“A beloved D.C. golf course welcomes everyone,” said Alex Kirshner in Slate, so “of course, President Trump wants to change that.” He doubled down two weeks ago on his campaign to turn the East Potomac Golf Links, an affordable municipal course popular with a wide mix of Washingtonians, into an elite professional course that can host major tournaments. Preservationists and golfers sued, and District Judge Ana Reyes ordered Trump to give advance notice before starting work. But after sending an emailed notice at 4:55 p.m. on a Friday, his administration felled over 400 trees. A hearing last week grew heated after an irate Reyes scolded his lawyers. While I’m “not the Lorax” speaking “for the trees,” the judge fumed, I do speak “for the rule of law.” Trump responded by calling the judge “a crazy lunatic” and by insisting construction would begin “IMMEDIATELY.”
This is “a warning sign” for the entire country, said Kyle Feldscher in CNN.com. Trump’s plan not only reduces the course from 36 holes to 18; it eliminates a green space along the river popular with families, runners, and cyclists. If Trump can seize public parkland, what’s to stop him or successors from “changing other precious parks into expensive retreats for the rich?” Redesigning a public golf course “ranks very, very low on the list of priorities of the American electorate,” said Jim Geraghty in National Review. But days before a critical election centered on affordability, Trump was in a power struggle with a federal judge who got in his way, demanding she recuse herself. Ironically, Trump described the current course as “terrible and very unsafe,” after his administration dumped debris from the White House’s demolished East Wing there—and it tested positive for lead.
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