The White House and special things about US Presidents

In two days, the White House will determine the new owner to replace incumbent President Joe Biden. It will be either Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or the old owner, Republican Donald Trump.

The White House - the residence and workplace of the US Presidents. (Source: AFP)

Symbol of power

In 1791, the first President of the United States, George Washington, chose the site for the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Irish architect James Hoban was chosen as the chief architect. After 8 years of construction, President John Adams and his family moved in, although the building was still incomplete.

In 1812, British soldiers burned down the entire house and looted all the property inside. But in the end, what the British soldiers took, transported on a ship, was sunk in a storm in Halifax on the night of November 24, 1814. Architect James Hoban was again appointed to rebuild this building.

President James Monroe moved in in 1817 and added extensions to the north and south sides to make the house larger. During the 19th century, many plans were made to redesign it to be larger and newer, but the White House still retains its architectural style to this day.

It is said that the British soldiers burned the building down and repainted it white, hence the name White House, but this theory is not valid because it was painted white before. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt decided to renovate the building, including moving the Presidential Office to the West Wing.

The Oval Office was later added. Nearly half a century later, the building appeared to be in disrepair, so President Harry Truman continued to renovate it, demolishing the entire interior, keeping only the outer walls. In 1952, President Truman's family continued to live there.

The White House is the workplace of the President and also the residence of the number one family in America. Whoever becomes President moves into the White House and leaves after his term ends, returning it to his successor. Furniture and decorative paintings are all managed by the State, although the President's wife has the right to buy furniture as she wishes. Gifts given to the President are also included in the national property list. The President can buy back any gift he likes after his term ends at the management board's valuation.

The White House has 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 6 floors, 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators. The White House kitchen can serve dinner for 140 people and can accommodate up to 1,000 guests for a standing dinner. It takes 570 gallons (about 2,000 liters) of paint to paint the exterior of the White House.

During its history, this building has had many names, the President's House, the State Villa, and finally President Theodore Roosevelt officially called it the White House.

US President and special things

The first President to have his photograph taken in the White House was James Polk (1845-1949). Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) was the first President to travel to the White House by car and the first President to travel abroad. Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945) was the first US President to travel by plane.

If you read the newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch TV, perhaps billions of people on the planet wish to be the President of the United States, the world's number one superpower, even if it's just for a day or an hour to change the world. Getting on and off a horse, riding on Air Force One, an escort of armored cars, having a suitcase and the key to the nuclear button, ordering war or stopping a war, seemingly limitless power.

Only when sitting in the hot seat can one understand the inside story. If sitting in the Oval Office on the West Side of the White House, with the decision on the table to launch a war against this country to protect the interests of another country, would anyone dare to sign?

The US Presidents are very diverse, each person has their own fate, happiness and suffering depend on each person, but in general, it is hard work. I work at the World Bank one block away from the White House, so I am not unfamiliar with this area. When I first came to the US in 1995 to do an internship, it was easy to get in and out of the White House. I hung out there for a few hours and if I met the President, I could shake his hand and take a picture. But after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, security was tighter, I could only take pictures with the President's cardboard picture on the street for a fee of $5.

The Oval Office, the workplace of the US President. (Source: whitehouse)

As I write this, Joe Biden is 81 years old. He is the oldest of the 46 presidents since George Washington was first inaugurated in New York in April 1789. George Washington is the only president elected with 100% of the votes in every state. Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president ever on Inauguration Day, when he was just 42 years, 10 months, and 18 days old.

James Madison was the shortest President at 1m64. Abraham Lincoln was the tallest at 1m93, the same height as Lyndon B. Johnson. On the day he was shot, Lincoln told his bodyguards that he had a dream that he would be assassinated. President Kennedy was also very young when he was assassinated. The country is full of guns, so if a bad guy wants to be famous, he will shoot the President and his name will go down in history.

Impeached presidents include Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1998) and Donald Trump (twice in 2019 and 2021) but all escaped due to the bipartisan control of power and the very tight Constitution. Only Nixon was involved in the Vietnam War in the wiretapping scandal at the Watergate hotel but he was quick, before being impeached, he took the opportunity to... resign.

President Andrew Jackson was shot in the chest during a duel over love, but managed to stand and shoot his opponent dead. The bullet remained in his chest for 40 years. William Henry Harrison was the 9th President. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd President. William Henry Harrison caught a cold while standing in the rain to deliver his inaugural address and died 32 days later, the shortest presidency.

President George W. Bush is the only US President to have an MBA. George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001-2009. His father, George Herbert Walker Bush, was the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989-1993.

US President Joe Biden poses for a photo with ASEAN leaders at the White House, May 12, 2022. (Source: Reuters)

Low salary and always being "scrutinized"

The salary of the US President is 400,000 USD/year, the Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Senate about 200,000 USD. Since the founding of the country, George Washington received a salary of 25,000 USD/year, then gradually increased to 200,000 USD in the last century and now doubled.

I remember one time (2014) when there were two days left until July 4, America's Independence Day, Quinnipiac University conducted a public opinion poll on the President's reputation on key issues such as foreign affairs, the economy, health insurance, and the war on terrorism.

In the poll, there was a question “Which President is the worst?” The result said, “Barack Obama is the worst US President since World War II.” In 2006, people thought that George W. Bush was the worst US President, but in 2014, American public opinion saw that Obama was even worse than Bush. But then Donald Trump appeared and was considered the 4th worst president of all time. But then President Biden was considered to have “usurped” Donald Trump.

Articles related to the ranking of the worst presidents in America always have a very high number of readers. According to polls, of the 12 presidents from 1945 to 2020, the public thinks that Ronald Reagan was the best leader, Obama and Bush are at the top of the list of the worst presidents. However, considering all the presidents of all time, the list of the 5 worst presidents is: (1) James Buchanan, (2) Andrew Johnson, (3) Franklin Pierce, (4) Donald J. Trump, (5) William Henry Harrison (died after 32 days in office).

President Donald Trump at the White House while in office in 2020. (Source: Reuters)

Since the founding of the country, the Declaration of Independence of the United States has clearly stated that all people are born equal. Equality here means opportunity, the pursuit of happiness and equality before the law. Based on that principle, the US federal government is established according to the model of separation of powers. Congress holds legislative power. The President holds executive power, the Supreme Court and lower courts hold judicial power.

These three branches of power check each other and do not allow any one to have ultimate power, including the President or the Speaker of Congress. In March 2023, former President Trump was summoned to court in New York to be fingerprinted in a criminal case. In mid-year, a 12-member jury in New York found Trump guilty of 34 counts in a case involving falsifying business documents, making Donald Trump the first former US President to be convicted.

Legislation is the expression of the general will of the nation. It belongs to the people as a whole, entrusted to the people's representative assembly, which is the parliament. The executive branch belongs to the government responsible for running the country based on the laws established by the parliament. The judiciary is the court that punishes criminals and resolves conflicts between individuals and organizations. Judges are selected from the people and judge cases only according to the law without being manipulated by any force.

The founders of the United States also thought that the other three branches of power would collude to manipulate the country, so they allowed the press to be free, and this is called the fourth power belonging to the people. When the internet came to power, social media became the fifth power.

On November 5, America will have a new owner of the White House. If Ms. Harris wins, America will have its first female and black president. If Mr. Trump wins, America will have another 78-year-old billionaire president who has been the owner of the White House twice.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nha-trang-va-nhung-dieu-dac-biet-ve-cac-tong-thong-my-292487.html