President Trump enjoys golfing. That’s nothing new amongst presidents, but his personal enjoyment of the sport is complimented by his business devotion. He owns 16 courses, from which the new POTUS collects hundreds of millions of dollars each year. One of his favorite courses must be the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, but a five-minute drive from the exclusive Mar-a-Lago club owned and operated by the Trump Organization.
Or as Trump has taken to calling it, the “Southern White House.”
Will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House. Big 5:00 P.M. speech in Melbourne, Florida. A lot to talk about!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2017
When I first read that tweet, I immediately thought of that other moment in history when a type of “Southern White House” was set up: during The Civil War.
Yes, once the South seceded, they needed somewhere in their own territory to set up the power shop. Initially, that place was Montgomery, Alabama. The new president of the new nation – Jefferson Davis – moved into this alternative White House for a brief period before the “capital” relocated to Richmond, Virginia.
Once in Virginia, Davis moved into another mansion painted all white, known as the “White House of the Confederacy.” Given the superior economy and more “prestigious” history of Richmond, this new residence was a definite upgrade. Note the columns, the color, and the name: all were clearly meant to emulate the power and imposition of its Washington, D.C., inspiration.
Yes, the words “White,” “House,” and some version of “South” are not original to Trump. That he’s built a tweet link between the idea of the “South” as distinct and deserving of its own new “White House” is enormously problematic. The Civil War was not a good time for America, in case anyone needs reminding. The nation as we know it almost rent itself asunder, and the blood flowed over the issue of whether or not black skin meant a person could be treated as property.
Those were dark days for America, the most painful and violent of any in our history. Trump seems to be paying tribute to that period, something that can have no justification.
But the issue with labeling Mar-a-Lago as such is not where the problem ends. Because to become a member of Mar-a-Lago used to start with a cool $100,000 initiation fee. On January of 2017, that figure went up. In fact, it doubled.
To set foot on Mar-a-Lago as anything other than hired help or invited guest will cost the regular citizen $200,000 – for starters.
How does that compare to the actual White House in D.C., referred to by many presidents as “the people’s house?” Do we imagine Trump throwing open the doors of Mar-a-Lago and inviting guests – student groups and union members and esteemed volunteers – to galavant around his exclusive property? It seems unlikely…
According to a former ethics lawyer for the Obama administration, the doubling of price in membership is a pretty blatant abuse of pay for play. “This type of naked profiteering off of a government office is what I would expect from King Louis XVI or his modern kleptocratic equivalents, not an American president.”
There’s no membership club at the White House, where the wealthy and well-connected can shell out six-figure sums and maybe get a table next to El Presidente if they tip the waiter.
Mar-a-Lago is a privately owned club, held by Trump and his family. Last I checked, this country didn’t deal in Versailles palaces or country manor politicking. If Trump wants to rip off the American taxpayer by jetting off to his mansion retreat on the beach every other weekend, then that’s his choice to make, however selfish it may be.
But that does not mean he gets to rebrand said playground for the rich and rowdy as a locale on equal ground with 1600 Pennsylvania.
So President Trump, on behalf of the American people and their shared heritage: Please stop calling your uber exclusive West Palm Beach Resort the “Southern White House.”
Image Credit: Getty Images
The southern white house wishing to avoid even the hint of what you are implying has taken the necessary steps of removing all potentially offending items from the premises, these include but are not limited to:
*watermelon based food items and drinks
*all cotton based products
*black people
if you wish to further inquire into these matters please contact us at #southnwhitehouse
Sigh…
Enough already.
Here, read this, and try again:
https://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/three-things-you-can-do-to-make-america-great-again-bbab/
Touche