<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner expressed his views on the future of the White House ballroom during a press conference on August 26, 2026. Krasner stated that he envisioned the ballroom, which was ordered to be constructed by President Donald Trump, being "blown up."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">These comments were made during the 24th annual slavery commiseration ceremony at the slavery exhibit located at the President’s House site in Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. Krasner mentioned that he looked forward to having a keepsake from the event.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I’m gonna have a paperweight sitting on my desk,” Krasner said. “You know what that paperweight is gonna be? It’s gonna be a piece of a ballroom after we all blow it up. That’s what it’s gonna be.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Krasner also noted that the destruction of the ballroom would occur during "an official ceremony."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Just so we’re clear, in an official ceremony, we’re gonna blow it up, and we’re going to give the taxpayers their money back by selling old pieces as paperweights,” Krasner stated. “And I will have one on my desk.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">His remarks received applause from several attendees, with at least one person expressing interest in obtaining a piece of the ballroom after its destruction. However, not all responses were positive. Philadelphia resident Lindy Li, a political strategist, criticized Krasner’s comments.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Krasner is one of the single biggest disgraces from my beloved city,” Li told the Washington Examiner. “On behalf of my fellow America-loving Philadelphians, I’d like to apologize to the rest of our country for our shameful DA.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Krasner's comments about the ballroom were made in the context of discussing the slavery exhibit, despite the ballroom being located in Washington, D.C., while the exhibit is in Philadelphia. The slavery exhibit has faced controversy recently due to the Trump administration's decision to remove the site’s original panels as part of an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After legal disputes, the courts ruled that the Trump administration was allowed to remove the original panels and replace them. New panels were installed in July 2026.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Krasner mentioned that the original panels would eventually be returned after “they had won,” asserting that the slavery exhibit would remain as long as the federal park exists.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is important to note that the slavery exhibit at the President’s House in Philadelphia is not connected to the White House ballroom, as they are separate structures in different cities. Nonetheless, Krasner linked the two and stated that the slavery exhibit would remain, while the ballroom would not. He also claimed that the Kennedy Center bearing Trump’s name would not exist in the future.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I want you to think forward because there’s a beautiful time coming,” Krasner said. “This memorial will be here. The educational content will be here. People will be coming to see it not for a year or two, or not even 20 years. They will be coming to see it as long as this federal park is here.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Krasner concluded his remarks by stating, “But let me tell you what will not be here. There will not be a ballroom. There will not be a Kennedy Center renamed for a fool.” He used strong language to describe President Trump, referring to him as a “pain in the a**” and the “embodiment of hate, the embodiment of ignorance, and the embodiment of depriving people of their vote and education.”</p>