President Donald Trump made an unexpected appearance on the White House roof on August 5, 2025, spending approximately 20 minutes surveying the rooftop and grounds below in what appears to be connected to his ambitious renovation plans for the executive mansion.
The 79-year-old president emerged from a door connected to the State Dining Room and stepped onto the roof above the press briefing room and west colonnade. When questioned by reporters below about his presence on the roof, Trump responded that he was “just taking a little walk” and indicated he was looking for more ways to spend his money for the country.
Flanked by bodyguards and under the protection of snipers, Trump shouted down to reporters and made various gestures during his rooftop stroll. He joked about installing nuclear missiles during the unusual public appearance, which lasted nearly 20 minutes according to multiple news reports.
The rooftop appearance came amid Trump’s extensive renovation plans for the White House, including a proposed $200 million expansion of the East Wing that will house a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The expansion represents the first structural change to the Executive Mansion itself since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948.
Construction on the massive new ballroom is scheduled to begin in September 2025, with funding coming from Trump and other donors described as “patriot donors” in a White House news release. The project will create a ballroom similar to the one at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump has already implemented significant changes to the White House grounds, most notably paving over the historic Rose Garden lawn and replacing it with plain white concrete slabs. The Rose Garden, originally created in 1903 by former First Lady Edith Roosevelt and redesigned during the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s, has long been used for press conferences, bill signings, and formal dinners.
According to Trump, the lawn removal was necessary because women’s high heels got stuck in the grass. The president added white patio furniture and yellow-and-white striped umbrellas that mirror the outdoor furniture at his Mar-a-Lago property.
The rooftop incident also spawned fake videos circulating on social media. A doctored video claiming to show Trump dancing to the song “YMCA” while on the roof spread across various platforms, featuring a fake C-SPAN logo. Fact-checkers confirmed the dancing video was artificially generated and did not represent the actual footage from the president’s rooftop appearance.
The altered video originated from an X account called “drefanzor memes,” which identifies itself as posting doctored videos. Multiple journalists present during the actual rooftop event confirmed that while Trump made various gestures and shouted to reporters below, he did not dance.
Following the initial rooftop appearance, Fox News captured additional footage showing Trump pointing and gesturing from a residence window toward the roof, suggesting continued interest in the area for his renovation projects.
Trump indicated on Tuesday that “something beautiful” was in development to complement the planned ballroom, though he declined to specify what the additional project would entail. A White House spokesperson previously stated that Trump, as a builder at heart, wants to make the White House as exceptional as possible for future generations of Americans.
The renovation projects represent Trump’s effort to remake the White House in the image of his private properties. The spokesperson noted that the Rose Garden renovation is just one of many projects the president is undertaking to improve the White House complex and enhance its beauty.
The rooftop incident occurred as Trump continues to implement his vision for transforming the executive mansion, with the president describing his role as “developer-in-chief” in apparent reference to his real estate background and current renovation efforts at the nation’s most famous residence.
