The Bunker Mystery

As I was throwing away a used pastry box I thought about the absolute waste involved.  What hit me then was to take this waste and make something of it!  Thus, The Bunker Mystery.

As we know, one Donald Trump did visit a bunker on Friday, May 29th in the underground depths of the White House.  His wife, Melania, and son, Barron, accompanied him, along with an assortment of Secret Service guards.  Why go to a bunker, a space reserved for shelter from the outside world?  Surely protestors gathering outside the White House calling for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd, a black man, by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer in Minneapolis, while handcuffed and laying under the knee of said officer for nine minutes, on May 25th, would not have caused alarm for the pr*sident’s safety?  On Wednesday, June 3rd, Trump said during a Fox News Radio interview that he was down there “much more for an inspection.”

Could the media have gotten it wrong?  What would explain Trump visiting a bunker?

One would logically think that Trump and family spied away to the bunker out of fear from the angry world outside their window.  Surely Trump would not pee on his throne?  These were the very same rooms Vice President Dick Cheney sought during the 9/11 attacks.  Certainly, though, the outside world was very much on Trump’s mind as he tweeted that those outside protestors would face “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons.”

Trump said during that radio interview with Brian Kilmeade that he had already been there “two and a half times.”  I assume that the half-time visit must of been his first visit when he just peeked inside from the doorway, thus exposing half of his body to the bunker.  Elsewhere he has been quoted as saying, “I’ve gone down two or three times, all for an inspection,” getting a sense of space.  That deep aha! moment arrived.  Of course, Melania was with him that Friday.  And he has also claimed that he was there earlier in the day, not during a period of outside protests.  Well, then, he must have taken Melania and Barron there to elicit decorating ideas!

Is Melania the go-to for decorative decisions?  Apparently, yes, at least with son Barron.  According to elite daily Melania decorated Barron’s room in the White House.  White House Historical Association president Stewart McLaurin praised the First Lady for bringing very faded decor in other rooms to its very best.  But, how could this decorative panache be the point for making a very short visit to the Bunker?

Could there have been a better reason?  That was revealed on Monday, June 1st.  From the Rose Garden at the White House, Trump made a prophetic speech.  Citing nationwide protests as “drowned out” by “professional anarchists, violent mobs, or, arsonists, looters, criminals, rider rioters, Antifa and others,” Trump was clearly setting his sights.  He charged that he would deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets.”  We did not have to wait long to see that he was serious.  As he walked from the Rose Garden to the Episcopal St. John’s Church across from Lafayette Square, Attorney General William Barr had ordered riot police and others to sweep peaceful protestors out of the way, using teargas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray.  There it was!  He visited the bunker to find absolute quiet and calm in order to pen his response to civil disorder.  And that required utmost concentration.

Beaumont, Peter. “Trump fled to bunker as protests over George Floyd raged outside White House: The president has been widely criticised for his response to the demonstrations, preferring tweets to a national address,” Guardian Weekly, May 31, 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/31/trump-flees-to-bunker-as-protests-over-george-floyd-rage-outside-white-house

Ciccone, Nick. “How Melania Trump Decorated The White House Was Surprisingly Low-Key,” elite daily, May 28, 2018; https://www.elitedaily.com/p/how-melania-trump-decorated-the-white-house-was-surprisingly-low-key-9124631

Cillizza, Chris. “Donald Trump’s ‘bunker’ story tells you everything you need to know about him,” CNN, June 3, 2020; https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/politics/donald-trump-bunker-secret-service-protests/index.html

Liptak, Kevin and Betsy Klein. “Trump claims he went to bunker for ‘inspection’ amid violent protests,” CNN, June 3, 2020; https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/politics/donald-trump-bunker/index.html

“READ: President Trump’s Rose Garden speech on protests,”CNN, June 1, 2020; https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/politics/read-trumps-rose-garden-remarks/index.html

Superville, Darlene, Associated Press, “White House makeover: Melania Trump upgrades, refreshes and restores for state dinner,” USA Today, September 18, 2019; https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2019/09/18/melania-trump-white-house-decor-upgrades-first-lady-refreshes-rooms/2362783001/

I am a little late: According to a press conference with Kayleigh McEnany, Trump ordered the clearance of protestors and William Barr executed those orders even though he does not legally have the authority to charge the Secret Service to attack peaceful protestors. See, Hunter, “White House confirms Trump gave order resulting in assault on St. John’s Church, Daily Kos, June 3, 2020; https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/3/1950204/-White-House-confirms-Trump-gave-order-resulting-in-assault-on-St-John-s-Church?detail=emaildkbow2