Or even Jimmy Carter, who made a show out of carrying his own luggage.
Yes, I believe that was it. All just for show. Disappointing.
Yep, all for show, it was an empty suit bag. I just read the book (again) not long ago.
Carter carried an empty suit bag, All for show, so it just looked like he carried his own bag. After saying he was going to ban drinking in the white house he and his wife had wine on a regular basis (not heavy drinkers, but still...)
Carter also micro managed everything. The white house had to actually call air force one to get permission for anyone to use the tennis court or pool. No matter where on the planet Carter was, only he personally could allow access to pool, tennis court, etc. After leaving office on offical trips to DC, they have a nice official place any former prez can stay. He would take down pictures of all republican presidents and put up 20x24 pictures of himself. Staff wpould have to go find the originals and put them back on the walls after he left. They found out about it when they went in daily to clean the room, change sheets etc.
JFK not only ran around on Jackie on a daily basis had 2 secretaries called Fiddle and Faddle whose only reason for being there was apparently the 2 or 3 times a week 3-somes in the white house pool, He also had aides bring prostitutes in regularly...slept with a russian spy who the cia had deported immediately when they found out...(all according to the book Dark Side of Camelot, completely different book)
LBJ had 2 water trucks sent to his ranch in Texas, apparently still there...stole no telling how much fom the white house when he left, compulsive liar, biggest racist in DC, cheated in multiple elections. LBJ was also the only president they had ever seen drunk. And it was not just once. Or twice. The only way he was JFK’s running mate was blackmail, he and the Kennedy’s despised each other. Secret service guys referrred to him as rude, coarse and foul mouthed. The way it sounded, slap a suit on trailer trash, you get LBJ.
Ford didn’t know how to lie, probably the president the secret service guys liked best. He loved to snow ski and they didn’t have an agent who could keep up with him, so they brought in a pro skier (olympic I think) who would ski ahead of him backwards, grin and wave...
Bill Clinton would jog by wherever it was some woman was staying and stop and see her, (Gennifer Flowers I think but don’t remember) splashed water on his shirts after a secret service agent noticed he didn’t look like he had been jogging...
Reagan was just as nice a guy as he seemed, he would sit and talk to secret service guys at night. One of the female agents fell off a horse, he gave her a copy of a how to ride book...she was a professionally trained rider and he knew it. Good joke though...
Couple of good books have been written, Gary Aldrich, I think, and another by the FBI agent who was assigned to the White house to do all the security investigations. Every person employed by the white house gets a background check, that was his job. He was there when the white house porter opened the door to the map room to bring in a tray full of drinks, in preparation for a meeting, and caught Bill Clinton screwing Elanor Mondale on the map table. Probably while the white house gate guy kept Monica Lewinsky waiting...that happened at least once, Monica was NOT happy...she heard the gate guard end of the radio conversation.
I could go on for a half hour. Loads of good stories about what happens behind the scenes. Clinton’s entire crew was a bunch of incompetent slobs. George Stephanoplois stalled his background check (and security clearance)for at least 2 months, when the FBI guy finally just walked in, the office was covered with trash, week old half a hamburger on a corner of the desk, 9 day old birthday cake, wadded paper all over the floor...pretty much just like Hill and Billary left the entire place...
Yeah I know I’m waaaay off topic...sorry...