At 6 a.m. Monday, on the morning that Interior and National Park Service officials were due to testify before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, Trump posted on Truth Social that the judge is a "crazed lunatic" who "may be insane."
The source of Trump’s anger? The fate of the East Potomac Golf Links, which the president has sought to wholly rebuild. Trump declared in his post that the Interior Department does “not need an approval,” and that renovation work at the course "is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY!"
The post conflicts with Trump's own statement a day earlier and with what his administration's lawyers have told the court. On Sunday, Trump announced the current course would be closed for renovation on Nov. 15, for the span of 15 months. That weekend post drew the judge’s attention, and she ordered the government to explain its official position. The government had previously assured her in a filing that no final agency action was slated to begin: Justice Department lawyers have argued that "at most the President has given preliminary thought to" a redesign. Monday’s post appears to contradict that claim.
Interior Department and National Park Service officials are due to testify before Reyes today.
“The current Course is old, broken, dilapidated, and of no further use or effect,” Trump wrote Sunday. “It is in very poor condition, with falling, dangerous, and disease infested trees and, importantly, a collapsing and hazardous seawall.”
Trump’s comments on the judge’s sanity are an extension of the government’s effort to remove Reyes from the case. In an Oct. 16 motion, a Justice Department lawyer wrote that "Judge Reyes's conduct rises to the level of deep-seated and unequivocal antipathy toward the Trump Administration" and that the government is "entitled to a neutral forum and an adjudicator who is capable of maintaining the appearance of impartiality."
The motion followed an Oct. 12 emergency hearing at which Reyes sharply criticized the government and its contractors, on the occasion of the felling of 430 trees by the Park Service over the Columbus Day weekend without adequate notice to the court or the plaintiffs, according to ABC News.
Trump's post also said that "the random golfer bringing the ridiculous lawsuit has ZERO STANDING!" One of the plaintiffs is golfer Alex Dickson, who publishes a D.C.-themed golfing blog and podcast.
“The United States Department of Interior wants to take a terrible and very unsafe golf course, and make it into a great, safe, and prestigious golf course,” Trump wrote Monday morning. “They have an absolute right to do so. It’s as simple as that!”