As Flopping Aces said this morning on X, “Trump Understands What Obama Never Did: A Nation Should Inspire Its People, Not Depress Them.”

Three important things happened in 1953: Eisenhower began his peaceful and prosperous presidency, I was born, and the Keep America Beautiful campaign began.

The American Can Company and Owens-Illinois Glass Company got it rolling with the simple idea of not living like pigs who litter the streets, the parks and other things. Don’t be a litterbug! they said. And we stopped being litterbugs.

Well, most of us.

The National Mall was left quite messy after Barack Obama’s first inauguration on January 20, 2009.

1.8 million people attended and left at least 130 tons of trash for city and federal crews collected at least 130 tons of trash, including paper, plastic bottles, food wrappers, newspapers, and discarded American flags.

Nearly 8 months later, on September 12, 2009, the tea party held its Taxpayer March on the National Mall. Glenn Beck-linked Tea Party volunteers actively raked leaves, picked up sticks, and bagged trash on the Mall in follow-up efforts.

Similar behavior noted at other Tea Party gatherings: Attendees (mostly older, middle-class conservatives) brought their own bags or stayed to tidy up, aligning with the movement’s emphasis on personal responsibility. It was like a Methodist potluck dinner without food. You can be darned sure, no flags were left behind.

Trump said on Thursday, “You’re going to have the reflecting pool opened within hours. I mean, literally within hours. The water starts pouring in tonight. It’s going to be beautiful. You haven’t seen that since 1922!

“The parks are open. We changed the grass. You know, grass has a life also. Grass has a life. And that grass hasn’t been changed in 70, 80 years. It died many times over!

“We have beautiful grass, beautiful parks, beautiful everything. We don’t have people living on it. And Washington, D.C. In a matter of 14 months, Washington, D.C. is like a different place that people are coming here!

“You know, the restaurants were all going out of business, you know, because you used the restaurants. And now the restaurants are hot. In fact, if anything, we don’t have enough restaurants based.

“They’re all reopening. It’s become vibrant. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. And I am honored that I’ve been able to do it to our nation’s capital.”

While the press mocks him and dismisses his three-story penthouse in Trump Tower as gaudy, the fact is he has excellent taste and an eye for beauty. Mar-a-Lago is a testimonial to that.