“That White House is a real dump,” President Trump said, according to this story that appeared in golf.com and soon after in Sports Illustrated. The quote was clearly deemed so insignificant it was buried deeper than deep in a story titled, “First Golfer: Donald Trump’s relationship with golf has never been more complicated.”
The president hotly denied the story via Twitter, saying, “I love the White House, one of the most beautiful buildings (homes) I have ever seen. But Fake News said I called it a dump – TOTALLY UNTRUE”
{mosads}Interestingly, not much time passed before the White House announced that the president would be leaving to spend 17 days at his Trump golf course in New Jersey. Most of the media focus went to the apparently astounding news that the president would take time away from Washington in August, something many of his predecessors of both parties did routinely. Was this news?
“Just like an episode of HGTV’s ‘Fixer Upper,’ the minute Trump leaves, workers will begin around-the-clock renovations to the West Wing, including structural repairs to address a ceiling leak, HVAC work and repairs to the South Portico steps on the South Lawn. Additionally, renovations to the Navy Mess kitchen, the West Wing lower lobby, the IT system and generic cosmetic upgrades including fresh paint, carpet and curtains will be completed before his return later this month,” CNN reported.
The story also noted, “He has a point: The West Wing is in need of some upkeep.”
Well of course. The history of the building — that is, America’s famous home – is filled with tales of both letting things go to the dogs and the realization that sometimes a major upgrade is often needed.
Perhaps the most famous renovation was signaled after Harry Truman succeeded to the presidency on the death of Franklin Roosevelt.
“Margaret Truman, daughter of Harry and Bess Truman. When the Trumans moved to the White House, they brought Margaret’s piano with them. In the summer of 1948, a leg of the piano fell through the floor of her room. The incident further proved that the White House needed major structural repairs. An engineer commented that the house was still standing only ‘out of habit.’”
This incident forced the responsible officials to realize that the Trumans were in fact living in a building structurally unchanged since its construction, when its first inhabitant was President John Adams. What ensued was a massive “renovation” that consisted of taking the interior of the building apart in the style of a jigsaw puzzle. Once stripped down to its original wooden framework, the inside of the building was literally gutted.
The building was completely rebuilt with a modern infrastructure of steel beams, pipes and wires and then, puzzle style, reassembled. But it was put back together with some innovations added both below ground in a sub-basement and, most famously, well above ground — and quite visibly so.
The latter addition was a balcony — now known as the Truman Balcony — that adjoined the private section of the residence and allowed the first family to step outside in appropriate weather to dine or just chill out with one of the spectacular views in Washington.
Politically, Truman caught unshirted heck for this major architectural deviation from the original White House building plan, which cost $10 thousand. As the Truman Library notes, Truman’s insistence on adding the balcony was criticized as “hardheaded, blustery, and unbending.”
The political problem is, when the subject of doing anything about a beloved historical building that is perpetually enduring the wear and tear induced by people, the president of the moment can catch flak for it — if they are not popular with the media.
Not to mention the first lady. Jacqueline Kennedy was lionized by a pro-Kennedy media for her spectacular renovations in the JFK era. But when Nancy Reagan noted there were “problems” with the building that hadn’t been touched since the Truman renovation 30 years earlier — problems that ranged from the need to replace plumbing fixtures in both the buildings bathrooms and kitchens to replacing china — the media attacked.
Reagan set to work bringing the building into the 1980s, including replacing broken china with new, privately funded china patterns. The media pounced, contrasting her renovations, as she noted in her memoir “My Turn” with “rising unemployment and homelessness.” She promptly drew the ire of Washington Post columnist Judy Mann. “Nancy Reagan has used the position, her position, to improve the quality of life for those in the White House.” Ouch.
The point here is as simple as it is eternal in terms of the White House. While a revered national symbol, the building in fact serves as private residence, government office and a tourist magnet. President Trump says that in fact he didn’t say what was attributed to him. But what if he had? The fact of the matter is that the White House is subjected to a particular and constant state of wear and tear. And the political fact is that when presidents and first ladies do something about it — from Truman to Reagan to Trump — their critics will pounce.
As the saying might go, the more the White House gets renovated, the more the critics say the same thing.
Jeffrey Lord is a CNN political commentator and political strategist. Lord served as an associate political director in the administration of former President Ronald Reagan.
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.