Michael Bloomberg’s plan to turn the East Room of the White House into an open-office workspace filled with cubicles is drawing derision on social media.
On Twitter, the Democratic presidential candidate announced that “as president, I’ll turn the East Room into an open office plan, where I’ll sit with our team.”
“I’ll use the Oval Office for some official functions – never for tweeting – but the rest of the time, I’ll be where a leader should be: with the team,” Mr. Bloomberg tweeted.
The East Room is a ceremonial space with accessible on White House tours, with large crystal chandeliers and artwork including a famous portrait of George Washington. Presidents often use the East Room for press conferences, bill signings and social receptions.
Reactions on social media to Mr. Bloomberg’s plan were mostly negative.
“This …. wouldn’t work,” tweeted former Obama national security aide Ben Rhodes.
Sara Hanks, CEO of CrowdCheck, told Mr. Bloomberg, “Yeah but all those people round you are going to have different levels of security clearance and be read into different programs. That’s not gonna work.”
Journalist Joe Sonka commented on the cubicle proposal, “Bob, stop slurping your soup, the prime minister of Finland can’t hear me.”
Osita Nwanevu, a writer at the New Republic, commented, “Nobody is prepared for how stupid this year is going to be.”
Mr. Bloomberg’s expanding presidential campaign is moving its headquarters to Times Square in the old New York Times building, Politico reported. His campaign now has more than 300 staffers at headquarters and more than 200 others in various states.
As president, I’ll turn the East Room into an open office plan, where I’ll sit with our team.
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) December 30, 2019
I’ll use the Oval Office for some official functions – never for tweeting – but the rest of the time, I’ll be where a leader should be: with the team. https://t.co/zIU3ZL5uIv pic.twitter.com/jLwWKJCmxw
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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