A White House newsletter spotlighted a Washington Post piece on Friday. The problem is that it was obviously satire.
If it’s unclear whether the opinion piece, titled “Trump’s budget makes perfect sense and will fix America, and I will tell you why,” by Alexandra Petri, could be misconstrued, it featured quotes such as:
This budget will make America a lean, mean fighting machine with bulging, rippling muscles and not an ounce of fat. America has been weak and soft for too long. BUT HOW WILL I SURVIVE ON THIS BUDGET? you may be wondering. I AM A HUMAN CHILD, NOT A COSTLY FIGHTER JET. You may not survive, but that is because you are SOFT and WEAK, something this budget is designed to eliminate.
It also ends with a declaration pulled from the very depths of hyperbolic masculinity.
AMERICA WILL BE STRONGER THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN! Anyone who survives will be a gun covered in the fur of a rare mammal, capable of fighting disease with a single muscular flex. RAW POWER! HARD RAW POWER GRRRRRR HISSS POW!
Nevertheless, the piece was linked in White House’s daily newsletter, “1600 Daily,” which reports on recent goings-on at the capital. For example, events such as the tickets to the Easter Egg Roll and videos from the St. Patrick’s Day reception.
At the bottom of the letter, the White House links to news reports from places such as The New York Times and the aforementioned Washington Post, but it usually leans towards favorable coverage of the Trump administration.
Reporters from the Washington Post, including Petri herself, shared the link on Twitter, with readers also reporting into Petri that the link was pushed out by the White House.
Petri runs the “ComPost” blog over at the Post, which often features humorous takes on politics and other current events. Other recent articles written by Petri include “‘Somebody Else’s Babies’ are a real menace,” and “All your health-care questions answered,” which riffs on the implications by the new health care bill that only the wealthy can afford health care.
Many readers and other reporters notified Petri on Twitter, to which she responded:
*sigh* no one reads any more
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) March 17, 2017