When I was eleven years old, my family and I visited the White House. We were in awe, captivated by the grandeur and history of the place. I felt proud to be an American and was humbled knowing that so many great presidents had lived and governed there. I remember appreciating all the magnificent historical paintings that adorned those hallowed walls. My two brothers and I were on our best behavior – something quite unusual for us, I assure you.
We were full of respect and reverence; even more so than in church.
When we entered the East Room, I suddenly felt a strange chill in the air. The tour guide informed us solemnly that this was the chamber where the body of Abraham Lincoln laid in state after his tragic murder in 1865.
Suddenly, the awful significance of this room, and the whole house, enveloped me like a shroud.
George Washington oversaw the White House’s planning and construction, but never lived there. John Adams and his wife, Abigail, who disliked the house’s unfinished state, actually hung her washing in the East Room. Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801. He later added low ‘colannades’ on each wing to conceal stables and storage. Successive presidents have also made subtle structural changes and have decorated the interior to mirror their personal tastes (which have varied greatly).
The White house was first opened to the public during Jefferson’s second term in 1805. After his inauguration, he greeted well-wishers in the Blue Room, establishing the ‘open house policy,’ and later opening the house for tours. The free tours have remained, but since Grover Cleveland’s inauguration, crowds can no longer enter the White House any old time. A wise decision!
Presidents have welcomed many distinguished luminaries to the White House. A short list includes: the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825; King Kalakoua of the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii) in 1874; the King and Queen of England in 1939; Winston Churchill in 1941; Charles De Gaulle in 1945; Pope John Paul II in 1979, and many more.
Nowadays, our current president, Donald J. Trump welcomes many dignitaries and others not so dignified. Some of the more ‘interesting’ individuals are: Lawrence Taylor, sex offender; ‘American Bad Ass’ Kid Rock; profane rapper Kanye West; duplicitous Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov; shady Russian Ambassador Kislyak; ex-president of Brazil and insurrectionist, Jair Bolsonaro; murderous Mohammod bin Salmon aka MBS; and of course, the “coolest dictator in the world,” President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador.
We could list many additional infamous names, but now White House visitor logs are not to be released during Trump’s term in office. Gee, wonder why?
But how was a madman elected to the presidency in the first place? His many fans bought into the illusion, hook, line and sinker. Trump was portrayed as a ruthless, no-nonsense, high-powered business man on a TV show called The Apprentice. His supporters have turned the presidency into a reality show where the words “You’re fired” became the catch phrase in both shows.
Trump’s first term White House was more of a busy clinic than a functioning executive branch. I imagine they had Adderall scattered about in candy bowls, so there probably was an oft-used time-out room next to the Red Room. The whole operation was like a kindergarten class on Mountain Dew. amphetamines and laughing gas.
But there were those who kept the president on a tight leash… barely.
Once in a while some persnickety staffer would bring up the subject of Article 25. He or she would be unceremoniously eviscerated. All in all, Trump had people trying their best to keep him honest – a nearly impossible feat. After a cringeworthy first term, Trump left the White House in 2021 with his approval rating at 34%.
The “People’s House” has now been turned into an insane asylum. His Chief of Staff, Nurse Rachet, is trying her best to keep the Donald in a proverbial straight jacket with little success. The Oval Office has become a gilded padded cell, and sessions in the Cabinet Room are nothing more than a roundtable for false praise and glorification of their Fearless Leader. Part of the insanity can be blamed on the many television screens throughout the West Wing broadcasting FOX News 24/7.
Is there such a thing as group shock therapy? Frontal lobotomies, anyone?
Anyone who talks about leveling the Gaza Strip and turning it into a luxury resort is obviously insane. Anyone who talks about taking over Greenland, making Canada the 51st state and invading Panama is totally berserk.
They’re coming to take me away, ha-ha. They’re coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-ha. To the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time. And I’ll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats. And they’re coming to take me away, ha-ha!
The President tore up the once beautiful Rose Garden and paved the whole thing over; he turned the Oval Office into a tawdry eyesore; he erected two enormous, unsightly flagpoles on the grounds; and he’s now proposing to knock down the East Wing and build an ostentatious $200 million ballroom. I’m surprised he hasn’t installed flashing neon signs everywhere, advertising all his tacky Trump merchandise.
He reportedly wants to host a UFC wrestling event somewhere on the grounds. Why not host a Monster Truck Throwdown on the South Lawn?
Not since the British torched the White House in 1814 has there been such chaos… unless you count the time Andrew Jackson opened the doors of the White House to the public after his inauguration in 1829. The place was totally trashed… exactly what’s happening right now.
My incredible experience of touring the People’s House as a boy is a memory I hold dearly. Let’s hope that, somehow, the grandeur and sanctity of the White House will not become just a fading memory of what it once was.
DC has been a frustrated musician for over fifty years, and now has decided to become a frustrated writer. Learn more at DCDuncan.com. He’ll keep you posted.