The Reflecting Pool survived for generations. Trump “fixed” it in a few weeks — and now it’s green, peeling, and blamed on everyone else.
Somehow that tells you everything you need to know about his presidency. (Link in reply)
Nothing beats being back home in New Mexico! ❤️
As I head back to DC, here are a few special moments across NM-01 and our trip to the Obama Center Opening this week. So grateful to be out and about with our community!
Two dueling narratives tonight as Vance's meeting with Iran in Switzerland gets postponed.
US side: White House says logistics "have never been simple or predictable."
Iran side: a source tells Al Mayadeen the Iranian delegation postponed over Israel's ongoing strikes in southern Lebanon, warning that strikes reaching 10km into Lebanese territory violate the first clause of the MOU.
Two very different explanations for the same no-show.
Washington’s iconic Reflecting Pool is still green from persistent algae – and now the brand new “American Flag Blue” paint is peeling off the bottom. As crews clean the pool, @JonKarl reports on mounting questions over the $14 million project. https://t.co/wpx6Y5sGc3
Dear Joe,
I wish I could sit down with you face to face and explain why so many of us were offended by the UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House.
For me, it had nothing to do with the UFC or who showed up for the fights. The brand you and Dana have built is a bona fide American success story. More power to you. As for the fighters, in my book, anyone brave enough to put it all on the line in the arena is remarkable to witness. Their dedication and discipline inspire me. I don’t understand anyone who can’t admire that.
And as for the people who attended, I, for one, love Shane Gillis. I think he’s hilarious and brilliant. It was a show. A once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. I can’t blame anyone for wanting to witness it firsthand.
My problem is that I believe some of our public spaces are sacred. And unlike many of the great powers that came before us, these American monuments belong to all of us. Not to whoever happens to hold power at the moment.
The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It does not belong to any President. It belongs to the people. To treat it as Caesar treated the Colosseum is antithetical to everything our founding fathers fought for.
This is not Rome. Presidents are not emperors doling out bread and circuses for the peasants. The White House is the People’s House. This “celebration” could have happened in any stadium within a stone’s throw of the South Lawn. No one would have had an issue with it.
But that was obviously Donald Trump’s whole point. By holding the event on the South Lawn, what he was saying to the rest of us is:
“This is my house. I own it. I will do with it what I please. I’ll build a colosseum and have the gladiators fight under my gaze. I’ll tear down the East Wing. I’ll pave over the Rose Garden. I’ll cover everything in gold and marble. I’ll erase the names of all the men who came before me.”
The fights were an exhibition of imperial domination, not a celebration of our 250th anniversary as a democracy.
The White House is not Buckingham Palace. It is not the Palace of Versailles. It is not the Forbidden City of Beijing. It does not belong to an emperor, or a king, or a commissar.
The White House belongs to us. All of us. The person who sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is nothing more than an honored guest. A temporary caretaker.
The President is our servant. Not our Caesar.
Respectfully, Hunter
P.S. Cage match between me and Don Jr.? Your call on the venue. Anywhere but the South Lawn.
This is a portrait I painted of one of many heroes of mine from the Civil Rights movement. The Rev. James Zwerg, circa 1961. He was one of the Freedom Riders, along with John Lewis, William Barbee, Catherine Burks, and many others, who pulled into Montgomery, AL on a bus May 20, 1961.
He volunteered to step off first.
The mob was waiting with baseball bats, chains, and clubs. They beat him until three of his vertebrae cracked, his nose broke, and every tooth in his head was fractured. They beat him unconscious on the pavement. A Black stranger in coveralls walked up and said, “Stop beating that kid. If you want to beat someone, beat me.” And they did. He saved Zwerg’s life.
White ambulances refused to take him. He lay in the street for over an hour. That is the moment I painted. Bloodied suit. Head bowed.
At Martin Luther King Jr.’s urging, Zwerg later went to seminary and was ordained in the United Church of Christ.
Rev. Zwerg is now 86 and lives in Tucson, Arizona. His courage and conviction, alongside that of countless others, helped save this nation. These are the people I celebrate as we near our 250th anniversary as a nation.
Good morning and Happy Sunday to everyone celebrating President Obama Appreciation Day today, because he's infinitely better than the squatter in the Oval Office, and never used taxpayer funds for a lavish birthday party for himself.
Better in every way.
Marco Rubio thinks Trump’s UFC event at the White House belongs in the same conversation as the Moon landing. 😂
So, I guess: “One small step for morons… one giant leap for moronkind?”
Seriously, America is being run by blithering fucking idiots.
I don't know why any of you haters are surprised I'm the one actually engaging here.
You're the ones who've obsessively pored over the 10,000 photos, the 30,000 text messages, and the 128,000 emails from my hacked iCloud and stolen devices.
If I am anything, I am prolific.
You know what you won't find? Any of the most heinous, hateful things you keep posting about me.
What you'll find from me here is the same thing you found there.
Total transparency. Finally on my terms. Not yours.
Oh look, @realDonaldTrump, the biggest crybaby in all of human history, is back live & in the flesh after an 8 day absence, and right away he attacks a female journalist. He’s such a coward. Keep doing your job @kaitlancollins.👇