As is routine for modern presidents to do, even when traveling short distances, President Trump used a motorcade to leave the White House, to meet President George W. Bush and Laura Bush Tuesday evening as the funeral proceedings for George H.W. Bush began. The Washington Post decided this was newsworthy enough to write a snarky headline and article about.
Post reporter David Nakamura pettily wrote, “President Trump traveled 250 yards to greet George W. Bush. He used a stretch limo and an eight-vehicle motorcade to make the trip,” as his snarky headline, before going on to complain that it wasn’t “necessary” for Trump to use the motorcade:
The need for the motorcade, however, prompted questions, and a healthy dose of speculation, about why the Trumps were unable — or unwilling — to simply walk across the street.
The Trumps’ use of a motorcade to visit the presidential guest quarters prompts questions and speculation about why they didn’t simply walk across the street https://t.co/AF6z6dFgRY
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 5, 2018
Nakamura noted that the White House “declined to comment” on the reason for the motorcade, as he touted sarcastic tweets from past Obama administration officials attacking Trump for the seemingly excessive move.
Nakamura undermined his own point, however, just a few paragraphs down, admitting that President Obama actually did the same thing from time to time:
Obama often employed a full motorcade for short trips, including fundraisers at nearby hotels such as the Jefferson, just a few blocks from the White House. Those trips entailed closing roads in downtown Washington, sometimes during rush hour, thereby snarling evening commutes.
In her autobiography “Becoming,” former first lady Michelle Obama wrote that the Secret Service sometimes requested she or her husband “take the motorcade instead of walking in the fresh air” to Blair House for security reasons.
Given the media-drummed up hatred towards Trump from the left and several reported assassination attempts, is it any wonder that Secret Service would encourage these excessive precautions? It seems there’s always reason for the media to gripe against Trump, even in a week of national mourning over the passing of President H.W. Bush, and even for sins they excused President Obama for.
