Donald Trump derailed a White House event about “clean coal” to go on a rant about his beautification efforts in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, marking yet another moment where those efforts have distracted the president from more serious policy discussions.
A Thursday afternoon event billed as an announcement about a new investment in U.S. coal plants began with Trump immediately launching into a spiel for the assembled White House press about his efforts to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial, complete with a video showing water flowing into the newly-repainted Reflection Pool. The president then shifted to his future plans: An idea for a “promenade” to extend down the other side of the building to the Potomac River.
“We’re doing something that just came up, we have a little breaking news here,” Trump teased. “We’re going to be doing a promenade at the Lincoln Memorial. They want to call it the Trump promenade.”
His explanation for the planned renovations followed: “At the Lincoln Memorial, the front was supposed to be the back, and the back was supposed to be the front. [The promenade] never got built, because they built two roadways behind it.”
More to follow…
