MS NOW host Chris Hayes on Tuesday acknowledged one of the biggest burgeoning conspiracy theories about President Donald Trump and his $400 million White House ballroom project, speculating the endeavor might not be just about guest capacity.

“I’m starting to become convinced that Trump’s monomaniacal obsession with the ballroom/bunker is because he plans on barricading himself inside the bunker when his term is up,” Hayes wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The White House announced construction last year, claiming it would cost $200 million and be privately funded. The price has since doubled. Trump claimed for months it would cost taxpayers nothing and razed the East Wing to make way for the structure.

Republicans have since tried to nationalize the effort, which was halted when a federal judge ruled in March that construction requires congressional approval. Trump has become fixated on the ballroom, which many critics have dismissed as nothing but a “vanity project.”

He later divulged that the U.S. military is building a “massive complex” beneath it, however, revealing this was “supposed to be a secret” and only came out “because of a stupid lawsuit.” Senate Republicans have since sought $1 billion from taxpayers.

Trump urged Congress to grant the federal government formal approval to resume construction during an impromptu press conference in the immediate hours after last month’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

The MAGA leader has frequently discussed running for a third and unconstitutional term, shown off a trove of “TRUMP 2028” hats and told NBC News in March 2025, “I’m not joking.” Trump previously acknowledged that the Constitution prohibits him from running again.

Hayes isn’t the only high-profile pundit to acknowledge just how strange the president’s obsession has become about a ballroom project: Radio host Charlamagne Tha God suggested last week that Trump will use it as a refuge following the 2028 election.

Liberal podcaster Anthony Davis argued as much on “The Weekend Show” earlier this month.

“There is a fear that he ain’t leaving. And that is something to be taken very seriously,” he said, adding: “He’s building an additional 100,000 square feet to ... hunker down, this time with a military installation below this giant ballroom that will clearly never be used for balls.”

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