To say President Donald Trump is trying to remake the nation’s capital in his image is an understatement.
His latest plans involve an overhaul of the links on the East Potomac peninsula in Washington, D.C. Then, remodeling it into a luxury, 18-hole championship-level Trump golf course from its current 36 holes.
The president was touring the East Potomac Golf Links on June 28, when a blueprint of his design plans was spotted in his hand, according to The Washington Post.
The plans appear to show the golf course redesign encompassing the entire East Potomac Park. It includes chopping down the famous cherry trees that Japan gifted to the U.S. in 1910 and eliminating a popular recreation area.
Needless to say, destroying the iconic cherry trees won’t be an easy sell.
“People visit DC every year just to see those trees! There are festivals about those trees!! The people LOVE them! And he wants to cut them down for another golf course?? Just when you think he can’t be even more HATED…” Threads user Gara Cole said, putting Washingtonians’ and even the nation’s feelings about the trees into perspective.
The Post reported that the blueprint appears to show a 50-acre expansion of the current golf course. It would eliminate a popular riverside biking trail and a miniature golf course. The current park is used by the general public for a number of recreational activities, including fishing and picnicking.
Trump at first shared his plans for the East Potomac overhaul, writing in a post on Truth Social that he plans to “build one of the Greatest Golf Courses anywhere in the World.”
He tried to downplay the reality that a new luxury course would make the greens unaffordable for most Americans, insisting the new links “will also be made available to the Public.”
“When completed, this Course will have the ability to host Major Golf Tournaments, including The U.S. Open, The Ryder Cup, The PGA Championship, and other top PGA Tour events.”
Anticipating criticism over removing the iconic cherry blossom trees, Trump claimed, “Many of the trees suffered years of neglect, putting people in great danger from falling branches and the trees falling themselves.”
“The grass is largely dead, the greens are virtually unplayable, and the Course is in very poor general condition but, after many years of horrendous maintenance, and little money devoted to the process of upkeep, we have determined that this location can bring tremendous success and prestige back to Washington, D.C.”
A firestorm exploded on social media after the blueprint leaked.
“Honestly, how can he just do this damage? So sad,” a Threads user bemoaned.
This poster said it straight: “Everything I touch, I kill.”-Pedolf Shittler.
Another user pointed out, “Trump Ruins Everything. Piece of shit ruined OUR house.”
A reference there to Trump’s ballroom boondoggle at the White House. Last summer, Trump demolished the historic East Wing without proper authority or approval to make room for a massive $200 million ballroom, insisting donors would pay for the project.
Several months later the costs ballooned to more than $400 million, and now it’s at $600 million and counting. This year, Trump tried to use taxpayer dollars for the project, hoping to slip $1 billion into the Secret Service budget for the ballroom.
So far, his Republican cronies in Congress haven’t gone for it.
Trump said in his social post that he plans to start renovation of the golf course on Sept. 1, but that may not happen.
There’s already a lawsuit challenging redevelopment. The plaintiffs contend Trump’s plans violate an 1897 congressional act that specifically reserves East Potomac Park for the public.
