Remember how in Trump's inaugural speech he said he was going to be the voice of the people? He did say that!
"What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people," he declared.
And even with a commemorative highlight. "January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again."
Apparently not so much. People trying to reach the White House switchboard today heard this recording. I tried both numbers -- (202) 456-1111 and (202) 456-1414.
Yep, both numbers tell you the comment line is "currently closed" and direct you to a White House comment page or to send comments via Facebook messenger.
Sam Stein thinks they're just overwhelmed, which might be true, given that many people defending the DACA program have been calling into the White House.
ThinkProgress:
Immigrant rights groups noticed the comment line’s shutdown Friday, just after Trump took the oath of office. Kica Matos, spokesperson for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), told ThinkProgress in a statement, “Last time I checked we were still a democracy. We the people have a right to be heard, and government officials have an obligation to hear our views. It is unprecedented and deeply disturbing. for any administration to turn off the switchboard to the American public.”
Let's just be honest here. There's absolutely zero interest in hearing from anyone outside the White House bubble, unless maybe they're a Breitbart commenter. But I'll say this much: He's going to hear from us one way or the other, as Saturday's Women's March proved.
Maybe we can't call in, but he'll hear. Perhaps people should start calling their representatives and asking them to take a message to relay to the White House.
