Philadelphia’s far-left district attorney is dreaming about demolishing President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom—and keeping a piece of the wreckage as a souvenir.
Larry Krasner made the stunning remarks Tuesday during Philadelphia’s annual slavery commemoration ceremony at the President’s House site near Independence Hall.
According to video obtained by NBC10 Philadelphia, Krasner predicted that Trump’s ballroom would be destroyed within the next 10 to 15 years.
“I’m gonna have a paperweight sitting on my desk,” Krasner said, according to the Washington Examiner. “You know what that paperweight is gonna be? It’s gonna be a piece of a ballroom after we all blow it up.”
Krasner later clarified that he envisioned the destruction taking place during an “official ceremony,” with pieces of the building sold as paperweights to reimburse taxpayers.
But the clarification did little to take the edge off the extraordinary image of an elected district attorney talking publicly about blowing up part of the White House complex.
Krasner also unleashed a personal tirade against Trump during the event, calling the president a “pain in the a–” and agreeing with an audience member who described Trump as “the devil.”
The progressive prosecutor accused Trump of embodying hatred and ignorance before turning his fury toward two of the president’s high-profile renovation projects.
“There will not be a ballroom,” Krasner declared. “There will not be a Kennedy Center renamed for a fool.”
The White House quickly fired back.
“Only people who suffer from a severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.
Ingle said Trump was carrying out long-overdue renovations designed to beautify and preserve the White House for future generations as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary.
The Secret Service also took notice.
“The U.S. Secret Service investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees,” agency spokesman Nate Herring told Fox News Digital, while declining to discuss specific protective-intelligence matters.
Krasner’s outburst came amid an escalating fight over how American history is presented at the President’s House site, where George Washington lived while Philadelphia served as the nation’s capital.
Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 directing federal museums, parks and historical sites to eliminate what his administration considers divisive ideological narratives and instead emphasize America’s achievements and progress.
Acting under that order, the National Park Service removed interpretive panels and disabled video exhibits at the President’s House site in January. The displays focused heavily on the nine enslaved people Washington brought to the Philadelphia residence.
The city sued, and a federal judge initially ordered the displays restored. But the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later vacated that injunction, concluding that the lower court lacked jurisdiction over several of Philadelphia’s claims.
Krasner insisted Tuesday that the slavery memorial and its educational materials would ultimately survive the Trump administration.
His ballroom prediction, however, targeted a project that is still moving rapidly toward completion.
The approximately $400 million, 90,000-square-foot addition is designed to accommodate roughly 1,000 guests and includes major security infrastructure beneath the building. Trump has argued that the facility will allow presidents to host large events without leaving the heavily protected White House grounds.
The ballroom is reportedly about 65% complete. Chief Justice John Roberts recently issued a temporary order allowing construction to continue while the Supreme Court considers the administration’s challenge to lower-court restrictions on the project.
