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According to multiple reports, a sinkhole has opened on the White House Lawn. Groundskeepers confirmed the existence of the sinkhole, which is outside the office of Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, and one reporter who photographed it remarked that it's getting bigger by the day.
"This week I’ve been observing a sinkhole on the @WhiteHouse North Lawn, just outside the press briefing room, growing larger by the day," Voice of America reporter Steve Herman tweeted on Twitter Tuesday. Herman posted photos of the sinkhole, which is now surrounded by caution tape and orange cones. He said that it grew "noticeably bigger between Sunday and Monday" — and that a second sinkhole has since opened up next to it.
There have been several sinkholes in the nation's capitol over the last few years, one of which partially swallowed a school bus, but this is the first time one has been reported on White House grounds, according to Quartz. It's unclear what precipitated this one, and the opening of a mysterious hole outside the White House press office sent Twitter into a tizzy, with many users viewing the sinkhole as a kind of metaphor for the Trump administration and Washington D.C. in general.
Here are some of Twitter's best reactions to the White House sinkhole.
Just Dropping In
A sinkhole did indeed open outside of President Trump's Mar-a-lago resort in 2017 — and it was reported exactly one year, to the day, before news of the White House sinkhole broke.
The Dictionary Weighs In
This is far from the first time Dictionary.com has subtly poked fun at national politics.
Drain It
It's unclear what caused the sinkhole, but Weather.com meteorologist noted that Washington D.C. had received unusually heavy rainfall in the eight days prior. According to the New York Post, it's about a foot wide, and news of its opening produced a flood of "drain the swamp" references on Twitter.
"A Muddy Depression"
This description appears to come from Earth Magazine, not the U.S. Geological Survey. Either way, many found it a fitting depiction of the White House sinkhole.
Dark Horse Presidential Candidate?
There's still plenty of time to jump in the race!
A Sign Of Things To Come?
The Lord of the Rings wasn't the only piece of pop culture to get dragged into the sinkhole.
Page The Vampire Slayer
The concept of a Hellmouth — a portal on Earth that leads to hell — was popularized on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, though the concept dates back to the Middle Ages. And now it's being applied to the White House sinkhole, because some ideas truly are timeless.
A Familiar Face Returning?
In fact, the former White House Press Secretary is working on a new book, so in all likelihood, he's too busy preparing for its release to be digging tunnels under the White House lawn.
The Deep State
In subsequent photos of the lawn, it appears as if somebody has placed a board on top of the sinkhole, thus obscuring it from public view but not addressing the underlying problem.
There are two main causes of sinkholes, according to National Geographic. Sometimes, the roof over an existing cave collapses, exposing the cavern beneath; in other cases, rainwater erodes the rock underneath soil, eventually causing it to collapse and creating a hole. Although officials haven't given an official explanation yet, the latter scenario seems more likely here, as the White House's sinkhole didn't reveal a cave underneath the building. Either way, many on social media saw it as the perfect metaphor for the Trump White House, regardless of what caused it.
