Trump pulls back curtain on White House ballroom's fortress-like defenses above and deep below

"This goes down very deep," Trump said Tuesday from outside of the White House, motioning for reporters to check out construction updates. "You get a better view right over here. … These are already down two floors. That is down about six stories deep. That's big stuff. Normally, when you build a ballroom, you build it flat. You just throw the ballroom. It would have been built." 

"I hate to use the word snipers, but we have great sniper capacities built for our snipers. Not the enemy snipers, our snipers. And because of the height, we get a very clear view of everything all over Washington," said Trump.

Responding to questions about the ballroom funding, Trump said Congress is approving funds for security enhancements, while stressing that he and donors, who are funding the project, "put up a lot of money to build" the new ballroom. 

The Senate parliamentarian rejected Republicans' effort to include a $1 billion White House and Secret Service security funding proposal in a reconciliation package on Sunday, with the request tied in part to security upgrades for Trump's planned East Wing ballroom and broader White House security needs.

The ballroom is also facing a National Trust for Historic Preservation lawsuit arguing the administration lacked authority in demolishing the East Wing, though the litigation has not fully resolved the project's future.

"President Trump is the most transparent president of all time and was excited to showcase to the press and American people the amazing gift he is giving to the White House and generations of future presidents to come," White House spokesperson David Ingle told Fox News Digital when asked what prompted the construction tour. 

New fountains in Lafayette Park, located in downtown D.C., were turned on for the first time last month.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional comment Tuesday.