Trump moves the Rose Garden
Former President Donald Trump’s press conference in Bedminster Wednesday about his lawsuit against social media giants felt eerily familiar. The signature Trump National Golf Club Bedminster looks a lot like the White House Rose Garden.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?513223-1/president-trump-announces-lawsuit-social-media-companies
There’s the white portico with the row of flags. He didn’t just step out of the Oval Office, but Trump spoke at a podium replete with adoring supporters standing behind him. There’s no Seal of the President of the United States attached to the podium, but there is a navy and white facsimile with an eagle and the words, “The Office of Donald J. Trump.” As if it’s 2019, a side group of experts and hangers-on also stand at a distance to Trump’s right.
Seated in what look like the same gold-ish chairs set out for the White House Press Corps were journalists who asked questions. (One hopes they brought sun screen because, as I learned covering the Trump White House, sitting in the Rose Garden can feel like basting on tin foil.)
The vocabulary hasn’t changed. “We’re in a fight that we’re going to win,” Trump said as he offered that people often say to him, “Please, sir, do something about big tech. Sue them, sir. Sue them.”
No “Hail to the Chief.” The event wrapped up campaign-style with “YMCA” blaring in the background.
So if you’re wondering if Donald Trump misses the White House, look no further than c-Span.
Debra J. Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institute's Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Contact her at dsaunders@discovery.org.