
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