The British monarch commented on Donald Trump’s decision to demolish the historic East Wing to construct a grand ballroom
King Charles III has cracked a joke about US President Donald Trump’s controversial White House ballroom project, comparing it to the burning of the iconic building by British troops in 1814. He also issued what was widely seen as a subtle rebuke of Trump’s criticism of NATO amid friction in US-UK ties.
In October 2025, the Trump administration demolished the historic White House East Wing to build what the president said would be a privately funded grand ballroom.
The project met regulatory pushback, with controversy escalating further on Monday after Senator Lindsey Graham advocated for legislation to fund the construction with more than $300 million in taxpayer money, framing it as a national security imperative after a gunman tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Charles humorously mentioned the ongoing construction, saying: “I cannot help noticing the readjustments to the East Wing… I’m sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814,” in a reference to British troops burning the building during the War of 1812.
He saved a second light-hearted barb for Trump’s habit of reminding Europeans that the US supposedly saved them from speaking German during World War II. “Dare I say that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French”, Charles added, in a nod to Britain’s defeat of France in the Seven Years’ War, which paved the way for British control over North America.
During his visit, King Charles also took an opportunity to take a subtle swipe at Trump over his criticism of NATO, which escalated after the bloc refused to support the US in its war on Iran. Charles recalled that the only time NATO invoked a mutual defense clause was in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001.
Despite the cordiality and jokes apparently being taken as intended, with the White House posting a photo of Trump and Charles captioned “TWO KINGS,” the visit comes amid a standoff in historically close US-UK ties.
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Trump has branded UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer a “coward” and “no Churchill” after Starmer said the Iran conflict is “not our war.” In addition, Washington has threatened a “big tariff” on British goods unless London scraps its digital services tax on US technology companies.
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