Shortly after a shooting outside of the White House correspondents’ dinner, President Donald Trump and his supporters used it to urge the construction of a ballroom at the White House.
A recent ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll shows that Americans oppose tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build the room by a 2-to-1 margin. More than half of those surveyed, 56%, said they opposed the action, 28% supported it and 15% said they were unsure.
Strong opposition (47%) outweighs strong support (16%) by about 3-to-1, per the poll, which ABC said was conducted in the field before and after the Saturday dinner. While there was no significant difference in attitudes overall, ABC reported Republican support for the ballroom went up by 10%, to 72%.
The White House correspondents’ dinner has been held at the Washington Hilton hotel for decades and is put on by the independent White House Correspondents’ Association, which represents journalists.
