(MENAFN- Live Mint) The White House rejected reports suggesting that President Donald Trump intends to name the new White House ballroom after himself, stating that any official decision about the event space's name will be announced by the president personally.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital on Friday,“Any announcement made on the name of the ballroom will come directly from President Trump himself, and not through anonymous and unnamed sources.”

Rumours circulated widely on Friday afternoon claiming Trump would name the ballroom after himself, following an ABC News report alleging that administration officials were already referring to the project as“The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom”. "I won't get into that now," Trump told ABC News on Thursday when asked about a possible name, it noted.

Trump on Monday said that construction on the ballroom had begun, following months of his promotion of the project as part of efforts to modernise the White House. According to the administration, the project is privately funded and involves no taxpayer money.

"For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway - with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, adding,“The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!”

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Meanwhile, the start of the ballroom's construction sparked a wave of backlash from Democrats, who accused Trump of damaging the historic White House.

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Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on X and reacted,“Oh you're trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing? Donald Trump can't hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom,”

"The White House became my home when I was twelve years old. I always understood that it wasn't my 'house'; it was The People's House," former first daughter Chelsea Clinton posted on X.“The erasure of the East Wing isn't just about marble or plaster - it's about President Trump again taking a wrecking ball to our heritage, while targeting our democracy, and the rule-of-law.”

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The Trump administration has consistently pushed back against the criticism. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News that presidents have historically sought a large gathering space at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Leavitt informed Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Tuesday, "Nearly every single president who's lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own. In fact, presidents for decades - in modern times - have joked about how they wished they had a larger event space here at the White House, something that could hold hundreds more people than the current East Room and State Dining Room. President Obama even complained that, during his tenure, he had to hold a state dinner on the South Lawn and rent a very expensive tent."

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