Daniel Wolfram
The president called a Biden-appointed judge a “crazed lunatic” and vowed to contiune with the controversial makeover of the East Potomac Park.
Donald Trump is pushing ahead with plans to close and overhaul the golf course in East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., despite a federal judge ordering future work to stop.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes stepped in after local golfers and preservationists sued to block tree clearing at the riverfront property. It all started after the Trump administration decided to cut down 430 trees in preparation for the shutdown and renovation of the park.
This comes after a contentious few weeks in which the Biden-appointed judge has drawn the ire of the White House and has gotten personal insults thrown her way by the president on social media calling her a “crazed lunatic.”
This insult is retaliation after Judge Reyes claimed that the government had “lost all credibility” after failing to give proper notice about the tree cutting.
Defying the court order
The injunction was meant to lawfully stop the planned closedown and renovation of the public park and gain more information about what the plan is from the administration. Trump, however, took to Truth Social late Monday to declare that the scheduled closure will go ahead anyway.
“We are closing the East Potomac Golf Course Site as scheduled on Nov. 15.” The president argued that the judge “does not have the Constitutional Right to ‘ask for or receive notices,’ which are time-consuming, unnecessary, expensive, and unconstitutional,” Trump wrote.
An appeal is already in motion. Trump vowed that “we will immediately appeal this decision,” promising the redesigned course will stay open to the public at lower rates for Washington residents as “one of the finest anywhere in the World.”
‘World Championship Public Facility’
The administration hired golf course architect Tom Fazio to turn the capital’s busy public links into a championship layout built to lure professional tournaments.
Trump insisted that it is paramount that the renovation of the golf course happen right away. He wrote, “The Development of this World Championship Public Facility must begin, immediately, if it is to be completed in a timely and seasonal manner,” questioning why a judge without landscaping or building knowledge should oversee the project.
The National Links Trust ran the facility for several years, offering affordable programs for the locals in the nation’s capital until the Trump administration ended its lease in December. Trump described the old layout as a disaster waiting to happen.
“In its current form, the Course is extremely dangerous to play, in that the narrow and nondescript fairways are far too close together, leading to a constant barrage of people being hit with wayward shots, and the echoing throughout the air of the word, ‘FORE,’” Trump posted. He said he has asked an appeals court to intervene right away.
