Now the President Donald Trump has returned to the “Winter White House”.

Please note this blog post is a recurring one, posted prior to and then shortly after the president’s return to Mar-a-Lago.

Hmmm. But just wondering. Should the ‘p’ in “president’s” be capitalized? And what of First Lady Melania Trump? Should ‘First Lady’ be capitalized?

And briefly, if politics is of great interest to you then this blog post is also a reminder that if you don’t follow the news from political journalist George Bennett then you need to start.

Now, with the table set. . .

Can you find the two errors in the press report below? A blog reader found this on Stars and Stripes, news about President Donald J. Trump:

“Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago, the 17-acre estate between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth, in 1985. In 1999, he built a golf course nearby, the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.”

What are the errors? The answer is below.

Should the title of this blog post be, “Getting ready for the President’s next visit. . .”? When is it uppercase ‘President’ and when to use lowercase ‘president’ when referring to the President of the United States?

Certainly, if you’ve been getting your news about President Trump’s visits to the Town of Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago from The Palm Beach Post’s George Bennett you are already well-schooled on this topic and understand the proper usage.

So. Did you find the two errors above?

In the first sentence it should read, “between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth LAGOON”. In the second sentence the “Trump International Golf Club” IS NOT in West Palm Beach and West Palm Beach does not have a beach either and that famous golf club is located outside the city in unincorporated Palm Beach County, or what’s accurately called suburban West Palm.

Did you get all that?

Anyhow. Is Donald Trump the ‘President’ or ‘president’ of the United States? The answer is Donald Trump is “President of the United States”. Why? Continue reading to find out.

Warning! Please pause
here momentarily.

Take a deep breath.

The blog post below IS NOT about Presidential politics, or shall that be ‘presidential’ politics? Below are two excerpts from Wikipedia and following with the another question, “Can you find the error?” At the end of this blog post is the answer to that question.

Received much feedback about this blog post and one observation in particular from a blog reader had to do with, “PALM BEACH — Donald Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago nine times as president. . .” vis-à-vis subject/topic hierarchy, specifically the intro should have been “PALM BEACH — President Donald Trump. . .” followed by ‘as president’.

Is that a minor criticism or not? That’s up to you to decide.

What follows is just an examination of the English language which is constantly changing and evolving. Irrespective (is that a word?) of your political perspective, let’s examine two articles published in The Palm Beach Post.

This first news article is by political reporter George Bennett with contribution from Matt Morgan, a former reporter at the Shiny Sheet:

• PALM BEACH — Donald Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago nine times as president. . .
• The president — in a celebratory mood this week. . .
• While the president is at Mar-a-Lago. . .

Nowhere in the article is it mentioned, “President Donald Trump. . .”. Is there anything wrong with that?

Once again, that is up to you to decide.

Now here’s another article by Bennett
with emphasis added:

Palm Beach County taxpayers will get a $3.4 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the costs incurred by local law enforcement agencies who helped protect President Donald Trump during his first seven visits to Mar-a-Lago as commander-in-chief.
     Trump is expected to return to Palm Beach on Friday and remain through New Year’s Day.
     Most of the FEMA money — nearly $3.3 million — will go to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the lead local agency in assisting the U.S. Secret Service during presidential visits. Another $71,270 goes to the town of Palm Beach Police Department and $63,164 goes to the West Palm Beach Police Department.

and. . .

     Aside from the Florida money, FEMA approved a $36.4 million reimbursement to the New York Police Department for its costs when the president and first lady Melania Trump were in Trump Tower in New York City.


Hmmm. Should ‘first lady’ be “First Lady”? Actually no, but it really depends on house style. It could go either way.

Now here is an excerpt from Wikipedia. Can you find the error? The answer is at the end of this blog post.

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
     In contemporary times, the U.S. President is looked upon as the world’s most powerful political figure; he is the leader of the only current global superpower. The role includes responsibility for the world’s most expensive military that has the second largest nuclear arsenal; the President also leads the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP.
     The chief executive possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power. Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government. It vests the executive power of the United States in the president.

and. . .

    
     The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances.

Now. From the AP, “When to Capitalize President” and about the word ‘Presidential’ as well:

The AP Stylebook holds that you should capitalize president only as a formal title that is before one or more names. For example,

• President Barack Obama
• Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton

President should be lowercase is all other uses. Example,

• The president will make an announcement tomorrow.
• I am now announcing my candidacy for president.
• Roosevelt was president during the Great Depression.

From the AP Style about “Presidential”:

Presidential should be lowercase unless a part of a proper name. For example,

• This is a scandal of presidential proportions.
• This is the 50th Presidential Inauguration.

Back to the question. Did you find the error above in the excerpt from Wikipedia?

It’s in the paragraph beginning with “In contemporary times. . .”: in the last sentence ‘the President’ should be lowercase, not uppercase.

Hope you found this blog post fun, and once again, Thank You for visiting today!