I doubt that many people have any idea of what
electing the Trump Corporation to the highest office in the land is costing us.
I am fairly certain we will never know down to the last dollar.
This week, the mayor
of West Palm Beach and one of our Congresswomen went to the island where the
media are penned up while President Trump is in town. They went to plead,
conspicuously, for money. They were asking for millions of dollars --$5.8
million, plus $4.7 million, plus $4.3 million -- partly on the guess that Mr.
Trump’s biweekly visits will continue year-around but also
for security equipment the Secret Service told the city of West Palm Beach it needs
to buy.
That money would be
on top of the money the county sheriff has to lay out in overtime -- $280,000
for the first five weekend trips of his presidency. The sheriff’s office
started bleeding money while Mr. Trump was only a candidate. The sheriff
expected to be reimbursed. He now knows better. The Secret Service
politely listens to complaints. And politely dismisses them.
The Government
Accountability Office put the price tag for one President Obama visit here at
$3 million. Presumably Mr. Trump is into the feds for a similar amount per
visit. That’s in federal, not local, money. Hawaii hosted two Obama presidential visits and is still waiting for $2
million from the same non-existent presidential visit pot our
sheriff hoped to tap.
Although Obama, like
presidents before him, did a lot of travelling, he didn't go to the Mar-a-Lago
mansion in Palm Beach every other weekend. And take foreign heads of state. This week’s added
attraction will be Chinese President Xi Jinping.
And Mar-a-Lago is
key to where big added costs may be.
You, see, unlike the
Bush compound in Maine or Ronald Reagan’s California ranch, Mar-a-Lago is not
just a home to Mr. Trump. It is also the private Mar-a-Lago Club where, (if you
are invited and pay the $200,000 initiation fee) you can spend $14,000 a
year in dues to have a room when you want to get away, drink Trump wine and play
The Trump International Golf Course. The golf course. We will get to that.
Mr. Trump might not
be able to afford the mansion hinself if his paying guests weren’t paying for it. Which
raises the unanswered question: Who pays the Club bills for Mr. Trump’s
entourage when he comes? Whoever pays, the money goes to the Trump Corporation,
Which is Mr. Trump.
He has taken to calling the private club “The Winter White
House.” I’m betting that eventually will mean a $400,000 initiation fee, instead of $200,000,
for the Club. Shouldn’t a White House be pricier
than just a private club?
You may wonder where
the town of Palm Beach is in all of these expenses. The rich folks winter
there; West Palm Beach, the city, was built for the
help. The town authorized a helipad so Mr. Trump can get to and
from the airport without causing traffic jams. The authorization was reluctant
because now everyone is going to want a helipad. But, in fact, the Mar-a-Lago
Club is only a few feet into the town. Most of its traffic and security
problems belong to the city where the help resides.
And this: Mr. Trump
does not go to Mar-a-Lago and stay there.
He spends part of the weekend making phone calls and taking meetings at
Trump International Golf Course. His comings and goings all require motorcades
of big, black SUVs with motorcycle escort for the 4.6 mile trip. (Does he has to
make phone calls from the course because he can’t find a phone in any of
Mar-a-Lago’s 126 rooms?)
The SUVs are flown in
before he arrives, sometimes on a C-5 Galaxy that has a cargo bay 80 yards long,
sometimes on a slightly smaller jet. The cars are picked up and flown to the next place
he is going after he leaves. There is other communications and security
equipment aboard, as well, but I didn’t want anyone to think the President of
the United States gets his motorcades from Hertz.
Now it is possible
that Mr. Trump will go to other of his properties for a Spring White House, a
Summer
White House and an Autumn White House. No sense upgrading
only one of his properties while his leading the free world. And it would be
good – for his West Palm Beach neighbors --
if he spreads the expenses of his visits around a bit. We have a president for our neighbor, and he's going to cost us even more than he will cost everybody else.
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ReplyDeleteYes, his presidency is a continuing nightmare. I hope he's impeached as soon as possible - he's already done so much damage.
ReplyDeleteAs in the course of his pre-POTUS business enterprises, he spends other people's money. And he doesn't even have to declare bankruptcy now to avoid any idea of payback or reimbursement. And then there are the kids and what THEIR boondoggles are costing the US taxpayers. But, hey, it's OTHER people's money ... again. They have hit the giant jackpot that Trump casinos were never able to payoff for them.
ReplyDeleteThe Trump presidency operates much like kings did when they were not constitutional monarchs. The Trump royal family has the ultimate power, but they have their intrigues with each other. There is a royal court where people constantly compete for access and power. It is replacing the bureaucracy. Trump needs only loyalty not competence. And they are going about the country and the world at their various homes, with the people subsidizing their display. And they are giving our money and resources away to keep sufficient loyalty to stay in power.
ReplyDeleteTom, you Floridians are so lucky! About as lucky as New Yorkers are to have Trump Tower in their midst. I wonder if Melania and Barron are ever going to live in the White House. I understand why they don't want to change schools if Barron is happy there. But it is a burden on Secret Service to provide security, not to mention causing problems for the neighbors.
ReplyDeleteThose folks in West Palm Beach will have to get in line behind NYC Mayor De Blasio who has been promised gazillions to reimburse police over-time--and Trump hasn't even been in New York since the inauguration.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh yes, the Washington Post had a local story about the Ivanka-Jared screw up of parking on their block...because no one travels with fewer than four Secret Service armored tanks taking up those parking places. The neighbors have complained!
Ideal 2020 presidential candidate is an orphan, never married, friendless and an introvert. Will never leave the White House and is a sober vegetarian.
I can only assume that the White House is an abject dump without enough gilding and frou frou that none of the Trumps wants to live there.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, Melania Trump has a right to live where she and her son want to. And if they want to live far away from the president, I certainly understand. The fact that she lives in a high-density population area and messes up traffic flow and inconveniences Tiffany shoppers, ... well, she and Barron are still entitled to protection.
And the president is breaking no laws in traveling to Mar-a-Lago every 10 minutes to play gold and think up crazy Tweets.
What I want to know is whether the taxpayers are paying the Trump properties $$ to put up the Secret Service officers and the rest of the entourage every time he goes to one of the Trump properties that Eric and Donald Jr. supposedly now own.
If so, every time I go home to sleep in my own bed, I'm going to start charging my employer the cost of a hotel room and travel expenses.
Jean, the fact that he was making money by using his venues while he campaigned was one of he underlooked features of his campaign. Many of his stops were in buildings he owned --= starting with the famous escalator ride to his candidacy announcement. He was able then tomget back the money he put into his campaign -- that is, to rack up a profit on a wash deal. Or he was taking money someone else gave him to support the campaign, run it through his property and end up with it in his pocket. He could be doing the same thing now, using "his mansion" at the Mar-a-Lago Club. If we knew he is paying taxes on his profits..., oh hush my mouth.
DeleteI know I am overly cynical about people, but it was always my view that Trump's bid to be president was largely a way to get free advertising for his brand and properties during the campaign. I think the guy is very good at getting his foot in the door and inveigling money out of people. Delivering anything of value? Steaks? Wine? University classes? Coherent foreign policy? Improvements in health care? It remains to be seen.
DeleteRichard Luger and Lee Hamilton had some thoughts about this stuff on the radio today. I sometimes worry that sanity will die with these older guys: http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/03/30/richard-lugar-lee-hamilton-russia-investigation
What will happen if Trump castles here and around the world are attacked? Probably will depend upon the details. Who are the attackers(?) the victims? the general situation? the results?
ReplyDeleteIt could generate sympathy for him (beyond from his followers). Americans rally around the flag, but will many rally around Trump, or his kingdom? Probably in some cases yes, in others not much.
Will radicals (and people inspired by radicals) shift their targets from the general public to Trump targets? Could they become sympathetic Robin Hood like figures by portraying themselves as against Americans or more narrowly against our elites?
What happens if people around the world become less afraid of general attacks in public places, e.g. airports? Maybe they will just avoid Trump castles, or places where Americans are gathered.
Depending upon how it played out it could divide Americans from the rest of the world, or American elites from the rest of the world (and the rest of Americans).