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Add this to the ever-longer list of surprising headlines out of the Trump White House: On Tuesday, a mouse fell from a hole in the ceiling onto a reporter there … and he had the video to prove it.
“A mouse literally fell out of the ceiling in our White House booth and landed on my lap,” NBC News White House Correspondent Peter Alexandertweeted Tuesday morning.
He and his colleaguessoon shared videoof the critterin the corner of the NBC workspace that’s part of the press briefing area adjacent to the West Wing.
The mildly viral moment comes as PresidentDonald Trumpis contending with far more grave matters, includingan impeachment investigationin the House of Representatives after he pushed Ukraine’s president to investigate former Vice PresidentJoe Biden, who is Trump’s leading challenger for re-election.
The White House, some 200 years old, has all of the character and problems of a house its age.
Dead mice have previously been seen in the press work area, PEOPLE understands, and journalists there have been warned about mice when the temperatures outside plummet and they look indoors for warmth. (Over the summer, parts of the propertyflooded from heavy rains.)
Though Trump has publicly gushed about his presidential residence, hehas groused about itas well: Earlier this year, he complained about a new air-conditioning system that he pinned on predecessorBarack Obama(“Now that they did this system, it’s [either] freezing or hot”) and in 2017Golfreported thathe had called the White House a “real dump.”
He denied this. “I love the White House, one of the most beautiful buildings (homes) I have ever seen,” he tweeted.
The White House is regularly renovated and repaired, includingin 2017and2018.
President Donald Trump.Carolyn Kaster/Shutterstock
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Speaking with TIME in the wake of Trump’s alleged “dump” comment, some of the staff who work in the home described the challenges of their work — long hours, inglorious pay — and its rewards.
“If you’re having a little bit of a bad day with a member of the first family or their staff, you step away from it and you look at the house,” Christine Limerick, a former executive housekeeper, told TIME.
“If I would see the White House lit up at night, I’d think, ‘I actually work inside that building and I’ve had the wonderful privilege to do that,’ ” Limerick said. “It could set my mind straight and I could deal with the next day.”
source: people.com
