WATCH: Trump says Sikorsky is paying for White House’s ‘beautiful’ granite helipad

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he is building a granite helipad on the White House lawn, insisting the landing area is needed to accommodate new, more powerful presidential helicopters.

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Confirmation of the project came as construction crews had already begun work on the helipad on the South Lawn, where the president asked the UFC to build a temporary arena for a cage fight to celebrate his 80th birthday. He said that the project would be financed by the private sector and estimated its cost at up to $6 million.

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“It has the carved granite seal of the White House,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s really a beautiful thing.”

The president did not provide details about how long the work would take. It is the latest major construction project he has overseen in an effort to increasingly shape the White House in his own image.

Trump says the helipad can handle the new helicopters

Some of Trump’s major construction projects in the White House relied on public funds, even when the president initially suggested otherwise. However, Trump said that Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of defense contractor giant Lockheed Martin, would pay for the helipad.

When asked about the cost of the project and the timeline for its completion, Lockheed Martin responded with a statement that said in part: “This specific contribution was made to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit organization of the National Park Service” and “was conducted in strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.”

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In 2024, Sikorsky completed a new fleet of helicopters for use as Marine One, and President Joe Biden made the first flight in a modern VH-92A helicopter on his way to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago – the same day the Army announced that Sikorsky had delivered the last of 23 new aircraft.

But Trump said the new planes are more powerful than the Vietnam War-era helicopters that have long been used as Marine One, and that modern planes are too powerful to land on the White House lawn without damaging the grass.

“It’s not that the grass changes color, it’s that it’s uprooted,” the president said.

In fact, the new plane has already seen limited service because its exhaust vents target heat downward, burning up the South Lawn of the White House.

The Marines and Sikorsky have spent years trying to find a solution to the problem, which means the new helicopters will not be used at the White House. The older VH-3D aircraft will remain in service until the end of this year, the Marine Corps Aviation Plan for 2026 said.

Trump noted on Monday that he told a group of assembled military generals that a White House helipad would solve those problems.

The president said Sikorsky was building the helipad and paying “the full cost” because they “felt a little guilty” that the new fleet of helicopters was too powerful to land at the White House.

Trump also said he had asked builders to “do cosmetic work” and suggested using granite instead of just laying concrete and painting it white.

“You’re landing on granite, which is the hardest stone,” the president said, noting that the completed landing pad could also be used for other events, such as outdoor White House press conferences. He added that the helipad will allow officials to “finally retire the 45-year-old helicopters” that were used as Marine One.

Trump’s other White House remodeling projects include tearing out part of the Rose Garden to create a courtyard space reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and pasting party plaques on the column wall of the Presidential Walk of Fame.

Trump also rebuilt the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom, renovated the Palm Room, put up new flagpoles on the north and south lawns, and demolished the entire East Wing to create a sprawling ballroom.

Efforts to improve presidential helicopters go back decades

While the term “Marine One” is applied to a variety of helicopter models that transport presidents, the most famous and longest-serving helicopter to perform this mission is the specially modified VH-3D Sea King helicopter that first entered service in 1978.

In the early 2000s, President George W. Bush began efforts to modernize the helicopter fleet, but the program ran into cost overruns, leading to its cancellation by the Obama administration.

Obama restarted the program, but new technical problems arose, and it was not until May 2014 that the Army finally awarded Sikorsky a contract to build the next presidential helicopter, the VH-92A Patriot, which was delivered in 2024.

Trump says: There is a lot of love in the White House

Later Monday, Trump spoke during a luncheon in the Rose Garden courtyard, detailing another White House construction project, aimed at renovating the columns on the north side of the building.

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Crews erected scaffolding, and Trump said, “We took the paint off the columns about 150 years ago,” noting, “If you don’t take the paint off, it gets worse and worse.”

“A lot of love is being put into the White House,” Trump said. “Because, frankly, it’s been handled very poorly by a lot of bosses.”

He did not say who would cover the cost of making the column.