28 October 2020

The Grifter

Yesterday, the Washington Post published a detailed article (link here) about how Donald Trump has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars into his own pocket for staff and Secret Service costs by visiting his own properties nearly three hundred times since he became President.

On top of that, he's earned a fortune charging taxpayers for lavish costs whenever heads of state and other diplomats have visited his properties whilst he's been in attendance.

Some of the costs Trump has billed the government are both petty and absurd. For a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, taxpayers had to pay three dollars each for drinks of water.

Other expenses are lavish, such as charging the Secret Service $17,000 per month to rent a cottage at one of his golf properties, where it usually sits empty except during his weekend visits.

And then there's the millions from his own campaign that he's shoveled into his own pocket by hosting campaign events there and encouraging big-dollar supporters to do the same. Because it has repeatedly been in a cash crunch, Trump's campaign has cancelled TV ads in multiple states, yet he hasn't pared back campaign events that pour money into his own pocket.

Trump is also charging his campaign $40,000 per month to rent office space in Trump Tower in Manhattan, notwithstanding the campaign is barely using the facility, if at all.

Trump has claimed that the various charges involved are at or below cost, but the reality is that they're at or above what nongovernment guests pay.

All of this profiteering underscores some of Trump's biggest lies. He promised when he first ran for President that, if elected, he would "completely isolate" himself from his business. In reality, he has done the opposite.

"If I win, I may never see my property. I may never see these places again," Trump said in 2016. "Because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf. Believe me."

In reality, Trump has visited one of his golf properties almost once a week since he was sworn into office, earning a profit from government costs every single time.

__________

ATTENTION NEVADANS!

Online voter registration closes tomorrow in Nevada. If you live in the Silver State and are not yet registered, please register online immediately. Click here to do that right now.

Residents in a few other states can also register online using the same link above because you still have a bit more time. Registration has already closed in most states, however. Some states also have same-day registration, which means you just show up at your polling place on election day, then register and vote.



No comments:

Post a Comment

Speak up!