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A Kid Mowed The White House Lawn For Donald Trump, Free Of Charge

by Chris Tognotti
MIKE THEILER/AFP/Getty Images

When you were a kid, did you ever dream of visiting the White House? Meeting the president, perhaps? And if so, how did you imagine it going down? What did you want to do while you were there? Well, one young boy got just that kind of wish fulfilled, though it wasn't a particularly glamorous affair ― an 11-year-old boy mowed the White House lawn for President Donald Trump on Friday, and from the looks of things he did a pretty good job.

The kid in question is Frank Giaccio, who reportedly hails from Falls Church, Virginia. In August, Frank sent a letter to the White House asking to mow the lawn, in order to showcase the work ethic of young people to the country.

"It would be my honor to mow the White House lawn some weekend for you," the short letter said. "Even though I’m only ten, I’d like to show the nation what young people like me are ready for." The letter in full read:

It would be my honor to mow the White House lawn some weekend for you. Even though I’m only ten, I would like to show the nation what young people like me are ready for. I admire your business background and have started my business. I have been mowing my neighbors’ lawns for some time. Please see the attached flier. Here’s a list of what I have and you are free to pick whatever you want: power mower, push mower, and weed whacker. I can bring extra fuel for the power mower and charged batteries for the weed whacker. I will do this at no charge.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read the letter during one of her briefings, and it drew some criticism and derision from progressives on social media, some of whom suggested Frank probably didn't even exist. But on that front, at least, the critics have been firmly rebuked. Frank does indeed exist, as proven by his work mowing the lawn on Friday morning. He also got to meet Trump himself, who popped out of the Oval Office to pay a visit.

According to ABC News, Frank was delighted to meet Trump. He considers himself a "big fan" of the 45th president, as well as a young entrepreneur. He reportedly got to see the Oval Office after he finished with the lawn, too, and he was reportedly surprised at how much bigger it was than he'd imagined.

His father tagged along for the visit too, and if not for his suggestion to the contrary, it sounds like Frank would've tried to charge Trump $8 for the lawn — what he normally charges his neighbor for the landscaping service. Instead, he did the work free of charge.

According to reports, the 11-year-old told Trump that he wants to be a Navy SEAL when he grows up, a career plan the president complimented in his remarks to the press.

This is Frank, he’s going to be very famous, he’s going to be a Navy SEAL one day, he’s going to do great things for the country.

"Maybe he'll be president some day," Trump also commented.

Frank isn't the only kid whose letter to the White House has been read aloud by the press secretary, to be clear. The first, perhaps more memorable example was a letter from a 9-year-old boy named Dylan, who goes by the nickname "Pickle."

Some critics and skeptics similarly speculated about whether his letter was legitimate, but as subsequent reporting revealed, he's also totally a real kid. The lesson, if there is one, seems to be that you shouldn't assume there aren't kids out there who like the president, even enough to offer a free lawn-mowing.