First Lady Melania Trump tends to live in the shadows of the White House. She comes out once in a while to slap away Donald Trump’s hand or wear a passive-aggressive I Don’t Care Do You? jacket. Now, she has started a controversy.
The president’s wife has taken on a White House full-court tennis court pavilion, but does it need it? That was the question of Mrs. Trump’s day. As she put shovel to earth in a ground-breaking ceremony, she unearthed a century-old conversation about tennis courts on the White House grounds. The History Network wrote:
‘Exciting to break ground on the new tennis pavilion project at the White House today. Thank you to all who will help in making this legacy piece possible for future first families to gather at and enjoy for years to come.’
The pavilion will replace a discreetly-covered outdoor bathroom structure. President Barack Obama retrofitted the original tennis court with a basketball hoop and court. That will remain as is.
Mrs. Trump released a statement about her “Legacy Project,” noting that it would be fully financed by private funds. It read:
‘It is my hope that this private space will function as a place to gather and spend leisure time for First Families.’
Republicans put an article written by the editors of Outlook in the Congressional record. It read:
‘We think there can be no serious objection on the part of any decent American to the President playing tennis with his children, and it is impossible for them to play tennis except on the White House grounds.’
The satirical Puck wondered if this was an undercover event:
‘The mutter of conspiracy is heard. Who questions the happy outcome of conference or confab, the parties of which have previously lobbed and smashed, volleyed and served together on a common level the smooth delightful level of the White House tennis court?’
First Lady Edith Roosevelt worried about her husband’s weight. President Theodore Roosevelt commented:
‘[The White House] has been very conducive to me getting fat.’
Roosevelt’s daughter Alice said:
‘My impression is that father didn’t play a great game, but played very hard,” Roosevelt’s always-candid daughter Alice explained. Or as another observer put it: “He played tennis vigorously on the White House courts, though he never became very expert, there being no danger at any time of the President’s entering the National Tennis Tournament at Newport.’
President Roosevelt said:
‘I myself play tennis, but the game is a little more familiar; besides you never saw a photograph of me playing tennis. I am careful about that [photos of his activies]. Photographs on horseback, yes; tennis, no. And golf is fatal.’
The Raw Storyuncovered a tweet that reflected the mood of the public. @TonyPosnanski’s tweeted:
‘Thousands of our allies are being attacked because we abandoned them because of your husband, your husband is attacking the Constitution, and your husband is bullying Americans, but congrats on the new tennis court. Seriously, [explitive] you. You are an embarrassment.’
President Jimmy Carter tried to finish the tennis court issue:
‘The White House tennis court: I have never personally monitored who used or did not use the White House tennis court. I have let my secretary, Susan Clough, receive requests from members of the White House staff who wanted to use the tennis court at certain times, so that more than one person would not want to use the same tennis court simultaneously, unless they were either on opposite sides of the net or engaged in a doubles contest.’
Twitter world took off. Take a look at some of our favorites below:
