I know that optics arenât the worst thing about President 47 but I wanna talk about the optics anyways and his insistence on personally supergluing gold to stuff is kind of a perfect encapsulation of why heâs such a weird phenomenon in presidential history.
Historically, the president of the United States has had the double role of being the executive/military leader of the country and being the spiritual leader of the country. The example of the American family. The (supposedly) humble servant of the American people.
President itself used to be a much more humble word before it got associated with politics. It was the title picked because it was used for stuff like the leader of your local horse riding club or whatever the fuck.
Like even if the president is an evil dirty rotten nepo baby, heâs supposed to be just some guy. A very powerful guy, but still just some guy.
Itâs like how during triumph processions in Ancient Rome they had a guy there to whisper in the generalâs ear âremember that you are only a manâ to remind them that this was a temporary honor and if they got too ambitious they would be put down.
A president needs to be seen shoveling ice cream into his face. A president lives in a relatively tiny apartment above the White House. A president lives in tasteful but relatively humble surroundings. The White House doesnât belong to him after all. It belongs to us. The Americans. And anything he does to fuck up the White House heâs doing to our goddamned house so heâd better watch himself.
President 47 is an extremely weird case. Because he wants to be a king. Clearly. But the White House is too humble for a king. Itâs not a white palace. Itâs a White House. Very important distinction. More important than you probably think.
It doesnât even belong to him though. So he decided to act like it belongs to him anyways. To treat it like a palace. And it looks bad and the courts keep blocking him from building his gaudy ballroom with real gold decorations.
Why the fuck are we paying for real gold decorations? Thatâs us paying for it. American taxpayers. Why does it need real gold? Genuine question.
It doesnât. That house doesnât need a ballroom. It doesnât need gold. The gold that heâs putting up is being held on by superglue.
Like his design sense is somehow the cheapest looking and most offensively expensive looking âimprovementsâ that have ever been done to the White House.
Previous presidents added like. A basketball court. A vegetable garden. Solar panels. Some offices. You know. Stuff youâd need in a big house that you invite guests into and also functions as a government office space.
This guy is adding⊠a ballroom? With gold hubcaps on the outside? Why the fuck do you need a ballroom in a house?
Answer: you donât. You might need one in a palace though.
The message is clear. Heâs not even trying to be just some guy. And does that matter?
Probably not as much as a lot of other things that heâs done, but still yes. Because since the very beginning itâs been fully understood that the president of the United States must constantly be reminded that he is but a man. This guy is doing his very best to remove all of those reminders and make himself the cheapest looking expensive palace he can imagine.
God damn the king.
