Philly DA Larry Krasner promises to ‘blow up’ new White House ballroom, keep pieces of it for ‘paperweights’

Krasner made the remarks while speaking at the 24th annual slavery commemoration at the President’s House site in Philadelphia, where city officials and activists have been fighting the Trump administration over changes to an exhibit on slavery.

The progressive district attorney attacked Trump during his remarks, calling the president a “pain in the a**” and an “embodiment of hate, the embodiment of ignorance and the embodiment of depriving people of their vote and education.”

Krasner then predicted that Trump's ballroom would not survive future administrations. “In about 10 to 15 years, we are all going to be sitting here with smiles on our faces,” Krasner said. “And I’m going to have a paper weight sitting on my desk. And do you know what that paper weight’s going to be? It’s going to be a piece of the ballroom after we blow it up.”

Krasner went on to say the destruction of the ballroom would take place in an “official ceremony” and that pieces of the structure would be sold in an effort to reimburse taxpayers. “And I will have one on my desk,” he added.

The ballroom is being constructed on the site formerly occupied by the White House East Wing. The project is estimated to cost approximately $400 million, with the Trump administration saying roughly $200 million in private donations has already been spent or committed to the project.

The project is currently the subject of litigation before the Supreme Court, which has allowed construction to continue while considering a challenge to the project.

In January, the Soros-backed prosecutor called ICE agents a “small bunch of wannabe Nazis” and vowed, “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities, we will find you, we will achieve justice.”

Krasner has also repeatedly threatened to arrest and prosecute federal immigration agents operating in Philadelphia, saying earlier this year, “We will arrest you. We will handcuff you. We will close those cuffs. We will put you in a cell,” and promising to do “everything in my power to convict you.”

In July, two Philadelphia prosecutors alleged in a federal court filing that Krasner threatened “consequences” if they notified a court about conflict concerns surrounding a controversial murder appeal. The prosecutors alleged Krasner had directed them to litigate the case in a manner that would “protect the office,” an instruction they believed was incompatible with their ethical obligations.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has also scrutinized Krasner's office. In June, the court required the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office to review certain cases in which Krasner's office seeks to overturn convictions, citing what it described as “numerous instances of untrustworthy concessions, lack of candor, misrepresentations of fact, lack of adequate investigation, and avoidance of hearings.” The court characterized Krasner's office as “unreliable.”

Krasner, now serving his third term as Philadelphia's district attorney, has been one of the country's most prominent progressive prosecutors. He was reelected in November 2025 with approximately 75 percent of the vote. During that campaign, Krasner frequently focused his attacks on Trump, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Krasner benefited from substantial financial support from billionaire Democratic megadonor George Soros during his rise to office. In 2017, Soros contributed $1.45 million to Philadelphia Justice and Public Safety, an independent political action committee supporting Krasner during the Democratic primary. The outside group funded television advertising, campaign literature, digital advertisements and canvassing on Krasner's behalf, with Soros-backed spending supporting Krasner ultimately reaching nearly $1.7 million.

Krasner maintained at the time that the outside spending did not make him beholden to Soros. “I don't have to pick up the phone for anyone,” Krasner said in 2017. “It's no disrespect to Mr. Soros, whom I have never met, or his organization, but the bottom line is I have held these views for a long time.”

Soros-backed groups later returned to support Krasner's 2021 reelection effort.