Trump never seemed to consider his occupation of the White House as transitory any more than he considered the presidency in that way. He looked at both as though they were pieces of property that had come into his possession and that he could only lose if he chose to do so. Because the White House belongs to the American public, not any particular politician, presidents had for years been careful about keeping electoral politics out of the building. Not Trump. He gave his 2020 convention speech from the building.
“The fact is, we are here” — that is, the White House — “and they’re not,” Trump said. “To me, one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world that is not a building, it’s a home as far as I’m concerned. Not even a house, it’s a home.”
Trump’s sense of ownership of the building extended even to a souvenir he had created: a “key to the White House.” In his book “Breaking History,” Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner described the tchotchke.
“When Trump met with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], he whipped out his signature gift — an oversize bronze ‘key to the White House’ in a wooden box carved with the presidential seal. Trump had designed the key himself to give to special guests.”
” ‘This is the first key I’m giving to anyone,’ he said. ‘Even when I’m not president anymore, you can walk up to the front gate of the White House and present it, and they will let you in.’ “
— “Breaking History,” Jared Kushner
Kushner writes that he “tried to keep from laughing” at the presentation. Understandably. It is not the case that presidents can simply grant other people lifetime access to the White House. Not only because of the security implications but, again, because the house isn’t the president’s to offer to others. Trump was allowed to stay there by the people; that grant isn’t transferrable.
But at least he was president then. At least he was living in the White House. That is no longer the case — so why’s he still giving out those keys?
On Tuesday, Trump left the Manhattan courthouse where he’s attending his criminal trial and headed uptown to Trump Tower. There, he had a meeting with former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso. This was part of Trump’s increasingly explicit shadow-diplomacy efforts, his engagements with foreign leaders aimed at building relationships and positioning himself on the international stage as he seeks reelection to the presidency.
Trump’s presidential campaign sent reporters a “readout” of his meeting with Aso — itself a mirror of how presidents summarize meetings with foreign leaders — and included the photo below.
Yes, Trump gave Aso a key to the White House. Whether he offered the same patter about Aso presenting the key at the White House gates is unknown. (A question sent to the campaign about the encounter did not receive a response.)
This is, simply put, bizarre. Mayors give out keys to their cities to noteworthy individuals as a symbolic gesture, but it seems safe to say that they generally stop doing so once they leave office. After all, the city isn’t theirs to offer up. Yet here’s Donald Trump, acting as though he’s simply renting out the White House to President Biden and letting Aso know that he’s welcome to stop by and use the bowling alley anyway.
Part of it, certainly, is Trump trying to give the impression he gave at the Republican convention in 2020: precisely that the power of the presidency is his,…
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