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Years before Donald Trump first launched a bid for the White House, then-President Barack Obama joked about how the celebrity businessman would slap his name on the historic building if given the chance.
Now, as Trump, 79, is overseeing the effort to demolish the East Wing and add a $300 million ballroom in its place, the remarks made by Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner look especially prescient.
The 44th president of the United States, now 64, took the stage on that April evening with plenty of material aimed squarely at Trump, who had launched a very public campaign questioning Obama’s citizenship and implying that he was not fit to be president under the false assertion that he was born in Kenya, not Hawaii. Obama put an end to the speculation with the release of his birth certificate.
He joked about Trump’s conspiracy theory at the Correspondents’ Dinner, telling the crowd, “He can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”
He then said, “All kidding aside, obviously we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience,” eliciting more laughter from the room. Mocking Trump’s reality TV gig as the host of Celebrity Apprentice, Obama sarcastically said that Trump had to make important decisions on the show that would “keep me up at night.”
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“Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House,” Obama continued, referencing the real estate mogul’s longtime flirtation with running for president.
Obama then pointed to a screen in the room, which displayed a photoshopped image of how he believed Trump’s White House would look. In the rendering, the original building was swallowed by a significantly taller tower behind it, which had the name “Trump” in huge capital letters and “the White House” written in purple underneath. The parody photo described the White House tower as a hotel, casino and golf course that also features a presidential suite.
Obama’s rendering showed two women in bikini tops sitting in the White House fountain with cocktails, and in a fitting nod to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago aesthetic that has shown through in the real-life White House today, the residence was depicted with gold pillars and a massive sparkling chandelier.
While Trump has not added a casino or golf course to the White House during either of his presidential terms, he has used his personal style as the model for plenty of changes made around the property since returning to power in January.
Not only did he tear out the Rose Garden lawn and pave over it to create a patio dining area, he’s also placed several photos of himself around the Executive Residence (including one where Obama’s portrait hung), installed new marble floors and chandeliers, redecorated the Cabinet Room with gold decals and curtains, and added gold detailing and embellishments to the Oval Office.
Sources told PEOPLE that such changes are intended to make the White House better resemble Trump’s Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago.
“Anytime Melania and Donald can make the White House feel more like Mar-a-Lago, they will,” one source, a club member, told PEOPLE. “They love Mar-a-Lago. Not only is it their home, but Donald personally created much of the current decor and takes pride in living there and showing it to other people.”
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His latest project is the new, 90,000-square-foot White House Ballroom where the East Wing has long been situated, which Trump is reportedly expected to name after himself. The structure will be nearly double the size of the actual White House residence.
Though Trump initially promised that the longstanding East Wing structure would be expanded — not destroyed — during the ballroom’s construction, the administration changed its plans without the public’s knowledge. On Monday, Oct. 20, excavators began quietly demolishing the Roosevelt-era building, which has since been flattened.
