Donald Trump’s inauguration entails massive preparation, but one rather odd job has to do with hiding the name of the company supplying the portable toilets. Each of the portable potties are at the ready for the thousands of Trump supporters and they are being covered up so the name on the unit is not visible. Don’s Johns happens to be the name of the business supplying the extra bathroom facilities in the form of portable toilets.
These units are direly needed for the size of the crowd that is coming to see Trump be sworn in as the next president. The company that supplies the toilets have no idea about the mysterious taping over their name. But most people can guess why the “Don’s Johns” name on a portable toilet would be covered up ahead of Donald Trump’s big night.
While the toilets are lined up and ready to go, the name of the company is covered up with what looks like blue tape. This seems to guard against any chance of photos coming out of Trump’s inauguration with “Don’s Johns” blaring at you from the background. With all the Trump critics out there, if the name Don’s Johns was in plain view on a toilet, this just might be a place they’d gravitate to for a memorable snapshot of the evening’s events!
All the port-a-johns at the Capitol are having the “Don” in Don’s Johns taped over. I guess to avoid confusion. pic.twitter.com/FD5Jqjw9HO
— ButTimKrepp (@timkrepp) January 13, 2017
This also takes away from the late-night comedians spinning their Trump jokes around the name of the portable potties, which is probably something they would have done if the name was easily seen. Still, even just getting wind of a portable toilet bearing Trump’s first name might be enough for some jokes without a visual on the units. When first hearing that the name has been covered up on these toilets, one might immediately surmise it is because it bears Trump’s first name.
When explaining why the name Don’s Johns portable toilets have all been covered up for Trump’s big event, the name of Donald Trump never entered into it. Covering up the name had nothing to do with Trump sharing the name “Don” with the portable potties. The name being masked had to do with restrictions in place on the grounds of the Capitol, where Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on January 20. Well, at least that is what the officials are reporting, but it is a bit strange this is the first inauguration that needed to do this.
Inauguration workers cover up unfortunate portable toilet brand name “Don’s Johns” https://t.co/IgaS5T1lt8 pic.twitter.com/oB59hsfu0G
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) January 13, 2017
The reason behind the name going under wraps has to do with the restrictions on advertising on the grounds of the Capitol. It is not known why the same Don’s Johns toilets were used at both the 2009 and 2013 inaugurations for President Barack Obama without any tape used to hide the name. Fox News suggests that the name of the toilet rental company was just too close to that of “the president elect for inauguration organizers.”
Don’s Johns is a Virginia-based company that has supplied portable toilets for many events in the nation’s capital, according to Yahoo News . When the spokesperson for the business was contacted, he said that the first he had heard of the blue tape hiding the Don’s John’s name on the company’s portable toilets was from reading it in the Associated Press .
The grounds around Trump’s inauguration are lined with portable toilets that come with a name that employees of Don’s Johns are proud of, said the spokesperson. Robert Weghorst, who is the chief operating officer for the company, said he had no idea why the name was taped over. Weghorst said, “We don’t know why it’s being done. We didn’t tell someone to do it.” He also conveyed that “We’re proud to have our name on the units.”
Still, workers at the Capitol were busy putting the tape over the name of Don’s Johns on the dozens of units that are lined up and ready for use next week. Weghorst said that once the Associated Press reported on these portable potties for Trump’s inauguration, the switchboard lit up at Don’s Johns. Reporters wanted to know just why the cover-up was in place.
Weghorst said that after the social media users got wind of the portable toilet name cover-up for Trump’s big night, the company was bombarded. He said that the social media accounts for his company were “blowing up.” People were posting all kinds of sarcastic remarks about the toilets and Trump on social media sites today, as the New York Post reports. They ranged from hysterically funny references and jokes to not-so-funny and unkind toilet jabs at the future president, Donald Trump.
[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP Images]
