Americans oppose President Donald Trump tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, oppose a 250-foot arch by an even wider margin and oppose the addition of Trump’s signature to paper currency by more than 5-to-1, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel.

Trump’s ballroom

The Trump administration announced the construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in July 2025, with Trump promising “it won’t interfere with the current building.” By October, demolition started on the East Wing of the White House, which was built in 1902 and renovated in 1942.

The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll finds that more than half of Americans, 56%, oppose tearing down the East Wing to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, with 28% in support and 15% unsure. The results are nearly identical to an October ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.

Currently, strong opposition (47%) outweighs strong support (16%) by about 3-to-1.

In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation – a privately-funded nonprofit designated by Congress to protect historic sites – filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the ballroom construction until the administration completed the federal review process standard for federal building projects. Earlier this month, an appeals court panel allowed construction of the ballroom to continue, granting an administrative stay of an earlier injunction. 

Trump has reiterated his desire for the ballroom in the aftermath of the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night, arguing that the hotel ballroom did not provide the appropriate security measures for an event the president is attending. 

The poll was in the field before and after the Saturday dinner. Overall, there was no significant difference in attitudes before and after the White House correspondents’ dinner, but Republican support for the ballroom increased from 62% before the dinner to 72% after. 

Despite Republican calls for building the ballroom in light of the attempted attack Saturday night, the planned ballroom, according to a National Capital Planning Commission staff report, would have a seating capacity of about 1,000 guests. About 2,600 guests were seated for this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner. A White House event would be under the purview of the administration, whereas many events the president attends – including the correspondents’ dinner – are run by outside, independent, entities.

Republicans proposed a bill that would provide $400 million in funding for the facility. It comes after Trump said in October that the ballroom would be “paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine,” referencing donors. “The government is paying absolutely nothing.” Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to regulate the project and impose restrictions on donations — aimed at prohibiting bribery. 

Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats oppose the ballroom project, along with about 6 in 10 independents. Among Republicans, 65% support tearing down the East Wing of the White House to make room for a ballroom. Support grows to 77% among MAGA-Republicans (which include Republican-leaning independents who support the MAGA movement), but it drops to just 31% among non-MAGA Republicans.

An arch

In addition to Trump’s major changes to the White House structure, the president has also proposed a 250-foot-tall arch to be built at Memorial Circle, right before the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, at the other end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial at the other side of the bridge.

“I’d like it to be the biggest [arch] of all,” even bigger than the 164-foot-tall Arc De Triomphe in Paris, Trump said.

By an over 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose (52%) rather than support (21%) the Trump administration’s plan to build the arch. Another 26% are unsure. 

Strong opposition (41%) outweighs strong support (9%) by more than 4-to-1.

A group of Vietnam War veterans have sued to stop construction of the arch, arguing that the project needs to be authorized by Congress before construction can begin, adding that the arch would block the line of sight between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The veterans have reached a compromise with the administration, stalling the lawsuit for now, with a promise that the administration will follow the legal process to build the arch.

Taxpayer funds would cover at least part of the project: $2 million in special initiative funds and $13 million in matching grants.

Majorities of Democrats (78%) and independents (57%) oppose the arch. A slim 51% of Republicans support building an arch, including 59% of MAGA Republicans and just 23% of non-MAGA Republicans.

Trump’s signature on money

In March, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Trump’s signature will be added to future U.S. paper currency. This would be a first for a sitting president, as no previous U.S. president’s name has ever appeared on currency. Earlier in March, the federal Commission of Fine Arts approved Trump’s image on commemorative gold coins and in October, the administration proposed a Trump-themed $1 coin.

Americans oppose printing Trump’s signature on paper money instead of the treasury secretary’s by a wider margin than either the ballroom or the arch: 68% oppose it while just 12% support it. Another 19% say they aren’t sure. Over half, 55%, strongly oppose printing Trump’s signature on paper money; just 5% strongly support it.

An 1866 amendment prohibits living persons from appearing on government securities and a U.S. statute states that “only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on U.S. currency and securities.” A living president has appeared on currency once before: In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge was featured on a coin celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence along with a portrait of President George Washington.

Majorities of Americans across most demographic groups oppose printing Trump’s signature on paper money, including 9 in 10 Democrats and over 7 in 10 independents. Just under 3 in 10 Republicans support it, including just over a third of MAGA Republicans (35%) – the largest share across demographic groups. 

The poll did not address the addition of Trump’s photo to national park passes or the renaming of the Kennedy Center. The poll was conducted before the announcement that Trump’s image would appear on limited-edition passports.

Methodology – This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted among 2,560 U.S. adults overall, but these questions were conducted among a half sample of 1,292 U.S. adults and have an error margin of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Error margins are larger among subgroups.

See PDF for full results and detailed methodology.

ABC News’ Liz Schreier contributed to this report.

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