Opinion: Trump’s Latest Teardown Project Is Already Veering Off Course

REUTERS/Daniel Heuer It was not par for the course.

Word started to spread when golfers in D.C. noticed trees being taken down at a beloved public golf course, East Potomac Golf Links —especially a distinctive and much admired cherry tree on the 14 th hole.

Cherry trees are iconic in the nation’s capital.

When a number of them had to be removed two years ago from the nearby Tidal Basin, a scraggly survivor, dubbed Stumpy, won the nation’s hearts, to the point where its cuttings were used to grow genetic clones.

Two large sycamores were also reported downed at the fourth hole, and things “snowballed” on social media, says Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, the group that is suing to stop President Trump’s takeover of the golf course—which he wants to renovate for his rich friends’ championship tournaments.

The president had already consulted with a well-known golf course architect, Tom Fazio, and was seen waving his plans around as he toured the course, rhapsodizing about how great it would be after his renovation.

The Washington Post has reported that more than 60 trees had been taken down.

Golfers and other course lovers are on alert to detect activity that is more than routine.

“We’re asking the public, if they see something, to say something,” Miller told the Daily Beast.

And they are.

Videos show a bulldozer on the course in possible violation of a federal judge’s order that no equipment larger than a sedan be allowed on the property, and that no more than ten trees could be taken down while there is litigation.

A hearing on Thursday is a “status conference” to address possible violations; Judge Ana C.

Reyes, who is skeptical of the government’s intentions to secure the necessary approvals, will want clarity on contracts that may have already been signed—and has previously said she does not want to “wait for the bulldozers” to see what Trump was planning.

DOJ lawyers are ready with the same flimflam they’ve offered on other projects when Trump barrels ahead despite restrictions that should curtail him.