President Donald Trump saluted the quality and detail of a pair of 88-foot flagpoles he is having installed at the White House – lauding their size, shape and even the sand that will encase them.
For Trump, the flagpole is more than just a flagpole: it is a dream deferred.
Trump showed one of them to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. One of them asked him how long he has dreamed of having one.
‘I’ve had it for a long time. In the first term I had it but you know you guys were after me … I was the hunted, and now I’m the hunter. There’s a big difference,’ Trump said.
He compared the quality of the pole to the flagpoles at his Florida clubs Doral and Mar-a-Lago, even vouching for the sand around the nine-foot hole that is meant to secure it.
‘It goes nine feet down. There’s nothing in there, just the tube goes nine feet down.’
‘And when they fill it with sand – absolutely pure sand,’ Trump said.
‘The White House opened about 1800, little before that,’ Trump said outside the historic building.
‘I’ve always said why doesn’t it have a flagpole from the grass – they call it a flagpole from the grass.’
One thing is for certain: the flagpoles Trump is having installed are big. He said they were ‘about 100 feet,’ although White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt gave the more exact figure of 88-feet.
President Trump viewed the 88-foot flagpole he is having installed at the White House. He said it is ‘about the largest’ pole and will be surrounded by ‘pure sand’
‘This is about the largest you’ll ever see, and it’s tapered. It’s a quality that you guys rarely get to even put up,’ Trump said.
‘We have one going there, identical,’ the president said, referencing another flagpole being installed on the North Lawn.
‘So we’ll have one on this side of the building. We’ll have one on that side of the building, properly placed. In this case, we had a lot of choices, putting it on that hill, putting it different places. It’s such a beautiful pole, we thought we’d put it near.’
‘I mean, it always looks best when it’s near. Doral n– I put it right near. Have a similar pole. And these are the best poles anywhere in the country, in the world, actually, they’re tapered. They have the nice top.’
Trump described it as a major improvement over existing flagpoles, or the flag that flies atop the historic Georgian executive mansion.
‘There’s a little flagpole that’s like 15 feet high – little tiny flag up top. This is the real deal. This is the best you can get. Nothing like this. You know most of them are 20 feet, 25 feet, this is close to 100 feet. And I think it’s a great location. You know you put it out there, people don’t appreciate it,’ the former real estate developer said.
He said it would be surrounded by a ‘beautiful flower bed.’
Crucially, the poles have the flag-raising rope installed on the inside.
‘At Mar-a-Lago I have a similar pole, not quite as tall. The rope’s on the outside. And you hear that rope banging,’ Trump allowed.
It’s an annoyance that Trump is not keen to endure while in Washington. ‘You know when they’re outside, they’re very noisy. They snap in the wind,’ Trump said.
Trump said he is paying for flagpoles on the lawns north and south of the White House
‘I’m paying for it,’ Trump said of the costs. ‘I’d say each poll is like $50,000,’ he said, providing a cost estimate.
There was just one word Trump wasn’t inclined to use when speaking of erecting the poll.
‘Anyway, let’s have a good — they call it a lifting. They also use another word, but I’m not going to use that word. It starts with an E. You know what the word is? If I ever used it, l’d be run out of town.’
The flagpoles are just one in a series of updates he is making to the campus. Trump also spoke about a ballroom he said will go near the east wing. The Rose Garden is torn up for new pavers.
Trump started generating buzz for the project weeks ago when he toured a potential site on the North Lawn.
Then he fired off an online post early Wednesday, even as Israel and Iran exchanged fire and the potential the U.S. could join the bombing campaign.
‘It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns,’ Trump posted.
‘It is a gift from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place. The digging and placement of the poles will begin at 7:30 A.M. EST, tomorrow morning. Flags will be raised at approximately 11 A.M. EST. These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality. Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!’
Not everything without a hitch. Trump had said there would also be a viewing of the second pole. But DC’s skies turned grey around the time a work crew erected it.
By the afternoon there was pouring rain and weather warnings about thunderstorms.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .