Thread by @davidfrum

So while we're on the subject of presidents encouraging healthier eating habits in a country struggling with obesity problems, whatever happened to Michelle Obama's White House vegetable garden? 1/n

There's some good news! The garden is still there, courtesy of private donations Michelle Obama secured as First Lady. The garden continues to provide fresh vegetables to White House kitchens. 2/n

The bad news: except for 1 single photo op in fall of 2017 politico.com/story/2017/09/… Melania Trump has disclaimed responsibility for the garden and no longer invites schoolchildren to care for it alongside her at spring planting events. White House staff do the work 3/n

Each first lady chooses her own cherished projects. Some have many, some have one or two. And of course there's no obligation on her - or someday him - to do any public service at all 4/n

And yet I still keep thinking about garden, and how inspirational it was to see one of the most highly placed people in the nation working the soil with her own hands. 5/n

Oscar Wilde wrote a version of the story a century ago. I think of it whenever I walk near the White House grounds. inf.fu-berlin.de/lehre/pmo/eng/… 6/6