Democrats appear eager at the prospect of dismantling or transforming President Donald Trump’s lavish ballroom, a structure that has become a significant talking point among party members.

In discussions with NBC News, several Democratic hopefuls eyeing the 2028 presidential race, along with other party figures, have expressed views that the ballroom could serve as a powerful political symbol.

Last month, Trump controversially demolished the White House’s historic East Wing, traditionally home to the First Lady’s offices, without much oversight or announcement. This move paved the way for the construction of a new ballroom—a $300 million project he aims to complete before his presidential term concludes.

Should a Democrat succeed Trump, there is already talk among some lawmakers about repurposing the site. One suggestion is to start from scratch on the plot of land.

“I don’t think it would be a bad idea to tear it down,” Tennessee Democrat Representative Steve Cohen remarked to NBC. “It’s a massive symbol of Donald Trump’s presence.”

Meanwhile, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, who is considering a presidential run in 2028 if Democrats reclaim the House in the upcoming midterms, proposed converting the ballroom into a dual-purpose facility, serving both as an entertainment venue and a museum.

‘No way,’ he told NBC, should the ballroom be used as Trump envisioned. 

Raskin, who was the lead manager in Trump’s second impeachment probing the president’s role in the January 6 attack, said he would dub the space the ‘Democracy Matters Ballroom.’ 

A GIGANTIC BLOB: Democratic Representative Steve Cohen suggested that President Donald Trump’s enormous ballroom face the wrecking ball as ‘It’s a gigantic blob there that’s Donald Trump’ 

Democratic Representatives Jamie Raskin (left) and Ro Khanna (right) have both spoken out against President Donald Trump’s ballroom project, with Raskin wanting to turn part of the space into a democracy exhibit 

Half of the 90,000-square-foot space would accommodate White House guests, while the other half would be reserved for a display showcasing attempts to ‘undermine and thwart popular democracy in American life,’ Raskin explained.

It would include an exhibit on how Trump tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to January 6. 

‘This is a space that’s owned by the people and that serves the people,’ Raskin said. ‘So, it should be used opposite of what Trump has in mind, which is for the American aristocracy and plutocracy to gather.’ 

Trump has argued that a ballroom has been in demand for the past 150 years. 

He first pitched building a White House ballroom in 2010, making the sell to President Barack Obama’s adviser David Axelrod, after seeing First Lady Michelle Obama host state dinners in pop-up tents.

Trump didn’t make many White House design changes during his first term in office, but started talking about the ballroom during week No. 3 of his second term, as he complained about a packed East Room. 

If Trump’s ballroom is built as planned, the historic East Room will serve as an entryway to the president’s addition. 

Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who’s also considered a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, told NBC that he believes the future of the ballroom space should be left up to the people. 

Construction photos from Friday show the remains of the East Wing, as crews remove the rest of the debris to make way for President Donald Trump’s grand ballroom, which Democrats already want to repurpose 

A Secret Service officer stands guard in front of the North Portico as construction equipment is seen last month tearing through the East Wing, which historically housed the offices of the First Lady 

President Donald Trump allowed construction crews to rip up the East Wing and the East Colonnade, which had housed the White House’s movie theater  

‘We need a White House that is not for the tech billionaires, but for forgotten Americans,’ Khanna said. ‘In that spirit, we should ask Americans – in rural communities, urban centers and hollowed-out factory towns – for their ideas of what to do with the space.’ 

Saikat Chakrabarti, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s former chief of staff, who is now hoping to replace retiring Representative Nancy Pelosi, floated turning the ballroom into a Smithsonian-run museum.

He told NBC if he’s elected to represent Pelosi’s San Francisco district, he will introduce a bill that would turn the ballroom into a museum focused on ‘corruption and autocracy.’ 

Chakrabarti said he will ‘really put into the sunlight how this thing came to even be,’ by putting the names of companies that donated to the project on display. 

Trump has pushed that the private donations he’s sought to build the ballroom take the expense out of taxpayers’ hands, whereas Democrats have criticized it as a pay-to-play scheme.

Additionally, the White House has allowed anonymous donors to contribute to the project, despite touting transparency. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom, one of the most prominent possible 2028 White House hopefuls, said the country was watching a ‘wrecking ball presidency’ but wouldn’t go so far as to say the ballroom needed to come down. 

‘It’s a metaphor for this administration – the recklessness to which he goes about things, the fact that he doesn’t believe in rules, he doesn’t believe they apply to him,’ Newsom said on NBC’s Meet the Press, addressing the destruction of the East Wing. 

When NBC contacted Newsom’s office to see if he wanted the ballroom demolished, his office did not respond to a request for comment.