WATCH: Trump says Sikorsky is paying for a 'beautiful' granite helipad at the White House

By — Will Weissert, Associated Press Will Weissert, Associated Press By — Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press Konstantin Toropin, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-says-sikorsky-is-paying-for-a-beautiful-granite-helipad-at-the-white-house Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Trump says Sikorsky is paying for a 'beautiful' granite helipad at the White House Politics Jul 6, 2026 5:41 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he's building a granite helipad on the White House lawn, insisting that the landing area is needed to accommodate new, more powerful presidential choppers. Watch the clip in our video player above. Confirmation of the project came as construction crews had already begun working on the helipad on the South Lawn, where the president had UFC build a temporary arena for a cage fight celebrating his 80th birthday. He said the project would be privately funded and estimated its cost at up to $6 million. READ MORE: Trump posts a doctored photo portraying Obamas boarding Air Force One spray-painted with graffiti "It's got the seal of the White House on it in granite, in carved granite," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "It's really a beautiful thing." Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The president did not offer details on how long the work would take. It is the latest major construction project he has overseen in an effort to increasingly mold the White House in his own image. The helipad can handle new choppers, Trump says Some of Trump's major White House construction projects have relied on public money, even when the president initially suggested otherwise. Still, Trump said that Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin, would be paying for the helipad. Asked about the cost of the project and a timeline for its completion, Lockheed Martin responded with a statement reading in part: "This specific contribution was made to the Trust for the National Mall, the National Park Service's non-profit organization" and "conducted in full accordance with all applicable laws and regulations." WATCH: Trump says he never talks to his kids about business as president but 'I think I'm allowed to' In 2024, Sikorsky completed a new fleet of helicopters for use as Marine One, and President Joe Biden took the first flight aboard a modern VH-92A helicopter on his way to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — the same day the military announced Sikorsky delivered the last of the 23 new aircraft. But Trump said the new aircraft were more powerful than Vietnam War-era choppers that long had been used as Marine One, and that the modern ones were too potent to land on the White House lawn without damaging the grass. "It's not that the grass gets discolored — it gets ripped out," t