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News this week that Covid-19 has infiltrate The White House itself. Given the current state of the world, that’s not so surprising, but what was new, at least to me, was that one of those who tested positive for coronavirus was “one of President Trump’s personal assistants.” So is. One of a valet team. A team of five, actually. Two “office valets” and three “residence valets”.
I thought the only valets in the business these days were the guys in the garage that cleaned their car. Or the few who still attend royals who prefer not to have to squeeze their own toothpaste on their toothbrush, as was the infamous task of a valet assisting Prince Charles.
The dictionary definition of a valet is “a male servant attending to a gentleman’s clothing, dressing, grooming, etc.” It is the language of PG Wodehouse, of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, and of Downton Abbey. A servant, one would think, whether male or female, surely belongs to a past lexicon.
But apparently not: it turns out that President Trump has five servants. (Trivia question: If you have five servants, does this make you a knight five times?) So what do they do? These ex-servicemen are, presumably, as adept at handling a shotgun as a shoehorn. They bring their food and drinks to the President, and they will get to know the McDonald’s menu well. Your shoes really shine. They work in rotation, so one is always close in case the president needs a Coca-Cola Light, or a comb, or a phone charger, ensuring that his Twitter account is always activated.
The valets deliver the newspapers that the president enjoys so much to read. They wash their clothes. Your ironing. She spreads her clothes. They travel with him when he travels. They have reportedly not been wearing masks so far, as the president does not like to wear one, but that is likely to change now that one of the five has tested positive.
We don’t know the names of any of these valets, but given their access to the American President and the personal nature of their duties, they must see many extremely interesting things. We have received all kinds of memories from the White House during the Trump presidency from those who work in the west wing. What I most hope for is what the valet saw.
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