President Donald Trump was interrupted by a heckler criticizing his controversial White House ballroom construction at a campaign rally ahead of the midterm elections.
A crowd member shouted at the president as he gave a speech on stage during a rally backing Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Corinth, Mississippi, on Oct. 26.
"Shove that ballroom up your fat a--," the person said.
The person was seemingly referring to the construction of a massive ballroom in the White House's East Wing.
Watch the video showing the moment below.
The controversialproject, part of a series of renovations to the historic home, is estimated to cost $600 million, with taxpayers footing more than half the bill.
The moment also came after former President Barack Obama criticized
Trump's White House renovations on the campaign trail with a week until midterm elections, which will be key to determine partisan control in Congress.
Trump reacts to heckler at rally
After the audience member's interruption, Trump responded, "Oh, go home."
He also alleged that the individual was a paid protester.
"So he gets paid, you know, they're paid protesters. They get paid $250," the president said.
Trump later added: "We usually have a few of them. They're a little late today. They're a little late. They're getting tired of being thrown out."
Obama recently criticized White House renovations
Obama has joined the chorus of critics of the White House's renovations.
During an Oct. 24 rally in Michigan to back Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, Obama said Trump's renovation projects make the White House look "like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory."
The former president referred to Trump's ballroom and the paved over Rose Garden, saying there is "gold everywhere."
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he is very focused on home renovation. He should be on HGTV," he said. "Guy is building a ballroom that is bigger than the White House, paved over the Rose Garden – paved it over – put a helicopter pad on the side lawn."
In response, Trumptold reporters on Oct. 26 that the White House is "now in the best shape it's been since 1792 when it was built."
He added that for Obama "to say it’s a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president."
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heckler yells at Trump over White House ballroom. See his response
