On Thursday, a large rendering of “86 47” appeared burned into the grass of the National Mall, between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. A Reuters photographer spotted it from the top of the Washington Monument. Emergency vehicles were dispatched. Grass samples were collected. The Park Police opened an investigation.
The timing is pointed. Trump’s birthday is June 14. The White House is hosting a UFC event on the Mall this weekend, with thousands of people expected. The numbers “86 47” have become the administration’s designated threat phrase: “86” is restaurant slang for removing something, “47” refers to Trump as the 47th president. The DOJ is currently prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey for posting an Instagram photo of seashells arranged to form the same digits.
The Interior Department called the grass markings “deranged vandalism” and said any threat against the president is taken seriously.
The White House went further. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said anyone who “engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible.” He then added that such people “should also immediately seek psychiatric help to treat their severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has warped their brains and made them sick in the head.”
Trump Derangement Syndrome. Warped brains. Sick in the head. This is the official written response from the White House press office to dead grass in a public park.
The investigation remains open. Park Police have not determined what caused the discoloration and are waiting on the sample results. The UFC event proceeds as planned. The grass, presumably, will recover faster than the statement.
When the official government response to lawn damage includes a clinical diagnosis, who exactly is doing the unhinged thing here?
Sources
Breitbart: ’86 47′ Message Carved Into National Mall Grass Days Before Trump Birthday Event
Fox News: ‘8647’ burned into grass on National Mall as federal authorities open investigation
ABC News: Giant ’86 47′ found marked in the grass on the National Mall
