Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Why is Trump giving someone a 'key to the White House'?
Why is Trump giving someone a ‘key to the White House’?
Analysis by Philip Bump
National columnist
April 24, 2024 at 12:09 p.m. EDT
President Donald Trump gives a key to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in April 2020. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
From Jan. 20, 2017, until Jan. 20, 2021, Donald Trump was president of the United States. This is a position that includes many perks, offered to the person who was selected by American voters to serve as chief executive. Perhaps the most impressive of those perks is use of the White House, the executive mansion — a residence and office building that serves as a command center for whoever receives a majority of the electoral votes cast in the most recent election.
Trump never seemed to consider his occupation of the White House as transitory any more than he considered the presidency in that way. He looked at both as though they were pieces of property that had come into his possession and that he could only lose if he chose to do so. Because the White House belongs to the American public, not any particular politician, presidents had for years been careful about keeping electoral politics out of the building. Not Trump. He gave his 2020 convention speech from the building. ... “The fact is, we are here” — that is, the White House — “and they’re not,” Trump said. “To me, one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world that is not a building, it’s a home as far as I’m concerned. Not even a house, it's a home.”
{snip}
On Tuesday, Trump left the Manhattan courthouse where he’s attending his criminal trial and headed uptown to Trump Tower. There, he had a meeting with former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso. This was part of Trump’s increasingly explicit shadow-diplomacy efforts, his engagements with foreign leaders aimed at building relationships and positioning himself on the international stage as he seeks reelection to the presidency. ... Trump's presidential campaign sent reporters a “readout” of his meeting with Aso — itself a mirror of how presidents summarize meetings with foreign leaders — and included the photo below.
Former president Donald Trump and former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso pose with a ceremonial “key to the White House” on Tuesday. (Trump campaign)
Yes, Trump gave Aso a key to the White House. Whether he offered the same patter about Aso presenting the key at the White House gates is unknown. (A question sent to the campaign about the encounter did not receive a response.) ... This is, simply put, bizarre. Mayors give out keys to their cities to noteworthy individuals as a symbolic gesture, but it seems safe to say that they generally stop doing so once they leave office. After all, the city isn’t theirs to offer up. Yet here’s Donald Trump, acting as though he’s simply renting out the White House to President Biden and letting Aso know that he’s welcome to stop by and use the bowling alley anyway. ... Part of it, certainly, is Trump trying to give the impression he gave at the Republican convention in 2020: precisely that the power of the presidency is his, even if it’s somewhat out of reach for a moment. He’s just Napoleon Bonaparte, wandering the streets of Elba in his signature hat and giving people keys to the Élysée. He’d be back.
{snip}
By Philip Bump
Philip Bump is a Post columnist based in New York. He writes the newsletter How To Read This Chart and is the author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America. Twitter https://twitter.com/pbump
Analysis by Philip Bump
National columnist
April 24, 2024 at 12:09 p.m. EDT
President Donald Trump gives a key to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in April 2020. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
From Jan. 20, 2017, until Jan. 20, 2021, Donald Trump was president of the United States. This is a position that includes many perks, offered to the person who was selected by American voters to serve as chief executive. Perhaps the most impressive of those perks is use of the White House, the executive mansion — a residence and office building that serves as a command center for whoever receives a majority of the electoral votes cast in the most recent election.
Trump never seemed to consider his occupation of the White House as transitory any more than he considered the presidency in that way. He looked at both as though they were pieces of property that had come into his possession and that he could only lose if he chose to do so. Because the White House belongs to the American public, not any particular politician, presidents had for years been careful about keeping electoral politics out of the building. Not Trump. He gave his 2020 convention speech from the building. ... “The fact is, we are here” — that is, the White House — “and they’re not,” Trump said. “To me, one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world that is not a building, it’s a home as far as I’m concerned. Not even a house, it's a home.”
{snip}
On Tuesday, Trump left the Manhattan courthouse where he’s attending his criminal trial and headed uptown to Trump Tower. There, he had a meeting with former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso. This was part of Trump’s increasingly explicit shadow-diplomacy efforts, his engagements with foreign leaders aimed at building relationships and positioning himself on the international stage as he seeks reelection to the presidency. ... Trump's presidential campaign sent reporters a “readout” of his meeting with Aso — itself a mirror of how presidents summarize meetings with foreign leaders — and included the photo below.
Former president Donald Trump and former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso pose with a ceremonial “key to the White House” on Tuesday. (Trump campaign)
Yes, Trump gave Aso a key to the White House. Whether he offered the same patter about Aso presenting the key at the White House gates is unknown. (A question sent to the campaign about the encounter did not receive a response.) ... This is, simply put, bizarre. Mayors give out keys to their cities to noteworthy individuals as a symbolic gesture, but it seems safe to say that they generally stop doing so once they leave office. After all, the city isn’t theirs to offer up. Yet here’s Donald Trump, acting as though he’s simply renting out the White House to President Biden and letting Aso know that he’s welcome to stop by and use the bowling alley anyway. ... Part of it, certainly, is Trump trying to give the impression he gave at the Republican convention in 2020: precisely that the power of the presidency is his, even if it’s somewhat out of reach for a moment. He’s just Napoleon Bonaparte, wandering the streets of Elba in his signature hat and giving people keys to the Élysée. He’d be back.
{snip}
By Philip Bump
Philip Bump is a Post columnist based in New York. He writes the newsletter How To Read This Chart and is the author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America. Twitter https://twitter.com/pbump
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
It is all kabuki theater and the former Japanese P.M. has no real powers either.
Can Donny just hurry up and die?
