White House ain't Versailles, but Trump ain't King

Versailles Peace Treaty, 1919  (PD)

Although the city of Versailles was a model for the city of Washington, Trump the First ain’t Louie the Fourteenth.

Nevertheless, they both loved to build.  Louis XIV embarked upon four major campaigns, during which he converted his father’s hunting lodge into the Palace of Versailles. This palace became the king’s seat of power, plus the means of keeping a tight reign over his subjects.

Trump has been recently telling golf buddies that the White House is a “real dump.”  He therefore spends practically every weekend “visiting various properties he owns and leases.”  Perhaps the money spent protecting him at each of these sites could be better invested in White House improvements.

But Trump may have a point.  When the Lincolns moved into the White House, “there wasn’t enough matching china to have a dinner for even a dozen guests.”  Worse yet, there were “tears in the draperies” and missing chunks of carpet.  Lincoln asked Congress for funds “to beautify the White House.”  When these ran out, “the Lincolns covered the overage.”

Perhaps Trump should do the same.  If he can’t be Louie the Fourteenth, he can at least be Mary Todd the Second.  

Resources

http://www.patriotledger.com/x918436557/With-a-shabby-White-House-Mary-Todd-Lincoln-took-to-decorating

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/02/trump-reportedly-described-white-house-as-a-real-dump.html

Copyright August 2, 2017 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved