President Donald Trump raised eyebrows Thursday after suggesting that Washington D.C.’s national parks could be remade in the image of his golf courses. The remarks came during his “war on crime” event at the U.S. Park Police’s Anacostia Operations Facility, where he spoke to military and law enforcement personnel.
“One of the things we are going to be redoing is your parks,” Trump told the assembled officers. “I’m very good at grass because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being I think anywhere in the world.”
Trump, who has developed 19 golf courses worldwide under the Trump Organization, leaned on his turf-building credentials as he promised upgrades.
“We’re going to be re-grassing all your parks, all brand new sprinkler systems, the best that you can buy,” he said. “It’ll look like… Trump National Golf Club.”
At 79, Trump has often returned to reflective themes in his public appearances. On Tuesday, he phoned into Fox & Friends, remarking, “I want to get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing [that] I’m not doing well. I hear I’m at the bottom of the totem pole.”
His speech on Thursday mixed pledges with an unusual meditation on the life of grass. “Grass has a life. You know that? Grass has a life. We have a life, and grass has a life,” he said. “The grass here died about 40 years ago.”
Trump promised law enforcement officials quick changes to the city’s parks. “We’re going to be rebuilding all of your parks, and it’s gonna happen fast, it’s gonna go up like a miracle, so you do the job on safety, and I’ll get this place fixed up physically.”
The National Park Service, which oversees more than 30 parks in the capital, including the White House grounds and the Smithsonian area, is part of the Department of the Interior. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum joined Trump at the event, standing silently during the remarks before Trump described him as a “popular guy.”
Although the president had earlier announced plans to join police and National Guard units on patrol, he instead brought them pizza and hamburgers. After spending less than an hour at the facility, Trump returned to the White House.
The event blended his familiar campaign-style promises with theatrical flourishes, leaving many to wonder whether his talk of transforming Washington’s public spaces into golf club landscapes was a serious proposal or another offhand riff.