Trump Slams NY Times for Report on ‘No-Bid’ Deal for Company Building Ballroom: Paper ‘Should Congratulate Us, Instead of Trying to Make Us Look Bad’

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump went off on The New York Times on Saturday, hours after the paper reported his administration “secretly gave” Clark Construction — the company building his new White House ballroom — a “no-bid contract to do another job at a sharply inflated price.”

Trump said the paper should “congratulate” his administration on the project, rather than making the deal look shady. He also said he and other unnamed donors contributed millions of dollars to the project, and that he had nothing to do with approving the contract.

The report — from journalists David A. Fahrenthold, Luke Broadwater, and Andrea Fuller — was based on government documents from January.

Here was the key paragraph from it:

The National Park Service wanted to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. The Biden administration in 2022 had estimated the work would cost $3.3 million. But Mr. Trump’s government agreed to pay Clark $11.9 million to do it, and later added tasks that increased the contract to $17.4 million, the documents show.

Trump responded to it hours later on Truth Social. The president said the paper attempted to “grossly mischaracterize” the job, when in reality he said it should be “hailed” for fixing a park that was “left in disarray after decades of neglect and lack of maintenance.”

“I made a multimillion contribution to the effort, and got others to do the same, but was not in charge of handing out the contract,” Trump said.

He then went into detail about how Clark Construction was a “greatly respected firm” and how important it was to revamp the park.

“Once again, people will come to the front door of the White House by walking through a magnificent Park befitting these Hollowed Grounds, not a dead, dirty, rusting, and very dangerous place like it was before we got involved,” Trump said, before pointing to his crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.

He added:

The New York Times should congratulate us, instead of trying to make us look bad. We look forward to continuing to MAKE WASHINGTON, D.C. GREAT AGAIN, and want to thank Clark Construction, the Department of Interior, and the National Parks Service on A JOB WELL DONE!

Trump punched back at the Times a few hours before he is set to attend his first White House Correspondents’ Dinner since he became president. You can watch the event by clicking here.

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