CASH MICHAELS
TRUMP’S GILDED AGE OF IDOLATRY
By Cash Michaels
Congratulations, America! Finally, we have a president who admits he truly does not feel our pain. A narrow-minded leader who could give a tinker’s damn about the rising rate of inflation or how the soaring cost of living (due of course, to his starting a never-ending war he got suckered into) is affecting our families.
Now you know me. I always come with the receipts. I have Trump quoted right here, right now, word for word about how much he even cares that the country he’s supposed to be leading and protecting, is struggling:
"Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me."
Unless he’s lying like a three-dollar bill (and he usually does), I for one, believe him. Donald Trump truly doesn’t care… about anyone, but himself, and his low poll numbers show the American people know it!
Still, Trump is spending hundreds of millions of dollars of our money honoring himself and on what he personally wants, whether we like it or not!
Of course, I’m talking about all of the disgraceful vanity projects the “Emperor of Gilded Idolatry” is having either constructed or created in great tribute to himself and his criminal dynasty all around OUR nation’s Capitol.
It’s an impressive list if you’re into self “arse”- kissing. A billion dollar ballroom, a giant arc, a renovated National Mall reflecting pool, gold commemorative coins, etc.
And here’s the thing - absolutely none of these projects have anything to do with nuclear weapons, meaning that in fact, contrary to his stated preoccupation, something else really does motivate Donald Trump.
Namely, Donald Trump.
Let’s start with his audacious golden remodeling of the Oval Office, shall we?
To be fair, every president gets to remodel the Oval Office when they’re inaugurated. You know, personalize the place some so they feel more at home while they’re starting World War III (GOD forbid).
Those refinements are generally patriotic in nature, and are usually a reflection of each president’s devotion to duty and serving all of America.
But Trump’s Oval Office is very, very different. Outside of a painting of Ronald Reagan and a sculpture of Winston Churchill, the rest of Trump's Oval is a gold-embroidered monstrosity, reflecting this president’s daily devotion to not serving, but actually screwing all of America. The man literally lives to fleece us another day!
Trump’s gold-accented Oval is a daily reminder to him that he serves the rich and powerful, not us. So it should be no surprise that he would leave other indelible reminders behind that will last long after he’s gone (he hopes) that it’s the wealthy of America who have dominion over this country, if not the world.
Clearly Trump’s family carries that flag too, given the way they’re cashing in like fat rats on all of his government "snatch and grab" grift, like his recently disclosed pharma and tech stock purchases.
Besides, we already know that Trump had previously referred to the White House, a.k.a. the “People’s House,” as a “s—thouse,” which partially explains why he took a wrecking ball to the historic East Wing. He also had the Rose Garden cemented, turning it into a hard-surfaced patio for his rich friends and heads of state to mix and mingle.
In addition to Trump’s fetish with gold, comes that new $400 million Air Force One he’s been bragging about. According to a recent USA Today story:
The U.S. Air Force announced that flight testing has been completed on the controversial $400 million luxury jet donated by Qatar. The new jet, which has been described as a floating palace with lavish furnishings, will serve as the interim Air Force One to replace the current pair of aging presidential 747s.
USA Today added, “The jet will be repainted in a red, white, blue and gold color scheme approved by Trump".
This will be the most valuable gift a US president has ever accepted from a foreign government, and clearly a violation of the US Constitution's provision known as the Emoluments Clause, that bans such transactions.
But did Trump care?
"I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer," he told reporters recently. "I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane?”
So, apparently, every other law abiding president in modern US history was a "stupid person," right?
Save us, Lord!
Beyond the golden Oval O and gifted $400 million luxury jet, Trump has also started:
- the construction of a $1.4 billion White House "Marie Antoinette" ballroom (which was originally touted to cost $400 million in private funding until some Republicans in Congress decided to sponsor a bill raising the price tag almost three times and stiffing taxpayers with it. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled against the legislative language used to secure that funding late Saturday night. Senate Republicans then changed the language for the $1 billion, so all it would need is 50 votes, instead of 60 votes for passage, and tacked it onto an immigration funding bill Tuesday, hoping that would do the trick. But that move apparently went down in flames. In the meantime, Trump has demanded that the Senate parliamentarian be fired.
On Tuesday, Trump went to the construction site, telling reporters that the ballroom is "all paid for by myself" and a "gift" to the American people, with "no taxpayer money" going into it, which obviously makes no sense if the Senate is in the process of jumping through hoops to pass funding. He added that both the military and Secret Service were also directing construction of special security measures for the building Trump insists is his "gift" to us...that we're paying for, if the Senate can settle on a way to make it happen!
This from WRAL-TV’s Politifact:
An architectural expert told PolitiFact that separating security features allowed under the legislation from the ballroom would be tricky.
"Security measures must be integrated into the structure and envelope of the building," said Sara Bronin, an architect and a law professor at the George Washington University Law School. "Unless Congress places clear constraints on the way this money will be spent, taxpayers may end up footing most of the bill."
Thanks, Politifact. At presstime Thursday, the AP was reporting,"Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. (among other Senate Republicans), said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” and he does not think there is enough backing to pass it, even if the costs were reduced."
My question is, if Senate Republicans back off from funding the billion dollar ballroom boondoggle, then what's going to happen with that giant hole in the ground next to the White House?
Stay tuned! Trump isn't letting this go.
Other self-aggrandizing Trump projects include:
- renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to be an American flag blue, to the tune of over $13 million paid on a no-bid contract to Trump’s N.J. golf club “pool guy” (the project has generated at least one lawsuit);
- construction of a 250-foot “Independence Arch” (just under half the size of the towering 555-ft Washington Monument) the White House says it doesn't need congressional approval for, across from the Potomac River;
- a 250-statue “National Garden of American Heroes” in West Potomac Park featuring some of Trump personal heroes (though, surprise, surprise, the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan isn't listed as one of them);
- changing the renamed John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, which saw Trump rudely add his name in front of our beloved late president's moniker a few months ago after taking over the board, and announcing that the once cherished facility will close for two years as of July 1st for $200 million in renovations after performers immediately began cancelling their bookings in protest.
Forbes Magazine reports:
The Trump administration is expected to spend at least $162.5 million on projects at and around the U.S. Capitol (now that the billion-dollar ballroom is in trouble) though the actual cost is likely to be much higher.
Ya think?!!!
By the way, let’s see just how high that Independence Arch will actually be built to. I read that at 250-feet, it could interfere with the flight path of some of the air traffic on final approach into Reagan Airport, and Lord knows the sky there is too congested already.
No, we haven’t forgotten the 22-foot golden statue of “Don Colossus” raising his defiant fist that was recently dedicated at the Trump National Doral Miami golf course. We don’t know who paid for it, but since we strive to stay accurate around here...!
Now if you truly want a poison pill chaser to go with that hemlock, then don’t forget that beyond wanting to add his name and face to everything at our expense, “Emperor” Trump, using the White House's official communications apparatus, issued images online of him portraying himself as the Pope and Jesus Christ, suggesting a sickening and disgraceful sacrilegious superiority complex there seems to be no end to.
Hey, you hardheaded MAGA folks, have you read enough? Apparently YOUR gas, food and cost of living are a lot cheaper than it is for the rest of us! Watching you vote the way Trump told you to vote in recent GOP primary election races across the nation made clear that you don't want to think for yourselves, and that's a damn shame.
Don’t forget your MAGAmaster’s infamous words about him “caring” about you: "Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.”
How’s that for his MAGA loyalty to you?
So what’s the point of bringing up Trump’s expensive penchant for self-flatulence, most of it on the public dole?
Simple. Symbols are deeply cherished by Americans, especially when it comes to defining what freedom, liberty and democracy have always meant to us as a 250-year-young nation. Our flag, various monuments to historical figures and events, the naming of important buildings in tribute to those whom we choose to honor after they’re gone, carry deep patriotic meaning for us as a nation.
All of this is very important because we, the people own this country, no one else. We bestow these honors as a grateful nation to those who have bravely, and unselfishly served us, sometimes giving their last measure. Sure several presidents have instituted various renovation and construction projects in the past, but absolutely nothing on the size or scale of what Trump is pulling, and certainly nothing to pay tribute to themselves.
So when a convicted criminal like “Don Colossus” comes along and insidiously claims ownership of our country by plastering his name, face and memorials all over Washington, DC without the people’s consent (at least three federal buildings there currently feature extremely large banners with Trump’s 2023 criminal mugshot on them; there is the limited edition Trump passport, again with his mugshot image; and passes to our national parks also sport his dower mug for entry); in addition to him renaming the U.S. Institute of Peace; becoming the first president in history to have his signature on American currency; and a "Trump-class" of naval battleships named after him; that calls into question what the hell is next.
I mean, overall, no one is stopping Trump. The man could build himself a diamond-studded bridge from the White House to the U..S. Capitol at this point, and our elected officials who are supposed to stop him, are barely lifting a finger.
And yet, that’s exactly the reason why all of this insane Trump self-idolatry is happening - because no one is actively trying to stop him. Certainly not enough Republicans, and Democrats have little power right now to do it, unless enough Republicans join them. And he knows it! Trump is not going to cease this mess until, and unless, he wants to.
That’s NOT the way this country is supposed to work!
We have laws, rules and restrictions built into our democracy and system of government to prevent exactly what we see happening right now, and the courts overall are too slow. But those guardrails can’t work unless we make them work.
Yes, Trump is doing any damn thing he wants, but it’s our fault that he’s able to even think he can.
This craziness is what happens when we don’t vote in numbers that make a real difference. Certainly we should always vote for the type of government we want and need, but we should also vote against the crazy foolishness like we have going on right now to ensure that we never again get the kind of power-hungry ”Master of the Universe” wannabe in office we clearly have in there presently.
Donald Trump is not a joke, though there are times when there are obvious questions as to exactly how much off his rocker he actually is. He may act crazy frequently, but believe me, a good deal of that act is his way of keeping the rest of us off-balance while he’s making his next move. Before you know it, he’s done something else that wasn’t even near anybody’s radar, let alone on it, like that shifty deal Trump just cut between his Justice Dept. and his IRS to "forever" and "preclude" his, his family's, or their businesses' taxes from being officially reviewed, audited, or any Trump be prosecuted for tax problems ever again. In other words, the rest of us have to pay our fair share, but if your name is Trump, don't worry about it it.
If that isn't walking on water, I don't know what is!
Trump wants monuments built honoring what he actually is, a master criminal, someone who has not only corrupted the system, but rewritten the rules to conquer the greatest nation in the history of the world, and doing so by violating every societal law and norm in the book. Somehow, we, the people, must weigh-in to stop this madness! Trump is out-of-control, and handing us the bill for it!
I wholeheartedly agree with what Trump’s jackass vice president, J.D. Vance, told folks recently while running his mouth somewhere earlier this week: "If you want to rebuild the American dream for the next generation, vote against the crazy leadership in Washington DC.”
Frankly, when a Republican accidentally tells the truth these days, I quite honestly don’t know what else to say.
Trump indeed deserves an edifice named after him alright, and if I had my way, he would start building it right now… with taxpayer money no less!
And when it’s finished, he can call it the DONALD JOHN TRUMP CORRECTIONAL CENTER FOR THE CRIMINALLY INCLINED.
In fact, I invite him to be the very first inma...I mean "occupant" of the place, and be the only one locked up in a 14k gold prison cell for the rest of his natural life (which isn't long), with a platinum-plated toilet bowl right next to his luxurious mink-covered double-bunk bed (in case one of his enterprising family members has also been convicted of illegally getting rich off of some of Daddy’s conflict-of-interest government "weasel deal" schemes, and would like to share a cell with him).
Gold, platinum and mink. Why allow him to have all of that, you ask?
Because as long as it keeps Donald Trump locked up and off the streets, no matter what it's made of, it's still a prison.
What a special honor and tribute that would be… for ALL of us!!!
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