“There’s something Soviet about the notion of a building that is so historic, so singularly important, that no preservation effort could save it,” Kriston Capps writes in Bloomberg Sunday.
And with that statement, halfway through an analysis of how Donald Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House this week, Bloomberg said the quiet part outloud.
There’s something Soviet …
Yes, there is. It was an exercise of autocratic, authoritarian, dictator-like behavior. Vladimir Putin. Soviet.
Stephen Collinson of CNN calls it a “wrecking ball” presidency.
There may never have been a better metaphor for a presidency. Trump has spent nine months tearing away at the federal government, the rule of law and democracy. Now he’s turned his wrecking ball on the White House itself. All without consulting the citizens who gave him a temporary lease on the place.
What too many news stories have failed to mention is the demolition of the Jacqueline Kennedy East Wing garden. It’s as though he’s determined to wipe the Kennedys from White House history. From Town and Country magazine:
Formally dedicated in 1965 by First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, the landscape was named after her predecessor, who spearheaded the redesign of the garden prior to President Kennedy’s assassination.
“This garden, every detail of it, reflects the unfailing taste of the gifted and gracious Jacqueline Kennedy,” the first lady said at the dedication. Since then, the garden has historically been used by the first lady for outdoor receptions.
Still no news media mention about the priceless paintings, statues and furniture that decorated the East Wing. Were they preserved?
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com