This is just getting weirder
On January 20, 2017, the first day of Donald Trump’s term, a reporter made a mistake—a hasty conclusion based on an inadequate observation. Time’s Zeke Miller reported that the bust of Martin Luther King Jr. appeared to be missing from the Oval Office. Realizing the error, Miller issued corrections and apologies in several ways.
It wasn’t enough for Donald Trump, who seized on the opportunity to slam Miller and call his error an example of “deliberately false reporting.” This, in turn, prompted Time to issue “A Note to Our Readers,” detailing what happened in defense of that unfounded accusation.
The next afternoon, while giving remarks at CIA Headquarters, Trump repeated the accusation as part of one of his first presidential word salads, before going on record to declare, “I would never do that because I have great respect for Dr. Martin Luther King. But this is how dishonest the media is.”
Fast-forward to Trump’s second term. I recently came across reporting revealing that Trump has now done what he once declared to be unthinkable. The MLK bust, which has occupied a prominent spot in the Oval Office since President Bill Clinton’s second term, is gone. According to April Ryan, a senior White House official claims the sculpture has been moved to Trump’s private dining room but cannot offer photos to confirm its whereabouts.
This story is more than about how Trump chooses to decorate the Oval Office or how much he disrespects MLK and civil rights. It’s yet another reminder of how unhinged Trump is now that he has returned to power. By flooding the airwaves with an endless barrage of chaotic developments, he opens the door for something like this to happen quietly. Tragically, Trump’s second term is well underway.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month