Commentary By Stephen Macaulay

“I don’t want them in my office. I don’t want them here.”

Bingo.

That’s an issue that Donald Trump doesn’t understand.

It is not his office. It is our office.

But heretofore, there is little attention given to that matter, unless he does something that causes raised eyebrows, like knocking down the entire East Wing of the White House.

Now there were several regulatory reviews that should have taken place prior to that happening, whether it was by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) or more fundamentally, the Environmental Protection Agency. 

The former protects National Historic Landmarks, and somehow tearing down a 30,000-square-foot portion of the White House, a National Historic Landmark, should have had some consideration by the NCPC, at the very least.

As for the EPA, there is a little thing called “asbestos” that was used in construction, especially in the 1940s, when the East Wing underwent major structural renovations and expansion. The EPA would come in and determine if and where there is asbestos in the structure and require mitigation. Why? Because when structures (even floor tiles) that contain asbestos are broken, the asbestos is released in the form of microscopic fibers that can be breathed in and once in, aren’t rejected by the body. 

Lung cancer and mesothelioma can occur as a result.

But inspections be damned! Down went the building.

After all, he maintained, the White House is his building to do what he will with.

Sure, there are legal actions in play. But he has already done what he wants to do.

Try to do some major reconstruction to your house without having a permit pulled and see how quickly you’re facing financial and legal consequences from your local municipality. 

And what will be the consequences for Trump for doing that?

The opening quote, of course, is Trump talking about reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

These outlets are claimed by Trump to be reporting “FICTION and LIES.”

He doesn’t offer any evidence, of course. For a man who seems to care so much about veracity, he doesn’t seem to like facts.

So he banned them from the White House.

Again, realize he is a temporary tenant, not the owner.

On September 18, when asked by Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey about whether the banning of the three outlets was meant to intimidate the press, Trump, who has famously responded to reporters by calling them names (e.g., “Quiet, piggy” to Ms. Lucey last November), said in response to a completely legitimate question: “I dislike dishonest press like you. I think you’re terrible, but I dislike dishonest — I like to see honest press.”

At some point, even classic Republican conservatives, who read Bloomberg BusinessWeek and have a Bloomberg terminal to get the latest trading data, are going to realize that when he’s calling Bloomberg dishonest for no reason, it may be time to reconsider their support of the president.

Trump clearly doesn’t want reporting that, well, reports what’s going on.

• How many times has he said the war will be ending soon?
• How many times has he said the Iranians want “a deal”?
• How many times has he said that when the war is over gas prices will immediately fall?
• How many times has he said the cost of groceries is low?
• How many times has he claimed the tariffs are bringing in billions of dollars, and the amount of direct foreign investments is $20 billion?
• How many times has he said affordability is a “hoax”?

Are any of his claims factual? Or are they fantasy?

While there are many who are claiming that the barring of the news outlets from the White House is unconstitutional, let’s face it: That’s just silly. He doesn’t care about the Constitution any more than those people in Congress who have completely abrogated their Constitutional duties (e.g., Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1: “The Congress shall have power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States”).

Rather, this is a sign that the Emperor Has No Clothes and he doesn’t want anyone to report on that.

He has clearly constructed a bubble around himself and doesn’t have a clue as to what his policies are doing to the American people, and blaming Biden for anything gone wrong has worn well-thin (especially when it comes to saying what a mess Biden left the economy in, as inflation when he left office was 3% and now it is 3.4%; a gallon of gas cost $3.10 and now it is $4.48).

And the truth is in the process of bursting that bubble, so he is having a tantrum.

Instead of thumping their chests and claiming First Amendment violation, news organizations ought to be asking in public: “Why is he so afraid of the truth?”

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings, writing primarily for the right (conservative) column.

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