Trump gives Xi tour of Marine One helipad and White House construction site

President Donald Trump showed Chinese President Xi Jinping the new Marine One helipad and a construction project at the White House on Thursday.

After a 90‑minute meeting in the Oval Office, the two leaders walked onto the South Lawn where a Marine One helicopter was parked on a freshly laid granite landing pad. A Marine opened the door and saluted as Trump, Xi and a small group of aides and translators boarded the aircraft, though the chopper did not take off.

Trump then gestured to the ongoing construction of a ballroom that will replace the East Wing, pointing out two concrete towers on the site. Xi observed the work while Trump watched his reaction, speaking out of earshot of reporters who had been summoned for the occasion.

The visit was Xi’s first state trip to the United States in 11 years and covered a range of issues, including artificial intelligence, Taiwan, trade tariffs and the war in Iran. Amid these discussions, Trump highlighted his White House projects, noting the granite helipad and the “Seal of the President of the United States” etched on its surface.

During the tour, Trump also displayed photographs of himself in the West Wing and a wall‑mounted copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office, as shown in a video released by a White House aide.

Source: ABC News. Photo: Marcin PORĘBSKI / Pexels.