Trump and the Obama's Wall

On December 30, 2018, President Trump tweeted: President and Mrs. Obama built/has a ten foot Wall around their D.C. mansion/compound. I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The U.S. needs the same thing, slightly larger version!

The fact checkers pounced, quoting neighbors as saying,

It turns out though that the Obamas don't actually have a wall around their home in Washington, D.C. Two of Obamas' neighbors talked to the Washington Post and said that while the home does have some security features that other homes in the area lack, the house itself can be seen from the street. "There's a fence that goes along the front of the house, but it's the same as the other neighbors have," the neighbor said. "It's tastefully done."

When the Obamas purchased the nine-bedroom mansion for $8.1 million in 2017 they added security fencing in front of the home to fulfill the needs of the Secret Service. There is now a guard booth and fencing in the back of the house as well. But hardly a wall. "There is no 10-foot wall in the front, back or sides of the house—and no wall is going up," another neighbor said.

Several things need to be pointed out starting with the fact that the President was making a joke. Yes, it was a pointed joke, but it was a joke. Who fact-checks jokes? President Obama constantly used straw man arguments to score points, ascribing positions to his opponents that no one had taken but he was never fact-checked.

While Trump may have gotten details wrong about the Obama residence, pictures from before they moved in show that a combination brick wall-fence surrounded the entire property except for the front of the house. That wall appears to be in the 6-8 foot range. A reasonable person would say that the property had a wall around it. But we aren't living in reasonable times.

There was an article from TMZ from two years ago showing pillars for additional fencing being built in front of the Obama residence. The Washington Post fact-checker didn't actually go look for himself. He relied on calls from two neighbors and the photographs used are all from before the Obamas moved in. Is it possible that the neighbors lied or stretched the truth in order to embarrass President Trump? Or they might simply be behind the times. The President has amended his request from a solid cement wall to a 30 foot fence of steel slats. The neighbors could be splitting hairs over the Obama house having a steel fence instead of a solid wall. We don't know since no one has provided recent photographs

What we do know is that reporters can't get anywhere near the Obama house to find out. The Daily Caller tried and was turned back by the Secret Service. So the President's tweet is being fact-checked on the basis of hearsay. No bias there.

So why all the fuss? Why even bother fact-checking a joke, even if it's a pointed joke?

Because the point of the joke is valid. If you want to keep someone out you build a wall. All of Trump's opponents who claim that walls don't work are ignoring that a fence or wall is always the first step in a security system. And it's usually the most important part.

So all the sloppy fact-checking is meant to distract us from the President's point. It also enforces the "Trump lies all the time" meme.