ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The following weren’t the precise words mouthed Thursday afternoon by a sprinkling of protesters in downtown Washington, but you’ll get the idea: Yo-yo, ho-ho, the g****o Trump has got to go!
Nobody during these trying times of political correctness would dare say the “G” word (rhymes with “Ringo”) out loud unless they wanted to be tarred and feathered on the public square.
The mini-Cain-raiser stems from the fact that The Donald, a non-Hispanic, spoke his truth about the Mexican government, border crossers, illegal immigration and how America has become as soft as a worn-out La-Z-Boy.
The PC crowds want to publicly crucify Mr. Trump, nail him to a stake in Freedom Plaza for all to see.
They don’t want him or his Trump International Hotel to be housed in the Old Post Office Pavilion at 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
They don’t even want his name on the hotel, which already is under construction and which Mr. Trump and investors are financing.
The persecutors include David Grosso, a member of the D.C. Council who happens to be the closest thing the District’s body of lawmakers has to a socialist chieftain.
Technically and legally, Mr. Grosso is what election officials categorize as independent, which, in Mr. Grosso’s case, merely means he is not registered as a member of the Democratic, Republican or other political party.
A strident supporter of the marijuana-for-all movement, Mr. Grosso stood among the Trump-must-go gang, and said he wants the real estate mogul to step away from his luxury-hotel project.
“I think it’s time for the city to step up to the plate and tell Trump he has to go,” Mr. Grosso said.
Mr. Trump should stand his ground, and so should the city and the federal government.
The Trump project received a kiss from the Obama administration in 2012 as a savior.
The Old Post Office was no pavilion when it first opened in 1899, and while it continued to serve as a post office over the decades, the powers-that-be could not decide on what it should be: Mostly it was used as a federal office building with a food court, outdoor tables and umbrellas and a central downtown Metro location. It was delightful that celebrations used to help ring in a new year, but even that was quieted — until The Donald.
Blessed in 2012 by the Obama administration, there of course was concern that the Trump D.C. project would become another casino, but that is not going to happen since practically every square foot of Trump International is slated for hotel, conference/meeting or eating space.
Moreover, even though Mr. Trump is a Republican, one would think the city’s only voice in Congress, Democratic Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, would make sure gambling does not become the cog in the Federal Triangle wheel of downtown.
That Mr. Grosso and the new town criers are trying to kick Mr. Trump to the curb is downright un-American. If people don’t like the man, they don’t have to patronize him or his projects, or clothing line, or cologne, or even vote for him if and when the time comes. Heck, they could live the remainder of their lives never speaking his name.
But make no mistake: That hotel is no more “the people’s building,” as protesters proclaimed on Thursday, than the Washington Redskins’ former D.C. home was “the people’s building.”
What the hullabaloo about Mr. Trump and his luxury-hotel is proving is that we finally can call cultural PC what it is — BS.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
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