Let him eat cake!
11
While Trump cut taxes for the rich, and soaks the taxpayers for his weekly vacations, a third of parents struggle to keep their babies in diapers.
20
trumpery: (noun) attractive articles of little value or use. (adj.) showy but worthless
23
Fact checking needed for this article, which states Trump is running the country. That is fake news, Ms. Collins.
20
As always, Ms. Collins, your column is brilliant. It's mind-numbing that we hear on a daily basis the abuses that this President and his cabinet inflict on the government and the public. Draining the swamp was his call to action, but far from fulfilling that campaign slogan, he's filled the cabinet with more thieves and crooks that were there before. History is usually a harsh judge, and in this case, I hope that it will judge Donald J. Trump as the worst President this country has ever experienced.
11
Hi, Gail. I wonder whether you could squeeze in here somewhere that using the White House as a money making opportunity is probably a violation of the presidential oath, and should be, in and of itself, adequate justification for impeachment?
25
When I think of FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs, which includes the rehabilitation foundation for others with polio, and compare it with...I can hardly write the Trump golden palace in the same sentence. The vulgarity of today's president knows no limits.
26
Wow! I have been reading the excellent comments and replies and there clearly is a national discussion on a high and informed level. Of course these are Times readers but the comments are nation wide. I do not know why other newspapers through out the nation do not establish a similar program of reader comments. This is better than Face Book and there would be editors to monitor the comments as the Times does. Particularly good comments might be published as letters as the NYT is already doing. We have a lot of talent out there and a house poet who usually hits the target and makes you laugh. Every day I read comments from a dozen regulars who leaves me thinking I wish I could have written that and I am grateful to the Times for the opportunity to have read comments from people who I have come to trust and whose skills I admire. We need a giant town hall and this idea should spread newspapers nationally.
21
Help me understand how this private membership club can be referred to as the Southern White House. We have payed somewhere between $45 and $50 million dollars to jet back and forth between Florida and Washington D.C. My guess is that visits to the Bush's Crawford ranch were a bit less pricey. We are being robbed blind for this president to embarrass us on the world stage.
22
I would describe this little president as living in a gold encrusted dystopia - a place where you can't fill the void with more stuff. Is this America the Beautiful?
8
Born-rich President Boastful Brat cannot control his endless self-advertising, including his rave (and raving) reviews of his personal shrine to conspicuous consumption, Mar-a-Ego.
15
Can't we bring in the Queen of Hearts and have her bellowing at her axe man "Off with his head" while pointing at the Donald? It would be done in style which is more than one can say for how the Donald fires people or deals with people on a daily basis.
9
Whoa. I missed the phone booth. Is it a Cone of Silence? I really hope so.
3
Since when does Trump have a “job running the country”? Sending out tweets and holding ego-building political rallies is not the same thing as doing any work for the taxpayers. Of which he is not, at least according to some anecdotal evidence, one.
18
To be fair, he spends 3 or 4 days a week golfing.
10
If the Democratic party had their act together, they would be renting a large banner in Time Square. It would run, 24x7, displaying real-time tally of Trump's golf games and money tax payers are coughing up to pay for his weekend travels to Mar-a-Lago.
And yes, since Trump's sole intent is to undo his predecessor's legacy, Mr. Obama's total golf games and travel expenses to his home during his term should also be displayed along side.
32
Is Trump going to give the Mar-a-Lago back to the USG when he's out of office?
Don't count on it, he's raking in money just thinking about it...
7
One day, Trump will die as we all do and I'm perfectly okay with paying for part of a bigly grave, for tens of millions of Americans will want to dance on it.
31
Mar-a-Lago is Trump's personal Mt. Olympus. He sees himself as a god. Trump is an extreme narcissist like many of the dictators he so admires. His egomaniacal behavior is virtually predictable based on this serious mental disorder. Self-glorifying pathological narcissists like Trump always blame others, feel unjustly maligned and go on the attack as a primary mode of defense. Truth and facts are not relevant in their world. But unfortunately, flaunting of Mar-a-Lago and Trump in the flesh, are symbols of the collapse of our democracy.
The vulgar, ignorant Trump was placed in the White House by a broken electoral system engineered for their own benefit by the corporate fascists who own the Republican Party. They depend on the power of dark money, the blind support of a racist, under-educated, uninformed base as well as the hypocritical religious fundamentalist Christians. Trump is the embodiment of the national political disaster we have undergone.
We must focus not on Trump's succession of daily idiocies like Mar-a-Lago where Trump displays his contempt for the American people by treating our government like his own private businesses. We must focus on the means of reclaiming our government and restoring decency and respect to Congress, to the Oval Office and to our nation. Everything else is a a clown show distraction.
35
Not gold leaf, not even gold plated, actually its more like brassy, as in pretentiously showy.
17
That awful yellow color of the spoon? I've seen it somewhere. Ah! Got it. That was the color of Trump's wispy hair!
18
Anything I could say has been said here, except for one thing: We are not helpless in dealing with and fighting Trump and the equally corrupt GOP leadership. Not yet. We have to keep marching, registering voters, speaking out. . . and we have to show up at the polls and VOTE.
Those who didn't vote before, young,old, black, Hispanic, etc...VOTE.
35
There’s just nothing so unforgivable as being gauche.
19
At the dual press conference, Trump informed all of us that he himself was the reason that the Korean Olympics were so successful.
As Johnny Carson used to say,
"I did not know that."
17
Two young African Americans walk into a Starbucks, in Philadelphia, and in a matter of minutes are walked out , by Police in handcuffs, because they didn't order an $8.00 latte.
Meanwhile, Trump can spend millions of taxpayer dollars (a sensitive topic as I just paid my taxes!) to head off to Mar-a-Largo every weekend, and line his pockets when foreign dignitaries spend time with him there, between rounds of golf. All charged back to the American people.
Which person is committing a crime?
37
Everyone thinks he spends the morning watching "Fox and Friends" and doing his hair before heading off to work at 11am. This may be partly true, but I propose that that is the block of time he has carved out for his Trump Organisation job.
14
How is it possible this guy still has support from 30% of American? I just don't get it. This is not the country and people that I used to know and admire. Really sad. What happened to the Republican leadership? Their silence is the loudest indication of unfathomable hypocrisy.
34
I don't know how its possible either. Look at Ted Cruz. Trump insulted him, his wife AND his father - and Cruz goes and writes a glowing article about Trump for Time's 100.
What is wrong with these people?
32
Now announced that Trump's DOJ is going after Andrew McCabe.
Time to go to the mattresses.
16
Is abuse of power an impeachable offense? If not, it should be.
11
Who will own Mar -a-Lago after Trump? Since the rising sea levels may take care of the ownership issue, it could well become the property of a 22nd century dive club! There is something pathetic about the grasping for social recognition that Mar-a-Lago represents in the Trump portfolio so perhaps ownership will simply become one of those sad fan-owned semi-museums (with a good seawall) seeking to prop up the reputation of a flawed man by displaying all the gold leaf items he collected.
Thanks, Ms. Collins, for summarizing Trump's press conferences with foreign leaders for those of us who tune out his sales pitches in FL and Washington D. C. At least he treated Abe better than the Baltic leaders.
10
So are these world leaders and their retinues actually paying to stay at Mar-a-lago? Do the secret service people also pay to stay at Mar-a-lago?
9
Of course other world leaders would ask to stay at Mar-a-Lago. What better way to stroke Trump's ego and thus manipulate him?
20
"Everybody knows Trump mixes personal business with his job running the country." I wish media denizens would stop saying that the POTUS "runs the country." Although he might wish he did, Donald Trump, and all of his predecessors, doesn't come close to running the United States. It's a free-market constitutional republic. Trump happens to "run" one branch of the federal government, and even that comes with more restrictions than any private business (see the FBI actions).
Stalin, Mussolini, Kim Jong-un, and other out-and-out despots "ran", sort of, their countries. Trump couldn't run the hot water in the White House.
18
The worst thing about this is Trump supporters don't care. They don't care that all precedents are being thrown out the window. They don't care about the ethics, or the international optics. They actually think it's OK. Nothing can be more dangerous for us than such an unmoored electorate.
I hope that this presidency will inspire a new bill in Congress to insure we don't have someone not held to account in so many ways. It would need to at least A) make releasing tax returns mandatory for candidates, B) make divesting of all businesses mandatory for elected presidents and C) makes periodic press conferences with Q&A mandatory for presidents.
I never thought it was possible for a president to be held to so little account.
23
Add in, record kept of all who meet with the President regardless of the President's location.
7
Way back when, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt hosted British royals at their home in Hyde Park, New York. They served franks and beans. What is wrong with President Donald J. Trump and Mrs. Trump not rising to the occasion and doing the same to the "great world leaders" at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, American tax-payers might ask?
5
"I believe I speak for many Americans when I respond: Huh?"
With respect to Collins, she most definitely does not speak for THIS American when she says "Huh?" The Trump administration is rife with self-enriching grifters among whom Trump is chief. Trump's entire political career to date is a branding exercise gone ludicrously out of control. He holds court at his resorts and golf courses because he wants to make the prestige of his office synonymous with membership at his private properties.
He promoted his steaks as a candidate. His spokespeople have promoted his family's products. Trump calls upon his supporters to boycott private businesses not sufficiently "loyal," NOT because of any national interest, but because a particular clothing line was dropped. It's really no different from Ben Carson setting up his son to mix promoting himself with government business or Pruitt living it up on the tax payer's dime.
This article also highlights the difference between Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump. Carter would not take a nickel off the sidewalk. With Trump we can only hope that someone is keeping track of White House silverware. Carter was committed to not abusing the power of his office or the public trust, but Trump has a fundamentally corrupt inclination to use his powers and discretion in service to himself.
23
A number of years ago I toured St. Petersburg Russia. After seeing the lavishness of the Czars I remarked that I an see how the Russian revolution happened.
16
Gee, I am hard pressed to think of another politician who benefitted from their office.
2
If the United States were a monarchy instead of a democratic republic, or whatever they're calling it these days, there is no way that the majority of its citizens would have put up with this nonsense for a moment. The heads of kings, czars, kaisers and emperors have rolled for a lot less. But Trump knows that this lucrative gig has a finite quality, and however much he may crave being a dictator, emperor or king, in the final analysis, he's only got this gig for, at best, another 3-7 years, and then he's out. He "knows" that he can't be fired, so "why not make hay while the sun shines?" I wonder if Queen Elizabeth II would take us back. They seem to be doing pretty well over there.
7
It should surprise no one that Trump prefers to leave his "dump" in D.C. to bask in the reflected glory of gilded knives and forks at the Pleasure Dome of Kubla Trump, or that foreign leaders should be made uneasy standing silently at their podiums while the Maitre d' in the floppy Soviet era suit peddles his products. After all, there's no cover charge.
One wonders... will we one day see Kim Jong-un taking a mulligan on successive tees or zipping around the courses in the extra-wide fat guys' golf cart with Trump alongside, pointing out the links-side condos for sale at oh, so fair prices?
(The "laundry specials" do command a premium, however. Lots of extra paperwork, and scarce lawyers to be found.)
10
ah come on, it is excellent that President Trump shows off to other heads of state, a fine resort, club, such as Mar a Lago. You are just jealous. Why fight such a grand place for meetings, it does not cost the taxpayer a dime for the use of the property. Don't be such a sore loser.
1
As Gail pointed out: "All we’ve had to pay so far is $45 million to $55 million to fly Trump back and forth and post guards around the beach."
Think of all the good that could have been done with that money if Trump had simply stayed in the actual White House instead of his Florida palace. And that's in less than two years!
17
You are painfully misinformed on this subject. Trump is charging the Secret Service for rooms and the rental of golf carts so they can follow him around the fairways.
10
Are there any redeeming qualities in this grifter president? None that I can see. As he mindlessly goes about promoting Mar-a-loco, too stupid, classless, and clueless to notice his audience views him as sick joke I wonder about the mentality of his fans.
19
I'll be humming "Payoff porn star Sean Hannity" all day.
9
Gail, I'll remind you that Scott Pruitt is the pride of Oklahoma. People in KANSAS make fun of Oklahoma. Now, just think about that. Pruitt is obviously Trumps favorite Intern. A wannabe Trumpling, scheming and scamming like he has the royal blood. And Brains.
Just saying.
14
Barack, Barack, where for art thou Barack?
26
Trump plagiarized his family coat of arms, swiping the crest from the Meriweather Post family when he acquired Mar a Lago, but the most cringe-worthy action he performed was to remove "Integrity" From the heraldic shield and replace it with "TRUMP"; to echo Keats:"that is all we know - and all we need to know." What a mountebank.
22
Not even two years in and I am running out of things to say. There is an old joke about retired comedians who have told the joke so often, they just refer to it by number when entertaining each other. "No. 3!! HAHAHAHAHA!"
With Trump we just have to say "Tacky gold" "Emoluments" "Putin" "Porn Star" "Another primo cabinet pick" and move on. Why waste time with the factual set up or more detail? It has all been said a million times.
I'd like to spend my time planning to upend the House and Senate in the next two years and make him actually ineffectual. We can just shout out "Job No. 1!" to collect applause. We have little recourse. If Melania hasn't already beaned hm with a cast iron fry pan, she never will. We are stuck unless we change the cast of characters in the elections. Job No. 1!
18
I would convert from atheism to any religions that would produce the miracle of deliverance: deliverance from this monster of a human being who by some wicked Satanic rites managed to usurp the Office!
12
love this column
9
You're so funny.
4
Trump isn’t funny.
9
And obama played so much golf.....
3
Our bogus POTUS and his bogus southern white house costs our nation far more than money, and all the gold leaf in the world won't cover that fact up.
14
Not good times for everybody, just the corrupt President and his crime family and slime bucket associates, in and out of the government. The rest of us, the American people, are not enjoying any good times during this Administration of corruption.
7
What a flop america has proven to be. Only a fool would think it can be resuscitated.
#calexit - time to plan for the future.
4
Gail, while you're on the Pruitt thing, could you please ask your "news" colleagues @ NYT to find out why McConnell has shown zero interest in reigning in Prince Scott's lavish abuses/illegal spending habits, and, if he/she has time, maybe we could get some insight through your crack news dep't as to why departing Speaker Ryan could not give a wit as to Nunes' R-exclusive conclusion of no collusion, etc. PLEASE, get some news for us on why we are being so abused, raped, and plundered by so-called public servants who care currently working less than 3 days per week with a forecast they will not be "working" at all in the coming months leading up to the mid-terms. PLEASE!
14
When the POTUS plays host to foreign visitors at MAL how many rooms are rented out to the visitors and entourage?, who pays for it? what amenities are included, i.e. greens fees?; what is the average price for the stay of a Trump and family friend?
14
When Trump's term is done, there may not be enough left in then treasury to pay for the next President to afford leaving the white house.
13
Didn't you hear? He plans to be "president for life" just like Xi. And, apparently, Putin.
7
Sometimes I read a column and I am forced to ask myself just how I am feeling. This was such a column.
When I was a kid, there was a ride at a local amusement park that was called "The Round-Up." It may exist still for all I know. It was a large round platform with multiple 2-foot wide sections along the outer perimeter for customers to stand with their backs pressed against the outside screened cage. The devise would commence to move around and as its speed increased, centrifugal force pressed the customers against the outside and prevented their movement. Soon it would begin to angle so that sometimes you were at the top looking down and sometimes at the bottom looking up. And then to add to the pleasure, it would start to tilt on its angle in various degrees. The object of the ride was to avoid vomiting on the person to one side of you and to avoid being vomited on by the person on the other side. I only went on the ride once. It was just senseless.
Lately, Trump and his administration have been giving me the same feeling as I had on the Round-Up. I feel dizzy, nauseated, and fear being vomited on. It too is senseless.
I am now reminded of the following line at the end of Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again":
"An' here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice."
16
Nobody in their right mind votes for any politician who is despised by their own neighbors.
The rubes who fell for Trump have certified themselves as abject suckers for city slickers.
21
As a Canadian leaving in a very harsh winter this year, I would have been glad to line-up for an invitation but I was told that I do not fulfilled the requirement. Which are:
1) to pay $200,000 membership, or
2) be a millionnaire and a generous donor to the Republican Party and President Trump, or
3) be a politicians or a head of State or Government or
4) be a FOX NEWS propagandist.
Oh well, I think that I will just stay here an enjoy another Canadian harsh winter next year.
9
"Abe may have his own political scandals at home, but none of them involve a payoff to a porn star or Sean Hannity."
I would have gone with "...none involve Sean Hannity, or a payoff to a porn star."
As it stands, the grammar leads to some troubling ambiguity.
2
What a delicious ambiguity as written! The "payoff" to Hannity may not have been in money since that is so easily tracked.
And what irony that Trump and Hannity both come from immigrant groups that only decades ago would have been unwelcome at Mar-a-lago.
8
Cheesy?
You betcha!
I wonder if Abe got to wear a Trump gold embossed bathrobe around his room?
The Donald is clueless enough to not understand how low class he and his Mar a Lago are.
Would FDR, T-Rex or any legit wealthy POTI be caught dead in a place like Trump's dump?
12
Gail, you are so gifted at humor, but this guy is more than a lay-down hand. It's fun to see which beyond-absurd things you select for attention, but by now, res ipsa loquitur --- the "thing" speaks for itself.
7
Back in the 1960s, the simple and inexpensive Volkswagen Beetle first became popular in the US, both as a reaction to Detroit's new-model-every-year-with-bigger-fins sales model, and as an affordable and easily repaired car. Some VW owners, with tongue firmly in cheek, installed faux Rolls-Royce grilles on their Beetles, turning them into a rolling sight gag.
That's how the humorless Trump first struck me, as a clearly no-class hustler pretending to be the top-of-the-line brand with his golden toilet. The fact that both the VW and Trump himself were sired by fascists (Adolf Hitler and Fred Trump, respectively) is, of course, just a coincidence.
16
I can tell from the tone that you've been left off the list again, Gail. Sour fermented grapes again. How about you spend more of your venom on topics that matter....you know, like Stormy's compelling story. Keep fiddlin' while our country burns.
1
This makes no sense.
So, I'm thinking: a Trumpee.
11
Trump pockets every penny spent at this resort. The Republicans are playing deaf dumb and blind to him because he is holding them hostage - shut up about my taxes and russia and i will sign anything that crosses my desk. oh, and i will fly to florida every week on tax payer dime because i can and i will because i know all your secrets.
17
The Trump presidency is all about acquisitions. Trump and his associates are getting rich off of the nation. Trump voters seem to mostly be about getting something from him. Gone are the days when people voted party or convictions. Now it’s about what can my president give me for my vote, to pervert the Kennedy phrase. Farmers may not vote for Trump or the Republicans because they didn’t get rich, they got tariffs. The evangelicals got their Gorsuch, but they got a man that the only thing he does religiously is lie. The coal miners still don’t have jobs so they might not vote at all. When a President and his party offer voters stuff instead of programs, a vision, or a constructive set of policies, they not get consistent support just outstretched hands.
9
Bullet-resistant seat covers!!???
Just more evidence of Scott Pruitt's wasteful idiocy.
Question: What are bullet-resistant seat covers supposed to protect? I'll grant you that the car seat itself is probably as intelligent as the person through whom the bullet has already passed before the seat cover has a chance to do its job and keep the seat from injury, but, really? Has Mr. Pruitt even considered this? If a bullet capable of penetrating the bullet-proof windows and body of his limo, then through him, and is finally halted in its path by his seat cover, does he not worry that, considering that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, meaning the bullet is gonna bounce back from the seat and probably take a whole new path through Scotty's thin skin, doubling the chance that a vital organ --brain not included-- might sustain damage. Ouch! Maybe $10,200 not well spent, ya think?
But, Gail was talking about Mar-a-Loco, where excess is never in short supply, where ugly and gaudy are indistinguishable, just as are the President's steak and his shoe's sole.
Tasteless and Mara-a-Lago, a perfectly matched pair.
I think the Marriott and the continental breakfast are a better deal.
12
The head of our corrupt plutocracy should be a greedy, conniving, con-man. That's a fit.
Too many Americans believe in America yet are really terrible at citizenship. I guess they think democracy kind of 'takes care of itself'. Wrong.
But, I am glad the facade is off: nobody can claim any sense of moral superiority if they support Trump. And so, the Republicans, conservatives, right-wing, evangelicals, 'patriots', etc. are now clearly shown to be for a vainglorious fraud. He's not America. McCain is much closer to the idea of America than Trump (and Trump said McCain and POW's weren't really heroes; he likes guys that weren't captured.....let that sink in, from the draft-dodger, and tell me who your 'patriot' is).
If we love and are motivated by money and selfish gain, then, we have the right President. He's the money-grubber-in-chief. And, we have so many others to help in the concentration of our wealth, income, property and power. We are certainly one of the worst generations ever.
So, believe is something good and honorable. Do something for others and for love. Give something to this world while you're here (don't be so addicted to 'taking'). Compassion. Community. United States.
We can do it, and right now, it's the Democrats who must rise above our selfish pettiness and help this nation become a better place, with better citizens, and a 'more perfect Union'.
10
Why does Trump speak so crazily? Because he's stupid. Unfortunately, parties don't give tests to Presidential hopefuls to weed out the idiots. I think they should start doing so before the fall elections. Maybe the Democrats should start and then put the Republicans on the spot to follow suit.
6
Jimmy Carter did not have the vision to see that Mar A Lago could have been a Habitat for Humanity project for homeless rich people. Or he could have made it part of the federal prison system to house the Trumps, Madoffs, Kushners and Pruitts of the world.
As Gail might say, "People, the world does revolve around an idiot."
6
Gold leaf? More like cheap gold spray paint, already chipped and nasty.
8
Abe is Japanese and too civilized to do anything but smile politely , it's the part about saving face . While Trump is the peasant in the gilded faux castle showing off , drumming up business for his pocketbook. Amazing how he manages to twist facts and turn them into elaborate half truths aggrandizing the point he likes to make MINE ; at our expense .
7
It is no exaggeration to say that one must grieve at The Times' continual willingness to let its writers trivialize the news. Not a word in this is informative, insightful, or surprising. It's the sort of mumbling observational standup that you'd expect on Open Mic night at Chili's.
What great material it'll make for you when Trump gets us into a war. How 'bout that Syria thing, huh? Hey, who's here from out of town?
You know, Next Conservatism, finding humor in the bizarre ramblings of a completely narcissistic president does not "trivialize the news" as you claim. It is another reminder that the man occupying the White House is unfit for the position, intellectually and emotionally. It also shows that the grifter's focus never strays far making a buck from holding the office. Lighten up and you'll see more clearly.
9
What I see clearly is that no one requires one more jokey cutesy commentary on Donald Trump to confirm his unsuitability. The grifter has a million eyes on him already and the issue won't be tilted one way or the other by vapid recitations of what's known already.
This is an opinion column, not a news story, so the lighter tone is fine. Gail makes her point, no matter how.
4
At the heading of each New York Times column on comments, there is the invitation to "share your thoughts". Alas, I am so disgusted by the Trump presidency and his exclusive gilty club, his 'Southern White House' - Mallomar-a-Lago, Guano-Loco - that I just can't even comment on your "Gold-Leaf Presidency", Gail Collins. Am bent over weeping and going crazy in our 45th president's crippling administration. Like a C.B.DeMille movie brought to neon technicolour cinerama life on social media. Beyond comprehension, but that's the "reality" we Americans are all sharing these days.
14
So much for Mr. “I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf.”
- Trump, August 8, 2016
https://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/04/trump-plays-golf-administration-...
10
Every day we awake in the morning, make the coffee and open the paper only to be confronted by the most repugnant personality to ever grace the presidency or much of anything.
And we are only a little over a year into the greatest political disaster the country has ever faced.
The icing on this cake is that the leaders of the party in power have not the character to denounce this corrupt moron.
Thanks a lot McConnell and Ryan who are equally corrupt in their acquiescence.
13
Missed your glittering thoughts, Gail.
2
It's every bit as repulsive as you say, and indelibly more so. It's too bad, that he has seduced a Party already in serial hemorrhages of its upright origins, to exult in his debauchery. He hasn't eliminated anyone else. He never can, he never will.
3
Trump is so crass and disgusting. He soils every thing about our country, It is shameful to have him in that office.
8
Dear Diary,
Steven Colbert said, Trump “looks like a microwave circus peanut that someone rubbed on a golden retriever.”
Are they honey roasted at the Southern Whitehouse?
No, they are rolled into the Mar A Lago brittle bars wrapped in gold foil.
Thank You, Dear Diary.
2
Well, at least someone has better spelling there (I won't give him the free publicity by writing the horrid name), as evidenced by the pictured place card - even though the writing is very tiny, thin and whimpy - someone's subtle joke and/or resistance?
The most corrupt administration/demi-criminal enterprise in the history of the Republic is headed by a fool whose mastery of the spoken word rivals a 5-year-old's.
Marvelous.
Making America Great Again? Not a chance in Hades.
6
Trump is Liberace without the talent.
Cheese without the flavor.
Bling with the price tag still attached.
Sleazy, trashy, dishonest, and yellow to the core.
A counterfeit human being who has been morphed into a cheap, ineffective imitation of a statesman.
Yeah, I know I'm being too kind.
15
Well, here's hoping the Government gets Mar-a-Lago back......18 U.S. Code Chapter 96 - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations....RICO has a nice ring to it.
13
Was anyone else waiting for a prom to break out during that press conference?
2
Trump loves all things gold.
But he is King Midas in reverse. Everything and everyone he touches is befouled. And, as President, his touch has befouled and debased our whole country. It will take a long time to wash off the stink.
5
So Mar El Lago went from cereal heiress to serial cheater.
13
Amusement or disgust. Take your pick.
2
As always, after reading of the activities of the current resident of the White House, I think, "Could any fiction writer make this stuff up?"
Vote in November!
5
The prime minister of Japan is not a "head of state".
1
This is a "4 year money grab" for the Prez.
2
Fools gold.
Trump runs up a $55 million and growing advertising budget by entertaining foreign dignitaries eschewing the facilities and established norms of past presidents. (Price), Pruitt, Zinke and other super wealthy cabinet members ignore law and precedent gold plating their jobs. But there's lots of gold to go around. The hyper-wealthy, the owners of America's corporations and their lobbyists dole out lots of gold to Trump and his troupe of unprincipled Congressional and Executive charlatans. And they steal away vast amounts of the people's gold in exchange--the regulations and policies that systematically violate the poor, middle class, the environment, fiscal prudence. Exhibit #1, Ryan and Congress's deficit busting tax reform for the rich.
Think of those tragi-comic historic events when White House visitors ended up looting the place, carrying away the plate and everything of value in an unmitigated orgy of greed, thievery and presumed entitlement.
Fools gold. And we're the fools that are facilitating the boarder crossing criminality and rape that is daily diminishing America. Only the boarder is ethical. And the looters are Trump and his GoP chronies.
3
Just like its owner: polyester gothic.
4
You can take the angry, spoiled, "classy" little boy out of Queens, but you can't take the angry, spoiled, "classy" out of the little boy.
1
On the campaign trail Trump complained about Obama spending most of his presidency playing golf and that he, Donald Trump would be in the White House all day every day working his tail off on solving our problems.
Michael Bloomberg stated at the beginning of Trump's campaign that he, Donald Trump was a con artist, an accurate description.
What I find disgusting is his continuously referring to himself by his full name as his sentence object confusing his 1st person self in the 3rd person.
We elected as president a cross between Goebbles, Heidrich and Himmler. People do not merely dislike Trump. He is despised.
9
That place is tacky and cheesy. Oh, tacky and orange.
3
I a so relieved, Ms. Collins. I thought this might be a column about Donald Trump "draining the swamp." It's so nice to be wrong once in a while. Isn't it?
1
Stories like this are why Trump keeps his base.
"Drain the swamp"?? Please! The Trump/Pruitt/Carson team is redecorating the swamp in nouveau riche banality.
6
Oh the swamp smells so much worse now that Trump is President.
2
NYT readers beautifully articulate anti-Trump thoughts and comments. What it all boils down to is that he is a thief and con man, as is his entire administration, family and friends. And they are destroying every good thing about our country. Period.
5
Sorry, I have never seen a picture of Mar-a-Lago, only far too many of Mar-a-Gaudy.
2
I've always viewed the Trumps as Jed Clampett and family from the "Bevery Hillbillies". Donald Sr. as Jed. Donald Jr. as Jethro, Ivanka, as Elly May, Kellyanne Conway as Miss Hathawy and Steve Mnuchin as banker Milburn Drysdale. Whooo doggie!
5
I bet we, the taxpayers, are also plowing in money to beef up the security of this massive property to "presidential" standards. All these Florida trips. Even Melania can't find a decent spa in DC and has to fly alone down to Miralago. Can't we fly her masseuse, first class, to the White House aka "the dump". It would be cheaper. Good old Donald enriching himself and his family on the backs of hard working, barely making ends meet, taxpayers. No expense spared.
5
Ah, Mar-a-Lago .. restored to "Modern Day Presidential" even before Trump became president. In April 1992, the town council rejected Trump’s plan for mini-mansions. During the unanimous vote, Trump threatened: "I’m going to bring a $100 million lawsuit against the town of Palm Beach." Classic Trump negotiation bluster. (He sued for $50 million, didn't get it, and it remained a club.)
The Palm Beach Post reported on December 12, 1994 that Steven Spielberg, Henry Kissinger, Lee Iacocca, Denzel Washington, Michael Ovitz, Norman Mailer, and Elizabeth Taylor had joined the club. Its membership director added Prince Charles and Diana. Classic Trump campaign hype. According to The New York Times Magazine, Trump later declared, “I believe everyone’s going to accept.” Classic Trump double-down.
And who can forget the town's special hearing on September 16, 1996? Trump was appealing noise and traffic restrictions, so he and his attorney implied discrimination from Jewish council members. Classic Trump - the victim, working his way up to a federal judge with a Hispanic surname.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/12/how-donald-trump-beat-palm-beac...
I, for one, CAN'T WAIT until the Ralph Wolfe Cowan portrait of Trump depicted as a bronzed, blond-haired god named “The Visionary” is moved to and replaces Washington's portrait at The Other White House.
3
I believe I read an article here in the NYT where Trump referred to himself and his casino clients as white trash. His taste in decor seems to reflect that assessment. The truly rich don't have to flaunt it and gild everything in sight. DJT is a poor-man's vision of wealth.
4
Mar A Lago is more Kremlin in the West than a Southern White House.
6
There are op-eds on a daily basis imploring Americans to dump this goofy man. Reason after reason is placed before us.
Pay attention America. Our lives and the life of our country depend on it.
5
I hope golf makes up for the fact that his wife likely hasn't spoken to him in weeks.
4
Replay the tape of Trump celebrating his election win at Mar a Lago, with his typical scary Joker grin on his face and his arm around his mobster friend, telling the rest of the happy crew that they are all going to make tons of money....
4
“All we’ve had to pay so far is $45 million to $55 million to fly Trump back and forth and post guards around the beach.”
Does this number include resort charges for rooms, meals and expenses? Why is Trump Inc. profiting from hosting dignitaries and staff at a private resort when we taxpayers are also paying for Camp David and The White House? This is yet another scam from our con artist-in-chief and we the people are just hapless marks. Enjoy your $150 tax break, fellow suckers!
5
Personally I am waiting to see Trumps Florida estate
Underwater due to climate change ,our earths partial response to his ignorance.
6
Er, I think that I perceive a bias in this column that I would like to point out, because it's blown by, I imagine, by most readers quickly and nonchalantly:
"Our recent Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, barely had houses of their own when they were elected, let alone a faux castle with gold ceilings and hordes of chandeliers that give the overall impression of a cathedral on psychedelic drugs."
Okay, ha-ha, but despite the obvious golden cathedral hyperbole, the reader should notice that BHO is said to have barely had a house when elected. Uh, you mean the "beautiful Georgian revival mansion [that] is both distinguished and stunning to behold." Now a striking historic landmark. That house? Which his backers helped him acquire btw?
Barack Obama's House - Chicago Travel | Chicago Hotels https://www.chicagotraveler.com/barack-obamas-house
And if WJC was of modest means before he was president, he certainly isn't now. Did he then, granted, like many politicians, use public office to entrench himself now in the jet set, with a multimillion-dollar home? Just like HST did? Oh, no, that's right: HST, post-presidency, lived a middle-class life, at best, after his presidency, mowing his own lawn; and Jimmy Carter probably lost money.
45 is a terrible man and a terrible president. He need not be compared to WJC or BHO to see his serious shortcomings. His sins are obvious without a need for contrasting him with others, especially by constructing straw men.
1
Ms. Collins - I'm sorry, but you should not be allowed to take any time off from your twice-weekly columns. When you're away, the sky darkens and clouds gather. Maybe the NYT doesn't appeal to many Trump voters; but for your readers, you're indispensible! Thank you.
6
If the Obama's had flown to a resort every other weekend McConnell's head would have exploded, Trey Gowdy's eyes would have popped out of his head and Lindsey Graham would have broken down in a pile of southern tears and Oh My's. Fox News would be on a BREAKING NEWS/EMERGENCY ALERT meltdown and this would have all happened after the very first visit.
If in fact Obama was profiting from those visits I know it would be full nuclear/end of world reaction followed by impeachment.
If Democrats win again despite the GOP constant attack on our elections I really don't know how they have any moral standing to hold him/her accountable for anything short of murder. Fortunately hypocrisy is GOP strong suit.
10
From cereal heiress to serial cheater. So goes the history of Mar El Lago.
4
To Gemli, We have become somewhat accustomed to his hair. What bothers me is his cheap, wrinkled, badly tailored suits, especially when part of his family's pseudo-empire has been apparel.
5
The Grifter in Chief will do anything to makew a buck off the government. Hemay even charge them for his room and meals at Mar A Lago as well as for the rooms and meals for his staff and the Japanese staying there.Lets figure coffee and sodas at the conference at $10 a shot,rooms for the meeting probably $500 per day and then the golf fees at whatever he decides. This was not just a meeting but a profit center for him.Only in America would a con man look to chisle his employer out of a few million for the weekend.
5
Tacky, tasteless, and totally Trump.
5
Ain’t America great! Just think about it. A brash young man with nothing but his pop’s money made it from the streets of The Big Apple to hobnob with the world elite at his own party palace. And, while running his business of licensing his name as a symbol of succcess, he has time to run his subsidiary interest being president of the United States of America. Bet your glad you voted to elect him.
5
So happy that Gail Collins is back!
5
To think he criticized President Obama for playing golf during his August vacation on the Vineyard.Is anyone else just sick to their stomach, with this conman occupying the White House?2020 cannot come fast enough!
6
And this is the guy who is supposed to represent the struggling person?! Who plays a historic amount of golf and retreats to a gaudy resort?! On our dime no less.
Sickening.
4
Drain the swamp means drain the US Treasury.
4
At a minimum of $3 MILLION to fly his worthless self and entourage from Washington, DC to Palm Beach 2-3 times a month shows criminal intent by the obese one. Not counting how much he charges the government to house his huge protective force of SS and his private body guards. Just think if President Obama had cost us that much per month and that’s not counting the “orange one’s” trips to his golf courses in Jersey. The other hours are spent watching Faux Noise and writing junior high inspired tweets and lying to his supporters. Such a busy guy, planning his next rally/get away all at taxpayers expense.
Take him away to the funny farm. The clowns don’t know even how to drive their mini cars.
4
Apparently, Mar-a-Lago and Scott Pruitt are this Republican President’s definition of “draining the swamp”...
3
America put a con man and grifter in the White House who surrounds himself with like-minded people. Walk proud America, but maybe you don’t realize you are being fleeced.
3
The Huckster-in-Chief will always be a nouveau riche buffoon; impulse ridden, unthinking, vulgar. It is hard to believe such a person can have any fans at all, but then one must never challenge the depths to which humanity can sink.
4
Crooked lying Trump has become the most expensive president in recent history; at our expense of course. The most corrupt as well. Mar-a-Lago is the Golden Leaf, in the hands of a runaway ignoramus abusing his station. To those who think this is normal, think again.
2
Fool's gold.
2
Amazing! What I find amazing is that this is what you waste an opinion column on. Had you and your fellow opinion writers spent this much time "shaming" our last president, perhaps he would have found more time to discuss the beheading of the WSJ journalist, Daniel Pearl. But, no, he had to get back to the golf course. Instead of this discord or disconnect that the NYT opinion writers are trying to promote, perhaps you should advance a positive agenda, just this once.What a change that would be.
Whether you like the man, voted for the man or not, how about promoting the positives of his agenda. If you cannot find any maybe you should move to, perhaps, N. Korea. See if you can write a similar article about Kim.
1
So, Jimmy Carter gave away the Southern White House, because he wouldn't pay to keep it up.
.
I can only imagine Barack Obama, upon learning of the give away, saying, "Uuuhh, Jimmy Carter, uuuhhh, gave away this resort. Uuuhhh, he really was America's worst President."
Gail, as usual, hits the nail on the head! Too bad some lady grabbed by that self-aggrandizing moral imbecile didn't smack him hard in the face with a brick--it might have knocked some decency into him...but then again, given his ego, probably not. But he continues to cost us taxpayers millions, and his republican spineless toadies do nothing about it. Our only solution is to kick 'em all out as soon as possible.
2
A comedian, who's name I forget, said way before Trump was elected, that Trump houses and lifestyle were like a hobo's idea of a rich man. What a pathetic husk of a man
4
I wish to suggest a new name for Mar-a-Lago:
"The Winter Palace."
3
"Everybody knows Trump mixes personal business with his job running the country"
Gail, I think you meant to say: Everybody knows Trump sometimes puts aside his personal business to talk about running the country.
4
Trump is the perfect combination of too much money and no taste.
3
Uh, you made that third paragraph, in quotes, up right? He simply cannot string along the most simple sentence. Please Congress, enact qualifications for President. The grammar circus of our sitting President on Twitter, and at the podium, and whenever he opens his mouth, is a worldwide embarrassment.
3
I think Trump should pay for any excursions to Mar-a-lago out of his own pocket. Give him a reasonable stipend for entertainment and vacations but flying back and forth between Washington and Florida on the taxpayer's dime is a bit much. And Trump can certainly afford the extra expense.
2
Of course Abe wants to be playing golf at Mar A Lago, he escaping a self made scandal at home as well.
2
One measure of Trump's bottomless foolishness is his thinking that the conspicuous display of wealth [especially of some of its most ridiculous insignia] is indisputable proof of his possession of excellent human attributes. In the next movie about the Seven Deadly Sins, he could play not only Pride but all the other roles: Envy [still isn't over Obama], Gluttony ["Let ME Eat Cake!"], Greed [ask his "charities"], Lust ["I just grab their..."], Sloth [can't be bothered to read anything, and just has to get in that tv time!], Wrath [fuming over everything that doesn't go his way, furious at those who aren't "loyal," who won't do his bidding]. How fantastic to have such an exemplary President!
9
Excellent post
2
Having just read about the horrible conditions in our public schools this last week. Think of all the textbooks that could be purchased with the 55 Million Trump has wasted because the White House is not good enough for him, plus never stop promoting your business interests.
6
Gail, you referred to the fact that Trump mixes personal business with his job running the country as “messy”. Would it not be more accurate to say “sleazy”?
7
So where are the American people in all this? The seem to be seduced by all this reality TV glitz. if November does not change things, we deserve to be treated like the suckers Trump takes us for.
3
Hillary and Bill Clinton never owned a home until about a year before Bill left office when they purchased their house in Chappaqua, New York. This was to satisfy the residency requirements for Hillary to run for the Senate.
The Clintons purchased an additional residence in Washington, D.C., when Hillary Clinton won her Senate race.
On the other hand, Barack and Michelle Obama did own a residence in a rather tony part of Chicago before Barack became president. They still own the house, but it is not known how long they will keep it. They purchased an additional residence in Washington, D.C., after first renting it. That house now serves as their base for the time being while Sasha Obama finishes high school. It has also been rumored that they are looking for property in Hawaii and may look for property some time down the road in the New York City area.
1
To begin with, "huh?" is totally the proper response to Mr. Trump's exclamations that Mar-a-lago is the defacto Southern White House and all the world's leaders are clamoring to be there.
But more to the point, the part that unnerves me most -- besides having to foot the bill of flying Teump there, is the fact that there actually is a Southern White House.
Maybe that's because of Trump's reaction to the tiki-torch carrying neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and proclamation that they're "fine peole" -- or maybe it's just because I live north of the Mason-Dixon line. But whatever the reason may be, I find that just as unsettling as just about everything that comes out of this president's mouth or his tweets.
And yes, I got that Pop Quiz right -- even though the bullet-resistant seat covers was a new revelation.
Good fun, everyone. Good fun!!!
3
What a relief to laugh about all of this upsetting stuff; thank you, Gail Collins!!!
4
You forgot the golf carts. Apparently Trump charges the Secret Service about $7,000 a day to rent golf carts from his resort so they can follow him around the links.
4
Gail, I can't believe you forgot about the part where Trump "appropriated" the family crest that adorned the aforementioned Palm Beach estate when he bought it from the Post family and changed the inscription below from "Integritas" to "Trump"... https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/28/business/trump-coat-of-arms.html
6
The incidences of Trump embarrassing the whole country with his stream of incoherent babbling is impossible to keep up with, but so far, my favorite has to be when the old fool/lecher made some off-color sexual innuendo references in an appearance before a Boy Scout Jamboree. Hard to top that, although he keeps trying.
5
When trump picked up Mar a Lago it was a fire sale auction.So anxious to unload it, it sold for a pittance.That's how trump picked the property up and promptly announced he wanted to build McMansionettes on the grounds.Well the Palm Beach council, clutching pearls, flatly rescinded, reminding him it was a "listed" property not not a subdivision.
So someone whispered in his ear that as a "club" he could have a little wiggle room to make money.
Needless to say, none of the tonier, stuffier establishments like Bath & Tennis or the Everglades would let him in the back door, so a club for himself and his ilk was born.A place where demimondaines, gangsters and their Dolce& Gabanna clad molls can wear their daytime diamonds and shriek loudly and maybe catch a glimpse of the appropriator.
How fitting that a place clad in a thin veneer of faux-gold paint so perfectly represents the thin veneer of his presidency.
10
Of note, there is a "Southern WH" it was part of the navy base in Key West and Truman came often. There is neither gold leaf nor chandeliers in the Truman WH. But there are twin beds in the bedroom, good for trump and Melania.
4
I grew up in PB County and my grandfather was a golf pro in a club nearby that Trump would not be able to join. My GF knew Mrs. Post who invited him up to Mar Lago. How can Trump say it was "built to be the Southern White House?" Why do we let him get away with saying whatever words tumble out of his mouth are true? He lies bigly.
7
Slob appeal versus snob appeal. Trump epitomizes what used to be satirized as "Nouveau Riche". EVERYTHING about him and his excesses is, and has always been, in the worst taste. From his truly ugly casinos (AC's Taj Mahal was easily the most off-putting, ugliest place on the boardwalk), to his tacky, tasteless penthouse in Trump Tower, to his replacing the rich dark red curtains in the Oval Office with, you guessed it, gold ones, to his "present" of faux cuff links, to his boasts of massive donations to charities that never materialize, the man is the very definition of "bad taste". As some wag put it "Fashions com and fashions go, but bad taste is timeless!"
12
The words "southern White House" should not appear in this newspaper, it is a Trump business. A business he started because no established club would have him as a member.
5
What scares me more than Trump's deliberate lies and misrepresentations are the ludicrous things he says that he seems to believe. His mental process and world-view just aren't up to the job he's taken on. We have much to fear.
7
A Gold-Leaf Presidency? More like a Fool's Gold Presidency.
6
Millions of Americans, myself included, feel tempted to hate Donald Trump for his continuing efforts to damage this country and his daily insults to our intelligence and to our sense of wellbeing. But I'm increasingly feeling that hating Trump is like hating mosquitoes. Trump and mosquitoes have no conscience. No sense of right and wrong. They can't help themselves. Now, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and the rest of that ilk...that's another story. They know better. They are despicable.
7
It's not gold, it's gold paint. Worthless.
4
Another great essay, Gail. I guess if I don't laugh, I'll cry. I don't know who's more pathetic -- IQ45, Congress who is complicit in all his corrupt dealings (and those of his administration), or the people who still continue to support him.
4
On the bright side we now know what sort of man the US has supported in other countries for the sake of multi-national corporations and economic expediency. We required only that the recipients of US aid "fight communism" in order to receive millions and millions of dollars, guns, and cooked intelligence. What we got in return, besides guaranteed corporate profits, were massacres, destabilized regions, and propaganda. El Salvador and Guatemala are two of the most glaring examples of the our intervention in other countries a la Reaganism in the 1980s. What a successful strategy that line of lies and diversions has been!
If we ever reclaim our own country, then we must rid our client states of these charlatans and grifters as well.
Wanna make the US great again? Get money out of govt and politics!
5
Thanks Gail for printing the words of the nincompoop in chief to remind everyone of how utterly crass, speech-challenged, and classless he is. I'm sure Abe was thrilled (not) to have to be part of a commercial for Mar-a-Lago. Of course Trump has zero consciousness of how insulting it is for the head of one nation to have to be part of the Trump reality show bragathon about his tacky resort.
I am so sick of Trump and his criminal enterprise.
4
I guess we're all angry about subsidizing the rich and footing the bill for these parasites. This is definitely a feudal nation, and has been for a long time. But our blue states have been suffering with the Property Tax Scam for decades, and I've been subsidizing rich yuppie moms and their schools and pre-K and won't get a break from that when Trump is out of office. Mainly the point of all politics, liberal and conservative, is to redistribute money from the working and middle classes to the rich.
1
I grew up in the 80's. I know I am hardly breaking new ground when I say, Donald Trump was the "Kardashians" and reality TV before they existed. It is simnply a roll of the dice we are watching KUWTK instead of Keeping Up With The Trumps. (I bet this gnaws at him.)
I would like see a statistical analysis of how many surfaces in his life Trump demands be clad in gold or made gold like. From his wig to his face to his buildings, the man has a bizarrely superficial obsession.
3
Gold leaf is fake for the real thing, just like Trump. Fake for a real successful businessman and fake for a real President.
3
It's not the southern White House, but the southern Camp David (Dennison).
3
No way Trump knew the word "circuitous".
7
Mar-a-Lago? A fitting background to describe a post-affluence America. Consider a short (~ 3 minute) dystopian flick, produced by NetFlix. Cast of characters includes the obligatory "chattering classes". Location: Hamptons, intellectuals rationalizing a lost liberal society, consuming canapes with martinis by the pool. Story Arc: In post-affluence America a derivative religion has matured that divides the nation. Some call it enterprise capitalism, others The Prosperity Gospel. Conflict: two ways to look at Trump presidency. Is there a political mistake in progress? Or, is he the Second Coming incarnate: the dawn of new prosperity the world has ever seen?
Main story: The party is underway. Trump negotiated the greastest deal ever: "Public policy" outsourced to Facebook; a program of desensitization subliminally an infinite loop - much like 'elevator muzak'. Location: Oval Office. Trump announces a new public holiday: "Loser Day" (officially, "Trump Day") legislated to distract a dwindling working-class, in-between sportive gladiator games. Closing Scene: Drones and robots embedded with AI business rules and mechanical voice synthesizers selling/delivering whatever Amazon carries in one of their regional automated warehouses. Queue the Vietnam American Anthem, roll credits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leO1h5YCCiE
Extreme pettiness. Who cares?
Do you want a dude who buys a manse in Chicago under market value from a guy who winds up in jail? Or how about a President who rents another palace on Martha’s Vineyard and shuts the place down for weeks?
At least Trump is working when in Mar-A-Largo.
"Working" on his handicap, hawk. (Golf, not mental.)
3
MAR A LAGO Will become Mar A Lego, once the conversion is made to a family-friendly destination owned by Trumple Dee Dumb, Trumple Dee Dumber and Trumple Dee Dumbest. What's wrong with his advertising his estate in Florida on taxpayers' money. After all, we pay his salary. Wasn't he supposed to contribute the sum of $400K to charity? Oh, that's right. He doesn't follow through on his commitments to charitable contributions. It seems that the highly toxic, fatally polluted Pruitt is at times even more profligate than the Trumpenstein Monster. (DISCLAIMER The phrase "fatally polluted" is a metaphor intended to describe hyperbolically Pruitt's apparently unethical and/or illegal expenditures. No harm is intended toward the person of the president.)
3
$45 million for his trips to Maralugo and he was the guy carping on Obama for playing golf and basketball. I want a refund, we could use it here to shelter the homeless.
7
There is little to add except for how much Donald Trump's classlessness speaks for itself. Sadly, he is also making it speak for us. It does not.
5
When asked where his ideas for the Twilight Zone came from Rod Serling responded: "I just look around at what is going on then tone it down a bit."
"If you don't have a sense of humor, it's just not funny." Wavy Gravy
I wonder what his secret service detail thinks of him; I'll bet it can't be repeated in polite company.
4
Mar-a-Lago sits 13 feet above sea level.
When the polar ice caps melt next year, Mar-a-Lago will be underwater. Trump, of course, will deny that climate change caused this calamity. Or, he'll find a way to blame Obama.
Then, he'll ask Congress for money to pump the place out and build a wall around it.
7
And yet, through all of this idiocy, the man may forge a deal with North Korea. If, that is, he doesn’t back out like the on again-off again TPP deal he endorses one day and then trashes the next. Or the Russian sanctions which he promises one day, then castigates his UN Ambassador for bringing up at the UN. Let there be no ‘confusion’, the man is a menace to us all in thought, word and deed, and millions of Americans worship him like he is the savior of our way of life. There is trouble right here in River City, and it starts with ‘T’.
5
Remember how Trump railed at Obama for playing golf all the time and taking exorbitantly expensive trips on taxpayers' dollars? Trump and his cabinet cronies make Obama and every other president before him look like penny-pinchers.
3
Reminds me of Cinderella's castle at Disney. Hodgepodge of fake plaster and sheet rock. But I have never been inside, so maybe that's just me.
2
Palm Beach is a lot closer and less expensive than Hawaii. Plus he plays on his own golf courses unlike the MESSIAH.
1
There is a difference: Trump goes to Florida several times each month. President Obama went to Hawaii once a year.
4
I wish Gail would stop shrugging at the despicable Trump. Gail implies that there is nothing to be done about him and thus desensitizes one to his abhorrent behavior. His crazy becomes the new normal. Gail needs to stop aiding and abetting him. He needs to be prosecuted.
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
3
Russia if you are listening can we see Donald Trump's personal and family income tax returns and business records along with the Mar-a-Lago membership and guest list?
4
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's palace outside Kiev was inspired by Mar-a-Lago. Yanukovych and Trump have similar political inclinations.
3
Mar-a-Lago isn't his private resort but his personal fiefdom.
2
Gold-leaf president? I think he's more like the Fool's-Gold president. There isn't a single molecule of precious metal in this president or his family.
2
As a lover of sarcasm, I salute you, Gail.
2
Donald Trump is an anachronism from the "Gilded Age".. The gold leaf referenced by Gail covers the venal, rotten, corruption beneath. Trump is a flamboyant, political Liberace, without the talent. The American body politic needs to starts viewing him in that contex. His hollow inner core, covered by a thin, gilded, veneer of flamboyance, ignorance, and solipsistic obsession,needs to be exposed and expunged from the Oval Office.
2
The problem is the people who didnt vote, not the rabble who blindly support incoherent Koch bros policies
4
C'mon Gail, even you said it. They all do it. Trump however simply does it more ostentatiously and with no holds barred.
It kills me when they besmirch him - they're actually elevating all the rest. When in reality ALL politicians have the ethics one notch below a rapist - it's all about power and control which is why so many succumb to scandals.
I don't vote, I never did nor will. I am neither a Republican or Democrat. I refuse to be part of and enable the massive corruption, cronyism and malfeasance.
It simply galls me how Trump is such a supposed anomaly when in fact they are all guilty of the exact same.
Obama knew his post presidency was far more profitable than his presidency. Therefore to insinuate Trump is enriching himself is no different than those that came before.
Shall we discuss Dreams My Father Wrote or the Clinton Foundation which was merely pay to play politics.
It's highly doubtful Trump will ever be worth more out of office than he was in. And yet look at the Clinton's and Obama's worth? It's all one in the same.
No vote = No valid opinion. No skin in the game for you.
4
Hear! Hear! Chicagowlh!
I find Winter Palace more fitting than southern White House.
Someone with an authoritarian president, who is an authority on nothing associated with the presidency and who is doubly blessed with execrable taste is the equivalent of hiring a demolition team to redo and redecorate one's house.
1
If only we could use the RICO act to charge the Mob Boss acting as President and all the co-conspirators. When found guilty they could be sentenced to life in Mared Logo, after it has been confiscated. We could also confiscate Trump Tower and turn it into trump`s library. Of course the only thing in the library would be the transcript of the trial, the rest being left empty, to signify the emptiness of his brain, his heart and soul.
1
Don't worry, Mar-a-Lago fits the new "King of America". Be happy to be back in the times of Absolutism. History changes from time to time. But take it easy. Just enjoy the fun that comes with it.
I wonder if Mr. Trump knows that in Japanese culture smiling and nodding doesn’t mean “yes.” Of course this is the man who sat next to Mrs. Abe and concluded that she does not speak English because she did not respond to his loud voice and snorting. Boors will be boors.
2
Is this a set up to have generations of tax-payers pay for Mar-a-Largo as a historic site and save it from ocean waves as the same rises?
I recall that a notion that HE and only HE could make money from running for President...now I Just don't see the justice in paying the family forever...smells like the olde idea of "Welfare" King.
1
So how many times has he played golf? He seems to go down every week at many millions of dollars per trip. And tell the evangelists how many times he goes to church. I'm guessing he plays more golf now than when he ran his real estate scams.
2
Trump is a pathological liar, a fraud and a conman. But, one thing about him that is true is that he never hid who or what he is. It has been on full display for decades and everyone with eyes and ears was assaulted by it during the campaign. The good voters of this country (well slightly less than half of them) chose to ignore that and elect him leader of the country. This brings to mind something H.L. Mencken wrote; "Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance."
Well done America! We can, of course, mitigate this atrocity in November by electing a Democratic House and Senate and fixing it in 2020 (or sooner).
2
"We’ve had previous presidents with corrupt political associates, presidents sloshing around in sex scandals and presidents who appeared to have no clue of how to turn on the lights in the White House, let alone run a government. But we’ve never had one who managed to hit all three markers"
It's far more than 3, we need to add:
- Trump's racism - not only overt, but embracing neo-Nazis as fine people and encouraging people to hate people of color who've come here from other countries
- Trump's mission to deregulate chemicals and waste disposal processes that poison our environment and our people
- Trump's threats of violence and death to anyone who disagrees with him
- Trump's deliberate choices of ignorant people tasked with destroying the very cabinets he selected them to lead
- Trump's public admiration of violent strongman dictators who starve and murder their people
On second thought, Gail couldn't add these to the list - because these actions aren't shared with other presidents, they are unique to the worst president in the history of our democracy.
4
What irks me the most about Trump and his Mar-a-Lago is that he knows what it costs the country every time he goes there, he knows that his presence there, with his huge security detail, adversely affects the community, and he knows that most Americans disapprove of his almost weekly visits there and the costs associated with flying, protecting him and his kin while there. He cares not a whit.
I seriously doubt that any of the world leaders who have been his guests at Mar-a-Lago specifically requested that they meet there - most world leaders are more respectful and polite, and would never make such a request. This is yet another deception, designed to justify Trump's desire to play host in his own private resort.
Trump makes a great show of donating his salary to "charities" (actually, his donations have been to underfunded federal agencies, like the DOE). I would be more impressed if he wrote personal checks to pay his way to Mar-a-Lago and back. But he won't because he feels entitled to drain the resources of the federal government for his own selfish purposes.
273
I doubt he either knows or cares how much each of his visits costs the taxpayers. Then again, I imagine he knows how much HE makes on every visit.
30
And I'd like to know what he charges his security staff and the rest of his entourage for their meals and accommodations. How much have we spent so far?
32
What hasn't been covered about Mar a Lago is the capital improvements that were needed to accommodate presidential security and communications. It surely was not ready on the day Trump won. The Times (to my knowledge) hasn't asked about the bill you and I got for bringing it up to the standards.
20
Why does Trump always seem to hold a press conference with other leaders standing right next to him. He rarely has a the traditional Trump alone at the podium, press unleashed. It seems he uses this strategy to temper the the process, formalize it. Also, why bring any PM to Mar-a-Lago, and then hold a press conference? Bush Jr. never brought leaders to his ranch? Obama, Reagan, Clinton, Carter, Bush Sr. never pulled these stunts. Perhaps Congress needs to pass a law about vacations spots, second houses and state business being conducted.
5
Anyone who is surprised that Trump took a lot of time to tout his "great" resort hasn't been paying attention. This whole presidency is about how much money Trump can make from it. After all, he raised the membership fee at this place from a mere $100,000 to $200,000 after he won the election.
Everything else takes a distant back seat to Trump's own pleasure and income. This is what he is about.
10
Jealousy... Jealousy...and Jealousy.... thank God that crooked Hillary didn’t win the presidency...
After millions of dollars worth of investigations, Trump's nasty label for Clinton has found no crime. That hasn't been so for Trump and his people so far. Not jealousy at all, just a lot of worry for this country.
The president of the United States should have enough grandeur surrounding him to honor the importance of the Office. But we must always remember that he works for the people and while he should live in comfort, the people should not be on the hook to pay for luxury. He is there to work, not luxuriate! If he wants to have lavish homes to visit while president and he can afford them, that's fine - but there should be no meetings with foreign leaders anywhere but the White House - the PEOPLE's house. We are supposed to have a democratically elected leader - not a tsar!
239
I would add one more thing to your post. They could also meet at Camp David, which provides a more relaxed atmosphere for these sort of meetings. Remember Jimmy Carter, Begin, and Sadat, and the bilateral peace treat they were able to hammer out.
34
Actually, Trump working is a very scary thought to me. Every time he puts pen to paper someone in this country pays the price. He hasn't got a clue how to be a president!
23
Ah, but the White House is just too shabby to be used at Trump's palace. Not enough gold plate and marble.
13
Trump and his corrupt cohorts should pay back every cent misspent to the public coffers so that we can use the money to ensure that voting machines throughout the country use paper so that we have concrete corroboration of each vote. Enough of defrauding the citizens of this country!
12
Trump’s word salad is hilarious when transcribed. It’s like a bad children’s book: simple stories, simple words & lots of repetition. Appalling.
13
As an elementary teacher I just read my second graders a marvelous new "children's" history book "America: From the Founders to the Flounder."
3
Only a few of Trump's supporters can afford a night at Mar-a-Lago and most of the rich who can do not care to be associated with this American Mafia man. Trump by mentioning his resort only further cheapens the place further. Abe is a Trump flatterer mainly to obtain a cheap weekend.
7
Have you ever known someone who must always best everyone else? No matter what the subject, this braggart must always claim superior quantity, superior quality, superiority to everyone else in possessions, wealth, accomplishments, knowledge, intelligence, one-night stands. He is driven to indulge his basest desires.
There are people like this. One occasionally stays overnight at the White House on travels to golf resorts which bear his name. We don't know that he owns them. They may be heavily mortgaged with Russian oligarchs. He may be close to default, struggling to make payments - likely small bills in paper bags.
Using the office of the president to promote these golf resorts is cheap advertisement by a cheap braggart. Traveling to the golf resorts and sticking taxpayers for the tab is what a cheapskate would do. So there is no point in pointing out that he reaches into the pocket of Joe the Plumber to pay for his nomad enjoyment.
On a dark night, November 8, 2016 (a night that will live in infamy), America got drunk and handed the keys to the braggart who, filling our glasses, after amusing us with his appearance, filling our glasses, boring us with his self-proclaimed glorious accomplishments, filling our glasses, he stuck us with the bar tab and walked off with the keys.
We were attempting to medicate our disappointments over emails and we woke with a hangover that will not go away.
We either head back to the bar, or we head to the polls. It's our choice to make.
27
This is a septuagenarian with no sense of object permanence. Houston, we have a problem.
6
" Marjorie Merriweather Post, a woman who had to go through life being referred to as the “cereal heiress.”"
Poor thing. My heart, just like yours, bleeds for her! (smile). And, she was a woman. Double indemnity!
I look forward to the time when progressives classify every single person on this planet as a victim of some sort or another, and finally, finally, they will permit us "a level playing field."
2
Awesome! Since it is now according to Trump, "The Southern White House", shouldn't profits from the resort go to "we the people"?
16
Alec Baldwin as our SCPOTUS said it best on SNL last week" I don't care about the country, this is a four year cash grab."
16
Unfortunate that President Obama didn't stay at Mar-a Lago, because then DJT would feel obligated to defile it or even burn it down.
12
As usual, I agree with every word written in this editorial but so what? Just another venting of rage by the ever-smaller "thinking" portion of the American public whereas the Neanderthal majority aren't reading The Times anyway, so it's all just preaching to the choir and, frankly, doesn't make me feel any better anymore. Sad? Yes. Vented? Nah.
7
The word "tacky" seems to come up a lot in the comments on this post. And that is as it should be.
7
Anybody remember a commercial Trump ran which said "The only things Hillary Clinton cares about are money, power, and herself"? Takes one to know one, right?
7
Can we bill him when he loses the emoluments case(s) going forward?
9
POTUS and his entourage flitting of to country club south at least a few times per month have already maxed out the credit card - whoops, not so soon this is a fellow who is used to declaring bankruptcy so cest la vie. Just think what good all this wasteful and selfish tab could do for VA patients, public schools (no offense Ms. DeVos) and the opioid crisis. But don't look for any of these folks or programs to be the recipient of Trump's generosity, nope not this time around as there's folks to impress, faux art to fawn over and many rounds of golf to be played. After all, that's what POTUS does.
10
He only has a job running his business, he is selling Trump. He has never started the job of POTUS. Oh sure it seems like it, but he never started the POTUS job, he is of course sometimes seen hanging out in the few places that a POTUS might be seen, But TRUMP is the job he is doing, has never stopped that one, can't.
As to what it means for us that he speaks the way he does. He is old, his mental diction is failing, He is Proud and can't admit that he is getting old and should just go back to golf, and cheating at it.
7
Was the objective of this article to raise awareness that our president isn’t fit for office and spends most of his time and words promoting himself?
Who knew?!?
6
More like his gold lame Presidency: tacky. His Caesar's Palace East, gaudy,
beyond kitch, and soon to be on the market when he has to post bail.
4
Guess I've been a little out of touch. When I read through the extended quote about Mar-a-Lago,
“Many of the world’s great leaders request to come to Mar-a-Lago and Palm Beach. They like it; I like it. We’re comfortable. We have great relationships..."
I first thought that Gail Collins created the whole thing as a parody of Trump Speak.
What is it that's so peculiar about these strangely irrelevant, wandering monologues by Dear Leader?
- The contents are trivial and banal. They're unrelated to whatever important issue the talk is supposed to be about.
- The topic always returns to Trump, no matter where it starts. Then he even seems surprised that the story is really all about him, e.g., "So they, fortunately for me, gave it back and I bought it. Who would have thought?"
- A lot of what he says sounds suspicious, like lies or exaggerations, e.g., "Many of the world’s great leaders request to come to Mar-a-Lago and Palm Beach." I wonder: don't they have nice vacation spots in their own countries?
But the poor man really doesn't know what else to say. When all you have in your rhetorical quiver is the sales pitch, then every press conference is just another sales opportunity.
Still, I can't completely shake the feeling that Gail Collins could have made up the whole thing. But it's clear that no one can write Trump parody as well as Trump.
220
Trump cannot stop thinking about himself, himself & himself. Why is anyone surprised?
12
Re great leaders requesting Mar-a-Lago, they can easily buy into the whole shebang, as some seem to have done. Mr. Putin, you too can have this much desired location for yourself, just ask for the details.
12
Trump can out-PT Barnum, hands-down. He also has a very limited vocabulary, mostly consisting of me, me, and me, and oh yeah, maybe you, but really, me, me, me. He loves "very, very," "big," "many, many people," "many people say," and let's not forget his all-time favorite - "witch hunt."
21
Due to the low level of information about foreign politics in Japan Trump is not quite as unpopular there as in almost all of the rest of the world. (Still very unpopular though.) So the price for Abe for meeting Trump isn't quite as steep as for other world leaders.
Trump and Abe also share a very similar ideology (more money for the rich, foreigners and "other" people are not welcome, climate change is for hippies etc.), only that for Abe Japan is "first".
Finally Abe faces a lot of pressure at home due to domestic scandals involving government malfeasance and really needs a diplomatic success to show.
Getting Trump to make an exception on tariffs would be such a success. Same would be even a lukewarm commitment towards helping kidnapped Japanese citizens return home from NK.
So Abe has many incentives to play nice with Trump and put on a smiling face to him and cozy up. But I'm sure even Abe, who has many flaws and whom I loathe, has his patience put to the test when being around Trump.
5
Thank you, Gail Collins for making us laugh. A momentary relief but much needed.
4
Am one of Gail's biggest fans - however - want to point out the serious problem with this column. It is needlessly being written for people who don't need to be told of Trump's corruption.
Sadly, what we are not seeing are columns like being written in the papers or broadcasted on the airwaves of stations that Trump's supporters read, watch or listen to.
7
The New York Times today published an obituary for Bruno Sammartino the champion wrestler. I watched his matches when I was 11 years old and never guessed they were phony. The crowd screamed and cheered at the theatrics and the obliteration of symbolic enemies that represented Germans, Asians, etc. As I read that obituary, I realized why I always had a déjà vu experience when I watched a Trump rally. The dynamics and the posturing are no different but now the stakes are greater than a glittering championship belt. The stakes have sadly become the survival of our environment and the survival of democracy as we have known it.
6
A minor but telling point about Trump's tacky pleasure dome by the sea. As GC writes, the property was given to the government to serve as a southern White House. But Jimmy Carter -- that much reviled and lampooned President -- gave it back, saying he saw little need for taxpayers to shell out a couple of million dollars a year to keep it maintained.
The distance separating Carter from Trump, in terms of fitness, decorum, ethics, probity, patriotism and moral steadfastness, has just passed the Kuiper Belt and is moving off into the distant universe.
15
Do please keep a careful tally of every dollar. We’re going to take it back from trump while he’s serving time.
Mar-A-Lago will serve as a retirement home for injured vets under the asset forfeiture plan.
10
Sometimes you have to bit bottom before change can occur--although every day I feel like this country is in free fall to a bottomless pit that just keeps getting deeper under the corrupt Trump & GOP.
The Republican deficit hawks are back to deficits don't matter with Trump, and the struggling middle and working classes appear to see nothing wrong with squandering taxpayer money to support Trump enterprises and the lavish lifestyles of Trump and his deplorable cabinet.
A perfect example of Trumpism was reported on NPR yesterday. Remember how Obama was trying to control the rapacious payday lenders? This industry is having its conference at one of Trump resorts in FL. Trump's budget director has already put on hold the new payday loan regulations and payday lender stocks have shot up. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/18/603637901/payday-lenders-convening-at-a-t...
What's wrong with this picture? I wonder and worry how many Americans really know?
What this country needs is less emphasis on what is legal, and more education and emphasis on ethics (i.e., truth-telling, fairness and justice, not doing harm, and the problems with conflicts of interest). Why? Because the GOP just keeps making what is unethical perfectly legal.
So what is wrong with our president living high on the hog on our tax $$ & making money out of people staying at his hotels and resorts who are doing business with and trying to influence our government in their direction?
7
As a working person who has always paid my income taxes, probably more than I legally had to because I didn't look for every loophole or claim every penny of deductions I could scrape up or plan my "estate" to minimize my "tax liability," I demand a full and detailed accounting of a) what it is costing the American people for this president to spend every weekend at Mar-a-Lago instead of the White House or his private residence; and b) how much of that money ends up in the bank account of The Trump Organization. When a person runs for the highest office in our government and wins, it is the highest honor we the people bestow. The presidency is public service, not a profitable business deal. The salary and benefits we pay them, the accommodations and personal protection we provide them, are more than enough for anyone and their families to live lavishly, compared to all but a few of us. If some very wealthy presidents have lived even more lavishly in their private lives and consider it a lifestyle downgrade, too bad. They could have stayed in their mansions and penthouses and vacation homes and let somebody else live in the White House. Give us the accounting, NYT.
322
Yes, thank you, more articles of accountability on the misadministration of Trump and his deplorable GOP enablers. We already know trump's a liar and con man, robotically pitching himself ad nauseam, we need more articles about why there aren't that many daily articles on what evil they are truly wreaking on our society.
19
There may be an accounting if and only if many Democrats are elected in November.
18
Gail just gave us preliminary numbers.
Taxpayers are on the hook for $55 Million already just for the jaunts to / from Florida. That doesn't count all we pay for his NJ trips or any of his other self-promoting schemes.
The Post's David Fahrenthold @Fahrenthold is specifically following the money. And there's a lot of it washing around the swamp.
And then there's http://trumpgolfcount.com/
7
I read so many comments about trump's 40%.
Does he really have that much behind him anymore?
Or have we, unknowingly, caved to a spin?
7
Hi -- Has anyone else noticed? ... Cambridge Analytica has provided this administration with a database that will remain valid for an indeterminable time, and this administration is definitely drawing their strategy from this database. The only way to begin to get out of this nightmare, in my humble opinion, is to vote them out since the general consensus is that impeachment removal will do more harm than good.
5
Actually, I don't know why the media keeps reporting the 40% who approve of Trump.
Unlike most recent presidents, Trump has never had majority approval. His highest support was 45%, according to the weekly Gallup poll.
The percentage for the mainstream media to report is the percent disapproving of Trump, especially since it has always been greater than his approval rate.
For every week Trump has been in office, his disapproval rate has been over 50% and is currently at 55%.
http://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-...
3
Mar-a-Largo is a for profit business run by the trump mob. It is solid evidence of another violation of The Emoluments Clause (Article I, section 9).
17
Many of the world's great leaders, apparently, have asked Trump to let them come spend some time at Mar-a-Lago. With him, another of the world's great leaders. They've not been there yet, but know they'll really like it. And will be comfortable amidst the splendor and charm, because they'll be with a brother-in-arms great leader. And have relationships.
Many, many people wish they could be with the great leader at Mar-a-Lago.
I feel so left out, don't you?
2
I delight in reading this colluminst on a regular basis. She attacks with humor and wit. Comments by her and others exposing this diabolical administration I read with delight. But, I fear, they are either being ignored or rejected by the people they are exposing. Incredibly, Trump's popularity is actually increasing! Racists, bullies, those incapable of rational thought and other "deplorables" are unreachable. Democrats need to recognize this and develop a message that will appeal to their base and independent voters. Clear thinkers are well aware of the peril our country in in. Dwelling on it in every news cycle will not bring victory in the fall elections. It is time to concede the Trump supporters. Most people who read the editorial page of the Times recognize this. Give up on Trump supporters, they are not worth the effort. Instead direct your support toward electing and reelecting people who will restore dignity and sanity to our country.
7
Ms. Collins, there's another way to see this as a new kind of American success story:
Son of former bordello owner and slumlord crosses the East River and becomes a well-known brand name on condos, fancy golf clubs, steaks, vodka, real estate courses, and a hit TV show. Then he parlays that brand name recognition into the White House, where he pretends he has ascended to American royalty and Mar-a-Lago is his castle.
4
I would like to think that the next Democratic candidate for the Presidency would only have to stand and list the unending examples of dishonesty and abuse of power and position by the current President and his minions to easily win the office. Integrity, honesty and good will are important to our nation as they are, essentially, both the glue and the oil that allows us to function as a viable society. The lack thereof in DC is so very troubling!!!
6
Stop providing free advertising to President Trump by identifying his estates by name. The media should identify his estates by the city they are near. Ex. The President is at his property in New York City, in Somerset New Jersey, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Why does the media continually promote his brand?
8
On the other hand, Trump branding deals are now less than worthless. Remember the man who recently died in a fire at Trump Tower? He was still living there only because he couldn't sell it. Apparently nobody wants stuff with the Trump label on it.
Same goes for Ivanka's junk.
15
When it came time to pick a cabinet, perhaps Trump would have made a better choice by going to IKEA.
14
"Gold-Leaf Presidency"? In reality, fool's gold...
Fool's gold: Iron pyrite (FeS2) is the most common of the sulfide minerals. It's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow (orange?) hue give it a superficial resemblance to real gold (Au), thus it's common name.
8
It's not Mar-a-lago per se that attracts "many of the world's great leaders". It's the cake.
9
But they only get one scoop of ice cream.
2
It's bad enough that Trump is ceaselessly promoting -and profiting from- Mar-a-Lago (and other syndicate properties), violating all norms and, coincidentally, the US constitution. That bothers me a lot. Add to that the costs associated with carting him there and back, the massive security needed, and the disruption of local life caused by his presence. That also is mightily bothersome. But a fitting, final blow for me is the tackiness of this ersatz Xanadu, the phony, pretentious, arriviste elegance. Trump does not have good taste. He doesn't have bad taste. Trump clearly has no taste at all. This seems to apply to everything: his toilet fixtures, his compatriots, his ethical choices.
15
"America first!" bellowed Trump at his inauguration.
But what Trump was really bellowing, and it was lost on no one, not even his supporters, what that he was bellowing "Me first!" Recall his shoving aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro to dominate the attention of the press.
And there you have it - this is what is eating alive the American Dream: selfish greed with no regard for the larger community, or for heritage we should be passing along to the next generation. It is all grab and run while you can.
17
He's gilt-y. As well as guilty.
17
It is hard to be unhappy with a President who so reflects American society. Have you watched any network product either live or On Demand? If you're patient and not easily distracted, you might be able to keep the story line together through what seems like millions of commercials, each one garishly designed to wrestle your attention to the floor while erasing from your memory anything that came before (like the beginning of the episode).
It makes sense. People have suggested that Congressmen should wear jumpsuits that feature sponsor patches like STP and Castrol (and Koch and the NRA). Trump has gone one better, taking the Presidency from NPR, with its limited commercial interruptions, to the WB, where tired syndicated shows like The Apprentice can play in short bursts bracketed by a wizard's garden of TV ads.
Feeling tired? Listless? Try Trumpitol, the homeopathic supplement that will raise your blood pressure and pulse while causing hyperventilation and an illogical self-regard using only safe ingredients such as water and Doocy.
Trump is a stream-of-consciousness President with words from our sponsor. Like radio shock jocks, he will say and seemingly do anything in order to keep the public's (and possibly his own) attention. By this measure, if Howard Stern were a little bit more windblown, ran a corrupt real estate company, and paid various comely women to claim to have had sex with him while publicly suing to stop their testimony, he could be our next President.
10
"Maybe it wouldn’t be so unnerving if he wasn’t so messy. "
Or maybe it wouldn't be so unnerving if he was paying for it all out of his own pocket. I'm sick of the trump family digging into our pockets to pay for their lavish lifestyles and to promote their tacky businesses.
If he wants to convert the presidency into a part-time job while he continues to promote his other businesses, then let him learn how to pass legislation with the spineless Republican Congress to do so.
14
Now that Trump has made Mar-a-lago a toxic place for charity events, he is looking for ways to keep the place occupied.
I suspect he might plan to re-gift it to the US gov't so that he can take a tax deduction.
6
Gail, you are a treasure. You bring out the ugly truth of the world in a humorous style. Could you please help us out of this mess by scaling back the over-the-top criticism of Mr. Trump?
It only serves to rile up the right. And even worse, it gives us lefties a sugar high - making us manic, overbearing, insufferable scolds.
Trump's reign will end when Americans vote him out. Columns like this will not win over any swing voters. It just confuses them about who the problem is.
Please don't support Donald Trump indirectly, even though your fans eat it up.
Please.
2
"...a cathedral on psychedelic drugs"... PERFECTION! And would pretty much describe the entirety of Trump's "taste" in interior design and architecture.
4
Seen from Europe, all rhis is simply nouveau riche bad manners. In Europe, things go as follows: Your office, main home or vacation home mght be a ruined or wonderfully renovated old estate, you never praise it and you never accept it been too much praised; you might have a nobility or academic title but you never mention it while generously mebtioning the ritles of orhers; you might be wealthy, you never display your wealrh but discretly help others around you of more limited means. And you feel very uneasy, when someone behaves differently.
11
Germany was kind enough to take a lot of Syrian refugees after we made a mess in the Middle East.
Would you consider taking a few Americans after we finish making our mess here with Trump?
6
To behave as you describe, one needs to have class. Trump has none.
1
Remember when it seemed so silly, so self-serving, for George W. to stage brushing-clearing photo ops? Ah, good times.
9
The only difference between trump and King Midas....trump wouldn’t mind his daughter being turned to gold.
12
It's an inspiration to me to see how a citizen, Trump is able to build such a vast empire of beauty and wealth. It is difficult to do and the average person never gets close. People need to be inspired and have a inspirational role model. Nice things are not bad. They are the result of high intention and sincere, focused, effort. We need more of it. It is good for the workers as well. Of course to the naysayers its fodder for criticism. Jealousy is a dangerous emotion.
You'll get the bill in the mail.
This last Trump tax cut is raising the deficit to $1 Trillion.
Ten years will add $10 Trillion to the debt.
We have 150 Million tax payers.
Your share (and mine) will be $67,000.
I wouldn't mind if you voted for Trump and got fleeced, but I am getting fleeced, too.
9
I wouldn't have a problem with his wealth if he came by it honestly. However, much of his money was made by ripping off small businesses and also by declaring bankruptcy, leaving the banks with the losses. Many of the buildings with his name on them are not even owned by Trump. Companies pay a fee to put his name on their buildings.
6
Hey Rich (or should I say "that's Rich?),
Good thing you're inspired, because you're sharing the tab.
1
Pruitt's soundproof phone booth reminds me of the "Cone of Silence" from the "Get Smart" series.
Except instead of funny it is very sad.
47
After attempting to short-pay my 2017 income taxes as an offset to Trump's lavish personal spending, I sadly discovered that the IRS hadn't provided a line item for that credit yet. Maybe next year!
24
Mr.Trump is channeling Louis XIV of France who built Versailles and moved the government there.This is not just optics- this is illegal behavior by Mr.Trump promoting his assets to line his pockets.His presidency has been one tedious infomercial for Trump Inc.He does not represent American values and his behavior demeans the struggles of jobless citizens and others on the fringes who long for the American dream.
41
When all is said and done, why don't the taxpayers seize Mar-a-Lago to make up for all the security costs (not to mention Trump's unpaid taxes)?
35
Great idea.
Maybe Dems in Congress next year will introduce and pass a bill demanding the IRS to publish his tax returns for past 40 years. Then the FBI and US Marshals will seize everything he got to pay for unpaid taxes.
This will be even better than impeaching him.
It will be indeed a great day to see him evicted and becoming homeless.
8
And he needs an extension for "paying" taxes? Well done Trump voters...well done.
32
No,no. There never was any mention of actually "paying" taxes. It was an extension on filing his tax return.
4
Can the Times do an article on exactly how much each of these trips to Trump's various properties really costs the taxpayers? Not just the costs of the Air Force One flights and the other planes that bring down limos, and transportation for extra WH staff and Secret Service members, costs for the Coast Guard, local police, etc., but how much is spent on WH staff and Secret Service lodging and meals, and what is the total number of people that are in the full entourage. And how much of what is spent directly at Mar-a-Lago goes into the Trump family's pockets?
59
What bothers me most about Trump's Mar-a-Lago statement is what always bothers me about his statements and tweets: he uses a fallacious argument to support what he's saying. What he uses is the classic fallacy called appeal to crowd, defined this way: "When the claim that most or many people in general or of a particular group accept a belief as true is presented as evidence for the claim." So by just saying "many people" this or "everybody" that, Trump gets his base to believe everything lie or exaggeration. In that way, he never has to present evidence or make a logical argument. Logic and awareness of fallacies used to be taught in school. Or those things no longer taught? And if they aren't, how quickly can we starting getting them taught again?
25
You may be interested in a book called "The Knowledge Illusion" which demonstrates how dependent we are on others, often "experts" for what we know. While this often is a good thing it also is extremely dangerous. Of course it becomes rediculous when you consider Trump and his illiteracy and dependence on fox news - much like many parts of America.
2
The last couple of days the country has been reminded of the legacy of Barbara Bush. The Enforcer. What this nation is being reminded of is that Mrs. Bush was not only the matriarch of the Bush family, she was also the matriarch of a nation. She was a member of the Bush dynasty. But she was a woman who understood that being first lady came with tremendous responsibility. I think the two things that define her are the insistence that every day you do something for somebody and she insisted the Bushes not travel on holidays so the agents protecting them could be with their families. Then I thought.....what will be said about the Trumps when they pass on. Not about the politics or the investigations. But about how they will be remembered as human beings and what their good fortune has taught them about how to conduct themselves as first family. And then I come back to Barbara Bush who will not be mourned Saturday. She will be celebrated. For being a woman who had more class In the tip of her pinky, than the entire Trump family combined. And for demonstrating that wealth and good fortune doesn't have to be coupled with arrogance and glitter. Apparently the Trumps are not attending the services. I suggest they watch it on TV. For they will never see the outpouring of love and respect for themselves that will be on display Saturday. No gold. No glitter. No pretension. No inflating of crowd size. Just pure respect and love.
32
Just think, if the park service hadn't returned Mar-a-lago to the Post family, it would have only cost about 36 million to maintain and Trump wouldn't be interested in using it.
9
Louis XIV had Versailles, Trump has Mar-a-Largo. Things didn’t work out too well for Louis and Trump’s future doesn’t appear too rosy either!
21
Louis XIV did just fine. Maybe you reversed two of those Roman numerals?
4
G.W. Bush's ranch may have been not particularly opulent, but a major effort of his administration was to transfer as much taxpayer money as possible to the private sector, not only by returning the Clinton administration surplus to the wealthiest Americans but by contracting out as many government services as possible. The Trump administration is just more open and direct about the practice of looting the Treasury that was fostered by W and his cronies.
216
That's why I howl in rage whenever someone says "Don't you wish GW were back in office?" Hell, no, I had a countdown calendar in 2008 of his nonsensical words - "interwebs" anyone? and basic mangling of English never mind the rape and pillage of our economy to start two wars on our national credit card and the thousands of losses on all sides because it them.
13
Ok, I get that Scott Pruitt is awful and everything, but flying first class? Really?
I don't know what kind of weird, fiscally-conservative government you have in your country, but in my country, high-ranking government officials fly first-class or business class. That's because there's a lounge and there's food. There are also rules for lower-ranking civil servants that allow first-class flights, depending on hours of flight time.
In this article are true ethical violations. Why did Trump invite Xi and Abe to Mar-A-Lago? Because they come from countries with quid pro quo culture, so they know his kind. It's the same reason the Saudis stay in his hotels - quid pro quo culture. They know that if they scratch Trump's back, he'll scratch theirs.
Usually the United States of America doesn't work like that. Usually you guys are an honourable country. Now you're not.
But don't distract from that by trying to make this about Trump advertising for his resort or a quibble about how much Pruitt paid for a car. That's not what this is about.
It's about Pruitt being influenced by lobbyist money.
This is about foreign leaders giving money to the Trump family and Trump companies in exchange for positive American foreign policy decisions.
24
Abe, like any world leader, is happy to meet with Trump.
Why wouldn't he be?
Any leader standing next to Trump would appear far more intelligent, and definitely more honest and ethical than him. Their approval ratings at home probably double.
Just look at what Trump's doing for Kim Jung Un.
Who would have thought it was even possible to make him seem equal to the U.S. president?
But that's Trump for you.
Yeah!
11
Ms. Collins, on dot and pithy.
When I read a column like this, I can stop gnashing my teeth (for a while). Meanwhile, who could miss Dear Donald reaching for Dear Melania's hand repeatedly and she not swatting it away during the famous walk with the PM of Japan and his wife. What did we do in our past lives to deserve this person (and the culture this embodies).
7
By my reckoning, the reality show president who once said he'd be "too busy to play golf" spends a third of his time at his golf resorts, another third watching TV and another third tweeting -- which doesn't leave much time for governing. I would still like to know precisely how much he is raking in at Mar-a-Lago, his New Jersey golf club and his DC hotel by combining business with the presidency.
16
So, did we pay to rent the ball room for the press conference and support all the staff and Secretaries needed to support these theatrics?
8
Thank you Gail for making me laugh out loud (albeit at gallows humor). As I finished reading the paragraph on how Trump managed to outdo all other presidents by being the "one who managed to hit all three markers, while simultaneously using the nation’s highest office to further his private asset accumulation", I couldn't stop laughing, maybe slightly hysterically, but still laughing.
5
In a cost saving move, how about this Sec. Mnuchin? When President Trump goes to one of his properties, use the Secret Service to remove everyone not vetted from his property and cordon it off from view. Allow the king to keep his castle but let's not have us pay for golf carts and other measures to protect him in his own establishment. When the public learns his resorts would be closed to them in Mr. Trump's presence, their value would diminish and our contribution to his greed would diminish in like extent. Then his redoubts would be as the echoing San Simeon to the footfalls of Charles Foster Kane. Without a doubt.
9
There’s a lot to be outraged over in the Trump administration but we should never allow ourselves to become complacent about the Trump’s graft. If America survives this presidency, Congress will need to enact stringent new financial disclosure and divestiture laws for the president and his advisors so that this does not happen again. Thanks for keeping an eye on this aspect of our corrupt leaders.
18
Gold Leaf is an appropriate metaphor. It's shiny and lovely on the surface, but microns below, there's nothing. On second thought, scrub the "lovely" . This gold leaf is only shiny. All that glitters is not gold.
11
I'm not particularly good with foreign languages, but could Mar-a-Lago be a slang Spanish word for "swamp"?
9
Trump should enjoy his gold palace and golf courses while he can. Federal prisons may be called the country clubs of white collar criminals but from what I understand no one gets to play golf. But there could be a health benefit for Trump when he serves his time. Many inmates lose weight due to the repetitive, small portion meals served in most prisons. Why that is like a spa, only you can't leave, and there's no yoga.
4
Why does the United States now have values which are so at odds with all other liberal democracies? How is it possible that the US President is allowed to use his office to promote his business interests? How is it possible that 50% of Americans think that this behaviour is OK? What happened to the ethos of self sacrifice and public service? What happened to honour? What happened to integrity?
22
"What happened to the ethos of self sacrifice and public service? What happened to honour? What happened to integrity?"
They left with the Obama family!
2
As many of the comments point out, Trump's base is fine with plundering the office of the President. Can we just stop worrying about his base and get everyone else on board to responsibly vote this year? Every day he appalls most of us with his nonsensical comments and incredible ego-driven statements. So let's let the people responsible for allowing him to act this way know how we feel. VOTE THEM OUT!!
32
A boy and his Mar-a-Lago toy masquerading as a head of state, the United States. " Can Shinzo come out and play with me at my house? He likes to play at my house."
10
I was driving and happened to hear Trump's comments with Abe standing by. Let me get to the point: Donald Trump is an incoherent, blubbering fool who uses every occasion to babble on about himself.
We've all known this for years now, but listening to this press briefing brought home to me just how completely off the rails Trump truly is. PM Abe was courteous and circumspect in his remarks; he sounded like the leader of a great nation. Trump sounded like the marketing VP of a Manhattan condo trying to persuade Russian oligarchs to pony up $2 million in cash for a one-bedroom swelling overlooking Central Park.
He cannot leave the scene soon enough.
347
I wish someone would publish the expenses incurred for travel home for Obama compared to Trump. I recall Republicans whining about Obama’s expenses but, naturally, not a whimper now.
17
I wouldn’t use the word “promoting” since the waiting list to become a member is so long that it will be tens of years before all of them can get in.
If Mar-a-Lago is truly “the Southern White House” as Donald Trump claims, does that mean when he leaves office he’ll donate the gilded monstrosity to the government?
If that’s the promise, can we rely on it as much as the promise to release the Trump tax returns?
If Donald Trump were serious, he would execute an irrevocable Deed of Gift now, retaining usage rights until he left office, with no exception for impeachment or defeat at the polls.
The GSA could send in the wrecking ball to level the place the moment someone else was sworn in as president, recouping demolition costs by selling the gold-plated kitsch for souvenirs and selling the land to developers.
7
Just found out (seriously) that I am allergic to gold. It's only recently been found to be a pretty common allergy. Just another way that Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower are toxic places.
2
Gail you do realize we live amongst the uber and super rich people in the USA. Like filthy rich. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on their pets, dogs and cats, is like nothing to them. You will find this phenomenon in Hollywood, sports industry, Silicon Valley and the Wall Street Folks. The Silicon Valley folks are presently smitten by the backyard chicken coop phenomenon which might cost upwards of $20,000. There is no meaning in wealth anymore. It was erased a long time ago, when the old economy was overtaken by the new hi tech economy. The old economy folks fought back hard, they awarded their CEOs multimillion dollar packages, golden parachutes and the government, yes we the little people, helped bail out "evil" big banks. We are complicit. And it happened under the gaze and adoration of Obama who did not take much time to be swept off his feet by the Hollywood, and uber rich folks who had direct access to the WH.
Who cares if Trump has gold utensils! You and other journalists have let the people of America down, by not calling out the oligarchs who are the true masters of the universe.
2
Gail, talk about people's priorities. Palo Alto has banned roosters, but chicken are ok.
http://padailypost.com/2018/03/18/no-cock-doodle-doo-palo-alto-roosters-...
1
I, almost, wish Mr Hannity had a lawyer, or Mr Trump had a spare lawyer, to tilt at that second last paragraph. For the legal record, this right-thinking reader does not know what to think, other than "Great writing."
Somehow I have never thought of Florida as a Southern state. They have always been a state where Northerns go to retire or vacation.
Remember Al Capone was ultimately incarcerated for tax evasion.
4
All that golden glitter would drive me crazy but our POTUS must think it’s cool.
Apparently Trump likes to show how “tough” he is by going against all advice and reason. For example when he was strongly advised to not congratulate Putin he went ahead and congratulated him anyway. Putin is however the one person that Trump is extremely careful to not offend. Trade tariff’s are another example of Trump going against all advice. The worse actors in this constant chaos are Mitch and Paul. I wonder if someone is blackmailing them.
7
Cannot laugh, Gail. This reader remembers all those exhaustive discussions and explanations about a little thing call the Emoluments Clause. More useless info, apparently. Will it really take Trump shooting someone on Fifth Ave, or is that also a crime only in theory?
4
No, it will probably take exactly the reverse.
Thanks, Gail, for another insightfully humorous column. As usual, you bring out the best in those who add their own comments.
3
Gail. Clearly you have no idea what it is like to go first class or sleep in the bosom of luxury. Write me a letter when you finally get there.
Luxury is supposed to be luxurious or they wouldn't have made that word sound the same.
Trump is not deaf when it comes to making a buck. His supporters that funded his run for office paid for the running of his private airline and any Trump property that he stayed in. Today, he has elevated that talent to bilk the tax payer. If he doesn't care, why should we?
1
It's beyond comprehension that the taxpayer dollars used to pay for all of these mini vacations go directly into trump's pocket. He makes money off of us every time he decides to play golf. How is this not illegal?
19
Unlike the US Revolutionary War hero, Nathan Hale, who stated, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" before he was hung by the British for spying, Trump regrets that he has less casinos and resorts to gouge our country (they all went bankrupt).
What would surely be a contender for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction would be the memo by the ethics official authorizing Trump's self-enrichment---lesser ranking US government employees would be jailed for such chicanery.
While the current emolument case against Trump does not involve Mar-a-Lago, Prime Minister Abe is realizing the resort's poor Yelp ratings are unfortunately true. The Mueller Tsunami will soon cure this nonsense.
7
The Japanese leader smiled, played golf, enjoyed the visit. But if anyone believes that he doesn't have his own opinions of this man in the WH, or believes that his smiles are in agreement, do not know how the Japanese are.
They are about the most polite people in the world when politeness and good manners are required. Do not take that as being impressed or in agreement with anyone.
13
When I read Shinzo Abe was meeting with this wretched president at Mar-a-Lago it registered in my mind that Trump and Melania have yet to host a state dinner. It gives you a good feeling to see the president and his spose standing in the doorway of the White House to greet important heads of state. Very dignified. No wonder Melania doesn't need much of a staff. And White House staff must love it, a very relaxing time and no one has to work up a sweat. It doesn't take much effort to cook and deliver a cheeseburger to the White House TV room. Besides his majesty thinks the White House is a pretty shabby place what will all that history floating around that is so useless and no gold. When the Rolling Stones wrote "Sympathy for the Devil" they noted that the devil was "a man of wealth and 'taste'". They didn't know it at the time but they were singing about our very own Devil who would be our future president. I feel like spewing green stuff as the kid did in the "Exorcist"; I think my head is ready to spin around.
7
What else could he talk about at such length? Certainly not policy.
4
Unless Trump changes his mind about climate change, Mar-a- Lago will sink. All that gilt must weigh a ton.
8
And all that GUILT should. But clearly does not.
3
Gail, Trump's promotion of his own properties is beyond the pale, but that's not his only excess with respect to Mar-a-lago.
It's so ostentatious as to be tacky and cringe-inducing. Showing off one's supposed wealth and bragging about it is gauche.
So, in promoting his own properties, Trump shows he has no concern for prohibitions against emolument but also no class.
11
The Times ran an article on the state of public schools in America--with our children sitting in leaking classrooms, reading ten year old textbooks, and teachers who drive Uber at night to make ends meet. Yet in the same state that our children and adolescents sit in schools literally falling apart our President sits in a Mansion, playing golf, eating steak---this is the very definition of a Banana Republic.
27
Gail- You are on point and correct but the blatant corruption continues to be exhausting. It's past the point of humor anymore. The swamp needs to be drained and the excavated now! November 2018 can't come soon enough for the country. And my mental health.
10
Sadly, most Americans haven't a clue what gold-leaf is and from what we see and hear from the president he probably prefers the imitation kind.
3
Could the Times please be good enough to find out what costs the nation has been billed for the use of Mar A Lago. Housing, food security upgrades, parking fees. Everything please.
It would not surprise me to find out that generic bottled water rebranded accurately as "Trump Gold" is billed to the government at $10.00 a pint.
Where is the security detail housed and at what cost?
Is the Presidential limo flown back and forth as well?
The too thought the news conference was an infomercial.
12
It wasn’t built as a Southern White House.
45 doesn’t know that Mar a Lago was built by Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1927 and was willed by the Post Foundation upon her death in 1973 to the US.
Another thing “most Americans don’t know”.
5
But he lives in the place.
And to think Jimmy Carter brokered the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty at Camp David - that rustic, humble retreat of many past presidents. I guess such a setting would not sufficiently reflect 45's self-aggrandizement. And we get to pay for it!
8
Oh yes, Trump is famously unappreciative of Camp David. "It's nice if you like rustic. You know how long you'd like it? About 30 minutes." After all, there are no Louis XIV style gilded chairs or chandeliers anywhere.
1
A wonderful essay, as usual. And Mar-a-Lago is not even the worst of it. Payday lenders looking to get out from under consumer protection regulations decided to have their big meeting at Trump Doral. Coincidence? http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/six-trump-doral-conflicts-of-interest-...
8
Donald Trump is a man with insatiable appetites...the most insatiable...there is no one with greater, more insatiable appetites in the world. So it comes as no surprise that one of them is his constant need for the emotional affirmation of his audiences, for which he literally begs. That his public utterances and tweets often have little or nothing to do with his job, per se, or the lives of Americans generally, is of no concern to him. For Trump, Americans and their needs are a sideshow to his wealth and the other other superficialities which he considers important.
Trump is obsessed with appearances, to the point of excess if that's not gilding the lily, whether his own (which he hypes ad nauseam) or that of others (who he diminishes), generally based on otherwise meaningless appearances that have no relevance to the nation, his job or the salient and compelling issues of the day.
To paraphrase an old adage, "All that glitters is not gold...but all that's gold does not glitter." Trump has yet to learn that lesson, and by so doing, is further tarnishing his own already questionable reputation as a shining example of dull superficiality. He might want to consider turning over a new leaf, as the gold-leaf isn't doing the rest of us much good.
8
Our "so-called" president is attempting to turn our government into Russia's autocracy, with him as the authoritarian leader, like his old pal Putin. He's rewarded his billionaire buds with jobs and tax cuts and tried to befriend the military leaders, so they will do his bidding. He's bullied Congress folk into submission and attacked the free press, Justice Department and anyone else who opposes him. This is much more destructive to our democracy and the rule of law than him spending millions of tax payer money to entertain foreign leaders while promoting his businesses too. Comey is right that he (Trump) has no moral compass and now even his lawyers don't believe he is innocent and fear that Cohen, his personal lawyer, will flip on him, even if assured a pardon because Cohen knows he is liable in NYS too. What ever happened to presuming innocence until proven guilty? Trump's own lawyers are gravely concerned for Trump, if Cohen flips. Why is this if he is supposed to be innocent?
6
''Everybody knows Trump mixes personal business with his job running the country. Maybe it wouldn’t be so unnerving if he wasn’t so messy...'' No. Maybe someone (republicans who are in charge?) should enforce the Constitution ( the one they invoke in between every breath taken ) and in particular the emoluments clause. This President/administration/republicans are quite visibly and clearly BREAKING THE LAW and no one is doing anything about it. Your gangster government at work.
11
Some commenters complaining that Collins doesn’t take the Trump fiasco seriously, doesn’t focus on reinvigorating the Dems, the MAGAs don’t read her stuff anyway, etc. It’s Collins’ job to reflect humorously on current politics. She does her job very well. She’s got Trump calling her a pig, so she must be doing something right. The complaints lodged here should be brought up elsewhere: letters to representatives, community meetings, social gatherings, voting booths.
12
I know I'm not the only Iraqi war veteran who notices the gaudy similarities between the gilded Mar Largo (and all Trump venues) and the multiple palaces belonging to a certain person many of us got a glimpse of in the spring and summer of 2003. Then of course, there is the gold plated elevator rising up through a mountain in the Bavarian Alps. In the oft state words of the very stable genius himself, "I'm just saying..." In other words, base, egotistical narcissists of a feather, flock together.
12
Meanwhile, President Obama couldn't even play a game of golf without every Republican in the country becoming apoplectic. And god forbid he take a week off to go to Martha's Vineyard to relax with his family.
Now we have the grifter in chief using every spare moment to either slack off (executive time? really?), play golf, or stuff his pockets by any and every means necessary, all at taxpayer expense. And the Republicans? They're as silent as a graveyard. Not a whisper of indignation to be found.
I'm outraged by this, as are most Americans. This is a big, greedy thumb in the eye to all of us who walk a financial tightrope in the land of income inequality. It's also a sleazy sullying of the highest offices of public service, which most previous aspirants worked their entire lives to hold.
When will this gaudy nightmare end?
21
This is going to be one of those stories that future generations will read and ask "How could they let this happen?" I hope those future histories will include prominent photographs of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan to show who "they" were.
29
Our country is filled with honest, respectful, smart, loving, caring, hard working people. How did we wind up with an abomination of a President? I know he "won" the election because of Electoral College, not the popular vote. It's time we retire the Electoral College elect a President based on the popular vote as do most (if not all) countries. As a native New Yorker all my life I have watched Trump with disdain because of his bizarre views and comments about people, places and things. Now that he is President, I get up everyday with pain in my heart for what he is doing to this once great country.
42
But did he really even win? With Comey's gaffes and the help of the Russians, it's quite possible he did not legitimately win the presidency.
25
Regardless, it's impossible for me to view him as a legitimate POTUS. He's hardly even a legitimate human being.
David Frum says that what Trump is after in his presidency is not power but plunder.
Anger and vanity may have been the impulses that led him to run for president, but no doubt he also saw a national political campaign as a promising vehicle for brand promotion.
Since taking office he has certainly striven to make the office serve his business interests. Even apart from that, he has proven unable to conceive of his duties and powers except in the context of business. His idea of a successful summit meeting is being able to announce a sale of American products to the other country.
Calvin Coolidge said, "The chief business of the American people is business." Substitute "president" for "people" and delete "chief", and you get a Trump truism.
17
What unnerves me the most is that what comes out of the president's mouth appears to have been blended through an Android-powered automated drink shaker somewhere between thought formulation and stream-of-consciousness scrambled eggs manifestation of incoherence.
"Huh?" indeed; 24/7, all year long and as far out as the ear can hear.
20
A leader with integrity would define and stick to a policy that says:
“No federal government-related event may be booked or held at any property in which I have any equity, financial or commercial interest, direct or indirect, while I hold elective office. In addition, those who have official business with the federal government are encouraged not to use such facilities.”
34
Tacky
20
I am surprised that more attention hasn't been given to the misuse of one of Trump's income earning properties further lining his pockets. Not only are the trips and stays out of taxpayer money, but the cost of membership has gone up since he became the attraction. We already are paying for Blair House in DC as a guest home for visitors. And I would bet that Trump writes off all kinds of expenses when he entertains there. Then there is the cost of local security, diversion of Coast Guard to provide additional security,....just SOOO many things that are so wrong about this. Every president has had some off-site home for escape from DC, but again, the taxpayers are also paying for Camp David already. And I bet we are spending millions on his residency in Trump Tower as well! The presidency is not supposed to be a temporary monarchy. It is supposed to be a service to one's country. No wonder many members of his cabinet feel that the coffers of the US are there for them to raid. The pres and his minions need to be educated as to what being employed by the federal government means and what the responsibilities are. In the meantime, Trump continues to rake in the dough, and not only from his hotel in D.C.
131
Unfortunately, in December a federal judge dismissed a pair of lawsuits (one filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington or CREW) that claimed Trump violated the emoluments clause. The federal court said the challengers lack standing and that the issue is best left to Congress. Apparently if any action will be taken in the near future, it will boil down to what happens with the election in November.
48
Blue Moon, if enough of us seniors joined CREW, could we get a slight change in the acronym?
There is an ongoing emoluments suit - Maryland and D.C. are the plaintiffs.
The great Groucho Marx, upon being ejected from an establishment, declared
“I’ve been kicked out of better places than this”,
this being his testimony on the place’s quality and status.
Should I have somehow or other find myself at Mar-a-Lago, I have no doubt I’d be ejected. I also have no doubt that I could make the same claim as Groucho.
50
Groucho also said, "I will never belong to a club that would have me." Kinda describes being a politician, any politician, these days. Be grateful, Bill.
36
Mrs. Collins, smart writing, as always right to the Point and amusing, although the subject is actually more sad and distressing than funny.
However, little desirable is being achieved by such contributions:
Trump Followers are unlikely NYT Readers.
Trump Voters, who may read yr articles will be even more determined and proud of their "fantastic President."
Being aware of this, let us hope that all of your
Readers and the Readers of similar Contributions will raise their voices latest in November, enforcing the Exit and Humiliation of this ungraceful WH Occupant
and his Gang. There is not a trace of decency in this
Administration, just look at all (majority) of them.
I feel the wind of change and hope for Natures
justness.
102
Some wonderful sentences in these comments, written by thoughtful, intelligent, concerned and amusing people.
I care, but I'm pretty sure the people who elected DT as President do not. Unless the Democrats can find a worthy candidate to excite the voters and take on this strange creature many of us voted for and still support, the country is going to be recovering from the Trump Incident into the next century. If it can recover.
How can Democrats look themselves in the face? Must we finally admit that America is now only about how much money a family can amass, and the means to amass said fortune don't matter?
Was the election of DT an accidental coup?
Why are people putting up with his shenanigans?
Why is there so little political pushback?
91
A worthy candidate....hmmmm...let's see - anyone but the current WH resident?
My taxes are going up. In other words, the cost of upkeep for me is increasing. Not just as an individual economy; rather, what our elected officials think it costs for me to exist with a reasonable degree of comfort. How did that happen? Well, just as I determine what my individual economy needs in order to keep me comfortable ... so have each of our elected officials started from the same place: their individual economy. They determined the cost of housing, heating, clothing, food, transportation, medical care, old age benefits, and safety ... to name a few human concerns. Then they factored in jobs, recreation and introspection. Maybe not. But they started with their individual economy, and my taxes are going up.
14
In a word: complacency. People are (still) too comfortable in their daily lives to get up and, for instance, protest. I too have wondered, why are we not protesting in the streets against him and his various shenanigans? An enormous factor in the extinguishing of a great society must be complacency. People are too lazy to educate themselves, too lazy to become curious about the world, too lazy to require of themselves a vigorous mind, and too lazy to even vote.
2
Hi -- Thanks for reading my post. I am more of the type to make an appointment with my elected public servant and make my point. And I will encourage the vote. I admire those who find that a public protest works for them. All efforts have an effect (even complacency -- which is a decision in and of itself, intended or not). Peace. Thrive!
I sent a thank-you post but it did not appear yet. My response was to encourage voting. I am not complacent. Peace.
'All that glitters is not gold', comes to mind, and the fact of the matter is that there are enough hard-working Americans struggling to get out of this Depression and who are depressed. The usage of pills and moonshine is on the rise. True or false, Ms. Collins, is one question.
Some of us do not give a button about Trump's pad in Florida and an invitation to attend an event at the above would be placed in the bin.
His grandfather sold his family manor in 1948, according to historical publications, and my acquaintance went on to join the Marines in Parris Island after graduating from college. Standing on the beach in 1964, he extends his arms explaining that China could walk in a long file into the sea, and that if there was another nuclear war, well..., adding that Japan has perfected the exquisite art of torture.
Japan is also known for its stoicism, and watching the dismantling of America under Trump, its Constitution ailing and its core values erode, some of us Americans are navigating as stoics to ward off despair in these times. True or false, Ms. Collins, is another question.
After a Republican acquaintance reached the stage of pointing out that Putin would be a far better President than Trump, with a reminder on my part that this would mean Communism, he sighed and hopes that Trump will take his baggage, this presidency and government to Mar-a-Largo, or to Hades.
He is not alone in wishing Trump and his Swarm to return America to Us on his walking papers.
25
"Good times for everybody."
Except the rest of us (i.e., the voters).
I appreciate columns like this one, but with November fast approaching, I wish the NYT would publish more articles about how to persuade voters to do the right thing. Specifically young voters (18-24 age group), many of whom stayed home or voted third-party last time around, and of course swing voters. Unfortunately, facts and anecdotes often don't cut it these days -- what do people really need to hear? What is the Top Ten list, or even the Top Three list? Could we have a regular column devoted to this over the next half year or so -- topics coupled with persuasive talking points? It could really help.
78
One persuasive reason to vote is that if the Dems take the House and Senate, Trump wouldn't be able to confirm another Cabinet member like Scott Pruitt and his domestic agenda would be effectively dead in the water. Bonus: A hopeful part of me can imagine our glorious golden-throned king-wannabe then deciding to watch Fox News full-time from Mar-a-Lago if he was rendered powerless thusly.
4
I'm not sure you are appreciating columns like this one. Requesting other kinds of articles in the comments of Gail Collins' column isn't the correct context for such a request.
"I'm not sure you are appreciating columns like this one. Requesting other kinds of articles in the comments of Gail Collins' column isn't the correct context for such a request."
So why did the NYT publish it? And why is anyone recommending it? And to in order to see what others think about it, what exactly would be the "correct context" for this comment?
I respect Gail Collins and the NYT even more for publishing my comment, which certainly could be considered "off topic" in light of the subject of this particular op-ed.
Periodically, perhaps once a month or so, someone could write a "hot topics" article with salient talking points. Reporters/columnists have travel budgets and are "in the loop" -- they know what's going on -- and they understand persuasion. It's not always clear, at least to me, how to interpret the "big picture" simply by reading all these columns and comments; it would be helpful to have a periodic aggregation and gestalt point of view. Then we can go out and be better foot soldiers in this war.
What's wrong with that? What's wrong with making a proactive suggestion?
$55 million spread across roughly 250 million eligible voters is about 22 cents per voter. There goes half my tax cut.
Seriously though, we're really talking about the principle of the thing, right? Trickle down corruption beginning with the highest office in the land. One penny is too much. Although, I half-suspect Trump is rambling about Mar-a-Lago because absolutely nothing constructive to reveal in his press conference.
According to news reports, Trump has spent most of his time screaming at the television, using subordinates to debase his UN ambassador, and golfing. There doesn't appear to be much substantive conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Abe. Although, how blame them? Only one leader speaks fluent English. Mr. Abe's accent is superb.
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Several years ago my band played for a private function at Mar a Lago. All of us concluded that the best word to describe the place was "tacky".
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Palm Beach has a way of bringing out insecurities. If, as was the case with Trump back in the 1980's, you were shunned by the elite old moneyed residents who dominated the social scene, the resentments could manifest usually as bragging and big spending. I lived there for a good while and marveled at the Rolls-Royce traffic jams and the chauffeured limousines depositing fat cats along Worth Avenue boutiques and watering holes. Many of the rich and famous living full or part time were emblematic of noblesse oblige and generously supported the arts and noble charities. Trump's budget literally eliminates arts funding. He harbors grudges and lives for those moments to settle scores. Hence, the braggadocio. It's what teenage boys do when offended.
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Hence you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. When Fitzgerald writes that the Rich are different than you and I, Hemingway replies bluntly they have more money.
After a brief discussion of the pursuit of happiness in America, which I suggest is to be found within, a young Jehovah wants to return to discuss the burden of worldly possessions.
She is invited to hear how a prominent economist, when age fourteen fled the Nazis with gold coins in toothpaste tubes. He likes comfort and convenience in order to implement plans to restore and rebuild America. He did buy a pair of new shoes recently on his return to the office.
We are broke, and our State of Affairs is deteriorating. Trump has to go.
2
"His aides may not all be planning to become billionaires in office, but a lot of them are living as if they already were."
Amen to that!
Omg, I just choked at "gold ceilings and chandeliers that give the overall impression of a cathedral on psychedelic drugs."
There's a word for this constant bragging about properties Trump is using to fete dignitaries on the taxpayers' dime: tacky.
If you took every lavish ceremony the president holds at his own resorts and had it held at Camp David, it would go a long way to paying down the national debt.
The same debt this president-- who loves to spend other people's money (including his campaign funds) on affairs of state (no pun intended)--just blew said deficit off the charts.
I recall a time when a presidential scandal was huge news. This one is drowning in them, and it's hard to separate the ones we taxpayers are funding from the ones handled by Trump's "lawyers."
I will say one thing, for our ego-maniac in chief: for someone who loves publicity (good or bad) as much as he does, he's pretty much guaranteed he'll be watching his own reflection for eternity.
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I admit it is pretty funny. But more seriously (and I doubt that Americans realise this) all this speaks volumes about the contemporary US in all it dimensions.
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I agree that this is pretty funny, but if you really believe that this speaks volumes about the contemporary U. S. in all of its dimensions then your perspective on the U. S. is barely broader than Trump's.
11
Trust me, we do in fact realize this. And we are not happy about it. People aren't happy being represented by a sleepy con man. Just ask Italy about their experiences
6
Mr. Devlin, many Americans are totally mortified by the state of affairs here. We used to be known around the globe as a rather loud and obnoxious people, but those were the days when we had much to be proud of so I held my head high anyway. These days? Not so much. I try to pass myself off as a Canadian now.
7
The essential element of Mar-a-Lago that qualified it for being considered the "Southern White House", was that it was a philanthropic gift to the government, meant to be used by all presidents.
If Trump wants to use it as an official residence, he should be required to re-donate it to the country. Then we could paint over all that gold leaf, and commission Jeff Koons to creatively repurpose the chandeliers in a long overdue national memorial to the beloved American artist, Liberace, somewhere safely in the Las Vegas desert.
Like everything its owner breathes upon, the property has been steeped in ugly, acrimonious litigation from the time he purchased it.
It is embarrassing to have visiting heads of state, entertained at a private club, but it is even worse that it is the property of a man, who is bitterly hated by his neighbors.
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Eric,
One rarely hears of Camp David these days. Trump and his assistants might enjoy riding a horse into the sunset.
9
The gold plated accouterments and gold painted column capitals to which Mr. Trump is so addicted are the perfect metaphor for his character: An exceedingly thin veneer of "quality" - in his terms - that would embarrass an aluminum siding salesman. As President, he might just achieve some things without getting a lot of people killed, though the jury is still out on that one. Of course, two of his three immediate predecessors got grabby after leaving Pennsylvania Avenue, so the current POTUS simply reversed the order.
I still can't get over Trump's claims that the two Renoir posters he displays with such pride are the real thing, which means that the Chicago Institute of Art and the Courtauld Institute must be pulling a fast one on unsuspecting visitors. It is said that a high percentage of the works displayed in many major museums are fakes. But, unlike the current "Leader of the free world", not all.
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Yup. He thinks painting something yellow makes it gold.
Normally I'd feel sorry for someone whose psyche is so clearly damaged, but he's too dangerous to be cut any slack.
1
When I think of all the people and companies our SCPOTUS has stiffed over the decades, I find it satisfying to think of the way he was probably overcharged for the faux french furniture and "Renoirs" in his Trump Tower abode. It's gratifying to know that he got scammed "bigly."
Trump wouldn't know a real or fake Renoir (it for that matter Rembrandt) if it feels on his head. He'd just fire the picture hanger.
Mar-a-Lago is a classic example of the Trump scam in full view for anyone who wishes to see it.
An actual multi-billionaire would have purchased the property, kept it private and enjoyed it at his convenience. Maintenance and other costs would not even have figured into the calculation. DJT, being a faux-billionaire, turned the place into a private club, in effect taking on roommates to help share the costs. It is not Trump's "private estate" at it is often referred to.
All cons eventually run their course. The extent of Trump's deceptions and the gullibility of his admirers will be worthy of the record books.
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Don't forget that you were
subsidizing the billions of the Walton
family of Walmart and Bezos'
Amazon long before Trump took office.
4
Mr. Brock, are you telling me that instead of a President, we have a grifter in the 'Southern White House?' And telling me he ISN'T a REAL billionaire? And that admirers are gullible?
Carry on.
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Actually, the largest tax cuts in history were made by President Obama, totaling over 500 billion dollars, which did not benefit the top bracket but raised taxes on people like Beso & the Waltons and lowered taxes for middle class and lower income Americans.
Trump's cuts disproportionately benefit the super rich like Mr. Trump. Obama's tax cuts disproportionately benefited middle and lower income Americans.
I did listen to the press conference, and was truly embarrassed that Abe referred to the U.S. President as “Donald”, at least six times. Normally, he would have addressed him as the President, or Mr. President, but even the Prime Minister of Japan holds Trump in such low esteem, that just Donald will do. Now we know what Trump is, but when we see it coming from a third party, it takes us by surprise.
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I don't know about in Japan but I can say with certainty that local Japanese-Ameircan businessmen universally use first names in business discussions, particularly those that take place in bars. To address a business associate as Mr. would be an indication that you hold your relationship at arms length. I believe it is a cultural habit brought by their forebears from Japan. Abe did not mean disrespect but intended to show a close relationship.
36
Mr.Trump spoke before Mr.Abe and several times referred to him (disrespectfully, I thought) as “Shinzo”. I’m sure Mr. Abe’s use of “Donald” was a calculated way of leveling the playing field between them. He gave the same level of respect as he received. To have only referred to the president as “Mr. Trump” or “Mr. President”would have been obsequious after having not been afforded proper respect himself.
4
I believe Abe is an astute politician who knows that flattery of the weaklings ego will get Japan favorable treatment from this clown.
When Trump visits his properties and stays overnight how much is the government charged for the use of the facilities?
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100%
59
Just wondering about Trump needing an extension to file his tax returns: is that because he needs to figure out how much profit he made from those costs to the government???
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Expat Bob,
Patience is a virtue, and while the President's tax statements are being doctored up, he has assured us these will be forthcoming, soon, in the near future, but has not added that it will be a beautiful thing, or sad for that matter.
1
Initially, it seemed to me that DT ran for president to prop up his DC hotel which was scheduled to open disastrously, with less than 50% occupancy and little public interest as a tourist attraction.
It worked like a charm with Trump and his family promoting it at every opportunity and expected occupancy went through the roof.
Soon, he was flying from one property to another followed by the press and TV cameras, campaigning and promoting at the same time.
Running for president and then the presidency, itself became the greatest business opportunity DT had ever encountered. It was gold for our conman-in-chief and he will fill the swamp with other crooks and drain the treasury dry (just look at the loss of revenue the tax cuts will cause) to enrich himself.
He will say or do anything to prolong his time in office in his quest to accumulate wealth for himself and his family. It is clear to everyone except his supporters that he's taken them on a long a ride to nowhere, not seen before, even in the days of Huey Long.
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Trump found out he could use his own plane, properties and merchandise, charging the campaign top rates on everything.
Plus, the rallies feed his ego so well.
The most important things Trump ever does are his appearances before his handpicked audiences.Where he gets to be his true self. Everything else is just window dressing.
7
If I were going to stay at a Palm Beach resort, I’d stay at the 4.7 out of 5 stars The Breakers Palm Beach rather than the 3.1 star Mar-a-Lago. (See Google Maps). I'm not promoting either resort, and will never stay at other due to financial constraints. But there it is.
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REspectfully, you could not afford either.
Sneer like Collins at the wealthy man's property and office, but he earned what he has and many others would like the same opportunities for upward advancement through our work, not our skin color or our appeal to designated minority groups. Divided We Fall...
I wouldn't buy or wear a trump branded product if it was free at a dollar store.
1
Trump has a very bad track record as a businessman. Why couldn't he get loans from US banks? Why all the unpaid contractors? How could anyone constantly pick contractors who do such shoddy work that they shouldn't be paid? We become divided when people like Trump are promoted as successes, when in reality they are miserable, if gilded, failures. We become divided when some of us stand up for truth, and others are content with slander and lies. All the gold leaf in the world cannot cover up the failure that Trump is in reality. Please do work hard and advance yourself, but please do not emulate Trump. His practices are not now nor have they ever been worth repeating.
The serial thefts of public money by Trump and his favorites - especially paranoiac Environmental Pollution Agency with his privacy booth for his corrupt schemes to collude with toxic waste producers - are old news. It's sad and tragic, making public service seem like ancient history and burning down the house all too likely. We're all battered and bruised and bored, and being bored by danger is dangerous in itself.
--
I can't help thinking of that gold toilet. Here's a snarky entry on that:
"President Trump can’t really complain about Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector’s offer to install, or rather plumb, a valuable work of contemporary art in the White House. It might even be seen as a sensitive response to the president’s known tastes. What else can you give a man who regularly boasts he has everything and whose New York home boasts gold ceilings, golden plant pots and a gold lift? A golden toilet might seem like the ultimate homage.
"It is a genuinely generous offer and the president should have said yes. When Trump asked the Guggenheim museum to lend him Vincent van Gogh’s melancholy and introspective 1888 painting Landscape with Snow, Spector refused – yet what she offered instead is one of art’s most celebrated recent masterpieces."
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jan/26/why-would-trump-tur...
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Presidential Paleontology: Trump And The Amoeba's Dilemma (3 Parts)
If an amoeba had voice and muscles, it would be a cousin to Donald Trump. Shapeless/spineless, deeply engaged in self-interest, its only passion a fear of being besieged, its only power to change shape or run, it reacts to the slightest touch, encircles and engulfs its prey. Its processes asymmetrical, it has no brain. Enclosed in a double layer of fat, it moves without structure, filters its environment, changing shape and direction. It cannot assess cooperation or consequences. It does not recognize benign conditions. Amoebas often thrive where contamination is present.
Amoebas cannot be assigned human motivations, although their actions may give that appearance. They can be dangerous; one strain nibbles on live cells, another eats brains. Trump's acts match amoebas; he can be described as a single cell.
Trump inspires little deep delving into models that explain how he interacts in a complex world. His ontology and epistemology seem to predate human biological structure and psychological wiring. Relying on prehistoric internal governance, an amoeba cannot know tomorrow. Like the amoeba, Trump's world is defined by his limits. Is he a reanimated form of virulent fossil, reflected in the Philippines, Malaysia, Sudan and Nigerian insurgencies; Syria, Honduras?
(Parts 2, 3 below.)
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(Part 2)
Trump has inspired little deep delving into models that explain how he interacts in a complex world. His ontology and epistemology seem to predate human biological structure and psychological wiring. He relies on prehistoric internal governance; an amoeba cannot know tomorrow. Like the amoeba, Trump's world is defined by his limits. But is he a new global form, reflected in the Philippines, Malaysia, Sudan and Nigerian insurgencies; Syria, Honduras? Emerging in European Far Right parties?
Foreign intelligence and their behavioral analysis units use theory to model Trump's actions; why is the American conversation void of theory?
Theory begins with interrogation: questions direct its course. Did Trump attack Syria to deflect from Cohen? Does he believe abusers to be innocent if they say so? Are his lies authentic? Is his racism real? Does he believe unvetted inexperience is best for managing government? Why does he demean people and institutions? Why pardon a person convicted of crimes he roundly condemns? Why can't he condemn Putin? Is he aware of his double standards?
Theory is a framework and model for seeking reliable answers as it explains and predicts by answering two questions: what is the hidden cause, what is the new balance.
33
Why insult the poor little amoebas, they can't help themselves. Trump, on the other hand ... helping himself, need I say more?
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(Part 3)
My theory of Trump draws from the humanities, methods of paragraph writing (comparison). Its search for balance is rooted in Marx (or Kant and Aristotle), their theory of essence and change and how things influence each other. For example: the bond among Trump's voters is their comfort with anger, not anger itself. America's political economy is structured as wealth and waste; statistics scatter destruction in a mature economy. Add a wholistic mandala of society and power dynamics, the I Ching models and catalogs values and personal choices with nuanced variety. For instance, do Trump's twitter posts increase support (direct causation), decrease support (inverse causation), or create opposition (contradictory)?
Theory is thinking and doing: observe, note repetition and reductions, construct a picture from the details, find comparisons, chart the interpretations. Theory is insight--a way to avoid brain-eating, circling amoebas!
1
Trump’s aesthetic sensibilities always seem to favor tacky. He likes the sight of gold and impressing others with excesses that indicate that he has wealth that seems boundless. I wonder whether he needs to have a huge cash flow to keep it all going. Wouldn’t it be interesting to find that his actual worth is a fraction of what he wants others to think? That might explain why he refuses to disclose his tax returns and continues to take an active part in his businesses and finds the responsibilities of the President more than he is able to fulfill.
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Don't forget giving credit to the Russians for bailing him out and underwriting his flimsy debt-ridden empire.
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Of course he isn't as rich as he claims-the man is a veritable "Potemkin Village" of a billionaire.
3
Trump is a poor man's idea of what being rich is like.
3
I love reading Gail Collins..I like her humor. However, I do NOT, for even one split second, find the business of the United States of America being conducted at a personal, private resort owned by the biggest crook ever to impose himself upon the American people. I do not find this funny AT ALL. In fact, I find it obscene that no one that has any gravitas at all is not doing something about it.
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I'm not a Trump fan but this type of comment often published in these pages is tiresome. The guy was elected to office according to the laws of this country. The only way to "do something about it" is in the voting booth at the appointed time. What do you want, a revolutionary uprising? If not, get over it.
1
An uprising in the streets is exactly what we need, especially after he fires Rosenstein or Mueller.
Well, don't worry, Congress will rein in this grifter president. Any minute now. Real soon now. Wait just a little bit, and the co-equal branch of government Congress will do its Constitutional duty and 'check and balance' the excesses of the Executive branch. Wait - you face is turning blue! Are you holding your breath waiting?! Don't do that! Soon, real soon now, Congress will act. January 2019 seems about right...
19
Trump has long had his eye on the Presidency - good advance planning. It’s ironic that the most reprehensible occupant of the White House follows one of the most highly intelligent and honorable Presidents of decades. A man that he persecuted for years over his birthplace. What does that say about the US!
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What does that say about the crooked pompous Sean Hannity? A t**d of a feather yes, but fair and balanced, he ain't
47
Just keep reminding yourself that many more people voted against him than voted for him. (I wonder where he got the idea that it's harder for a Republican to win the Electoral College than for a Democrat, seeing as how Republicans are the only ones that have won that way. Maybe Sean Hannity told him.)
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I have never understood birtherism. Obama's mother was longstanding USA born. Obama was natural born, even if he was born on Mars. Natural born citizenship has always been presumptive to the mother.
McCain was born in Panama and Cruz was born in Canada. Was there ever any logic to Trump and birtherism other than the fact that the populi does not read and their ears close at the recitation of spin words and "dog whistles."
Really, why was this ever a national conversation?
8
Never a good idea to read Gail Collins while drinking milk at your keyboard.
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I was once upgraded to first class. As I recall there was only a shear curtain between me and the deplorables. Is that what Pruitt is relying on? Sad!
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Just for a minute let us juxtapose President Bush the elder with Mr. Trump the child. Then let us close our eyes and imagine Trump clearing brush or scooping manure with faded Levi's, weathered boots, and a worn stetson hat upon is reddish, grayish, blondish-haired head. For the heck of it, let's have Melania accidentally stepping on said manure with her three inch Manalo's. Now, let's put Mr and Mrs. Bush, that lovely lady with moxie whom I already miss, in Mar-a-lago. Impossible to visualize, right? Yet, here we are stuck with this narcissist who is incapable of forming a sentence yet alone a thought without self-glorification.
We are indeed in a pickle with a Cabinet which spends more money on luxury items than all of us together can earn in a lifetime. Then there's that GOP Congress which makes Finding Waldo a breeze for even a preschooler. So, yes, there are good times for "everybody," Ms Collins, except of course for us who are worrying about that next medical bill. But you know what...let's not give up. Let's continue to give this group the hell they deserve because WE deserve to get our lives back.
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But you're in California, aren't you getting it from both ends? I find that liberals and conservatives are merely a set of teeth that have been eating me alive for decades. I don't see much difference except that the liberals rob us with class, but the GOP does it more crassly. They are still, both of them, after most of the little money and property I have. Or whatever I have left after they take most of it.
Wow. Maybe you need a better accountant? I have little money, and a small house for my family, and although I make a decent living, I've never felt that "they" are out to get all of it or even a lot of it. "They", by the way, are "We".
I see your point, but a lot of us don't look at it that way. I think for me anyway it has a lot to do with our professions..me a nurse who believes in universal health care, my husband whose career as a marine biologist was dedicated to preserving the environment. His parents were immigrants, my grandparents were. And my dad was a teamster. So, I guess we were brought up "liberal" before we even were labeled that!
Since Eisenhower most presidents have retreated to Camp David. This one prefers Camp Donald.
No one would care but for (1) the fact that he blatantly is profiting from this through selling exorbitantly priced memberships, products and services and (2) the small fortune the taxpayers must pay to provide security and related services.
So like most everything else in Trumpworld, it all boils down to money--how much of it he can grab for himself, or get others to spend for his benefit.
When his term ends and he leaves the White House for good, he'll also be the guy stuffing sugar packets and little soaps with the presidential seal into Melania's purse.
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Soap and sugar packs soon for sale in the hotel shops.
3
When his term ends and he leaves the White House for good, he'll also be the guy stuffing sugar packets and little soaps with the presidential seal into Melania's purse.
-------
Lol, I'm pretty sure that was Playboy Bill you are remembering. The broke Arkansas couple who took everything -- including the W typewriter keys -- and stuffed it into Hillary's big open purse before leaving office.
Trust me: if we as a country can survive the Clinton grifters, the Obama reverse racists, and the Bush McCain "never meta a war we didn't like" leadership, then Trump is doing fine in boosting our economy, and negotiating for better, fairer trade agreements for all American industries.
We the quiet taxpaying Americans support you, Mr. President.
Jack: correction. The Obama’s seldom visited camp David, not ritzy enough for the Obama’s, especially Michelle.
That settles it, Ms. Collins: you're a genius, one of the great wits of our century.
33
What a suitable symbol Mar-a-Lago makes for a president who views his high office as an entrepreneurial opportunity to expand his personal fortune. The decor of this southern resort, like that of his Trump Tower home, also reflects the man.
The ubiquitous gold leaf that adorns both residences focuses one's attention on surfaces, concealing the common materials that form the walls and ceilings of the two structures. In like manner, Trump's attention-grabbing behavior and comments, which many voters find attractive and which the media continues to cover in lavish detail, obscure the hollow, insecure man cowering beneath the surface.
Trump loves campaign rallies and the business opportunities afforded by the presidency because wealth and acclaim represent the only measures of success this shallow man respects. A commitment to substantive achievements that could improve the lives of Americans would require a capacity to grasp the deeper purposes of government service. Trump much prefers to revel in the glitter and glamour symbolized by "Hail to the Chief!", presidential motorcades, and possibly military parades, none of which depend on hard work and political skill, attributes foreign to this laziest of modern presidents.
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Are there sprinklers in case of fire at Mar-A-Largo ? If not...
are we all going to have to pay for them?
1
Gilt surfaces over inferior materials. What better definition of Trump? The very adjective "Trumpian" will come to mean 'glitzy excess with little intrinsic value, hollow and vacant of any merit'. We have a Trumpian president - entirely concerned with image, appearance, and "the ratings" while substance, foresight, and ethics go by the wayside. Sad.
2
Nothing strange here... Everyone who runs loves all of it... the pomp, the circumstance. Trump commented on the high level of service at the White House. Who wouldn't enjoy "living like the queen?"
Remember last summer when the president said, “I just don't want a poor person...I love all people - rich or poor - but in those particular positions, I just don't want a poor person.” He prefers billionaires in his cabinet. In light of his stated values, using the Oval Office to push his businesses and enrich his pocket is in line with his values. This is also one characteristic of dictators, lining their coffers using their power as the head of their country. It is unfortunate that 60 million of our fellow citizens sees absolutely nothing wrong with this.
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Who has ever put a poor person in their cabinet?
Our so-called liberal NJ governor made his millions at Goldman Sachs and bought his office. He's raising my property taxes so we can have free Pre-k for the rich (which I already subsidize). That's more important than helping the homeless.
I'll have to hope that like so many other trump statements, his claim that foreign leaders ask to go to Mar-a-Lago is an untruth. I hope also that trump's arrogance and sense of entitlement will lead him to run afoul of the Domestic Emoluments Clause.
I'm only sad that unless he's found to commit an actual crime, he likely won't have to answer for what appears to be constant self-dealing.
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I suspect Trump has already been caught committing multiple felonies by the Mueller investigation, hence Trump's hysterical and self-incriminating rants. Let's not forget that Trump will soon be paying a $25 million penalty for defrauding his own fans with his $40 million Trump University scam, an unprecedented act for a sitting president.
4
In 1987, I was in a china shop in London, choosing a pattern for my wedding china (or stoneware, as it turned out). Among the many gaudy patterns was a copy of the White House china, beige with a plain blue and gold border. Simple, tasteful, befitting a democracy; I felt a surge of pride. Lord knows what they're using at the White House now.
42
Let us be grateful that he can'rt get his hands on the State Rooms.
1
One wonders with Mar-a-Lago, and the rest of Trump's properties as well, which bank/laundromat for dirty Russian money holds the mortgage.
Trump's tax returns would have a lot of the information. Hasn't the IRS finished its audit? That was the hold up. We can see the returns now, right?
69
Great column.
Who knew the presidency was a promotional device for one's private business ventures.
Certainly, not the dudes who wrote the emoluments clause....but then, they couldn't anticipate everything. Certainly not a Putin-tool installed with the backing of the of the Russian/GOP white supremacist alliance.
The Constitution doesn't even refer to political parties.
Who could have anticipated that a major party would form an alliance with an enemy nation?
Not me.
And not the founding fathers.
70
The founding fathers were tax evaders and slaveholders. They gave us the electoral college that gave us Bush Jr and Trump. I wish I could go back and hang the founding fathers. Then we might be Canadian.
I wonder if they count the silverware (goldware?) after each meal?
13
No doubt, cheap Chinese steel flatware, gold plated.
Imagine what we would hear had President Obama needed to spend his weekends playing golf at his luxury resort, breaking records for such travels, and charging the public for the incurred costs for moving him and the Secret Service! Safe to say, that response would be louder than the current collective shrug.
95
I live in Florida. I am a retired casino guy from Atlantic City. I work casino parties and even worked an event at Mar Largo with the ”Donald” looking on. He is an ex-casino mogul after all. Most all of stare road A 1A. that Mar Largo sits on is closed during President Trumps stays. No big deal. This section of Palm Beach was a solid snotty, anti-Semitic, anti-minority embarrassing over the top estate. The so-called class-conscious residents hold our President responsible for making their private neighborhood ”low class” Kudos President Trump, you took down the”snobs” that ran Palm Beach as a separate feifdom.
Speaking of gold leaf - one of the useful properties of gold is that it can be formed into sheets four millionths of an inch thick. Coincidentally, that's almost exactly the thickness of The Donald's veneer of class.
60
Who cares about President Trump?
I'm disappointed in Abe. I worked and lived in Japan for years, as the son of a US Army colonel and builder of 300 housing units after the Kobe earthquake of 1995.
Japan is a beautiful country with a proud heritage. Abe should have told Trump what he could do with his gold and orange atrocity.
49
Wondering if Trump will try to claim that U.S. taxpayers should pay for even more costs related to Mar a Lago -- maintenance, personnel, etc. He seems to be laying the groundwork for such a claim.
68
Overlooked is the fact that none of the traditional oligarch clubs in Palm Beach (rightfully) would accept DJT for membership. Consequently, MarALago was acquired to remedy this sociall default. The pending danger is that favored caddies, waiters and valet parking staff will eventually form a DJT cabinet or repopulate the State Department.
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People, which part of this makes you most unnerved? The fact that Gail is offended by Trump’s pride in his resort or the fact that she devotes a significant part of a column to telling us exactly what Trump told us about it?
Rather than comment on what was actually SAID by the two leaders at that Abe news conference, Gail offers a quiz to attack EPA’s Pruitt and, Trump and his southern resort. Seems that Trump is taking a brief victory lap to celebrate what he’s accomplished so far furriner-wise: taking ISIS to the brink of extinction; punishing Assad, with two major allies, for his use of chemical weapons against his own people but in a way that doesn’t commit us to that forever-cesspool of war, genocide and disintegration that is the Syria that Obama made by NOT vindicating his OWN red-line on chemical weapons; NOT being the guy who blinked when he stood eye-to-belt with Kim Jong-un, perhaps stopping the eternal process of can-kicking that other presidents embraced on the subjects of nuclear weapons and kimchi; getting much of the world to agree to renegotiating bilateral trade agreements while avoiding a global trade war by granting “exemptions” on our new tariffs to trading partners – even with China, so far, which surprised even me; and getting Euros to think seriously about paying more to defend THEMSELVES against the Bear and Islamist hijinks.
It’s hard to criticize Trump for these accomplishments, and far easier to criticize chandeliers and gold leaf on utensils.
1
What a bizarre alternative world you live in. According to you Trump is not only wonderful but someone who is changing the world. The fact that his character leaves much to be desired, that he is on the warpath with the US intelligence community and US law enforcement agencies is of no consequence. That he is making life miserable for the Dreamers after claiming great sympathy for them is irrelevant.Calling Mexicans rapists and murderers is perfectly normal behavior. Contradicting his own envoy at the UN on Russian sanctions is a quite reasonable way to conduce foreign policy, What is there to worry about? He obviously knows what he is doing and people should stop criticizing and get on with the program (if they can figure out what the program is).
117
Punishing Assad? After the first sortie, Assad was bombing his own people within days. This time, he is openly defiant, perhaps because he knows Trump doesn’t want to annoy Vlad. (Riddle: what’s the difference between a chickpea and a lentil? Answer; Trump never asked to see a lentil). And I’m not sure about his brilliant negotiating skills. Trump changes his mind so often that not even Nikki Haley knows what’s going on. It is premature to say that Isis is annihilated. They have taken a beating but Syria is a failed state and a humanitarian disaster and Trump has no policy deeper than a Tweet, He has alienated his allies— his disapproval rating in my country is in the 90’s — and although he has a whim of iron, he seems to have a little trouble concentrating, America’s word at this point means almost nothing. When everyone is checking Fox and Friends to see which piece of misinformation Trump has swallowed, we should all be very worried.
40
@RichardL, on Trump's balance sheet as president we might indeed find some assets: the 2 attacks on Syria, trying to start a dialog with North Korea, the progress against ISIS and a healthy economy. Now we would have to discount the progress on ISIS and the economy because Obama handed Trump policies that were already working. But let's give credit where do.
But then we'd have to look at his liabilities: appointing cabinet members who break laws on expenses, are destroying public education and the environment, passing a tax cut for the wealthy and corporations that will balloon the deficit that Trump himself called a "disaster" under Obama. Oh, and possible obstruction of justice.
On balance, we find that Trump is well on his way to another bankruptcy. That's par for the course for Trump. Only this time, we are all stakeholders.
34
I despise many things about Donald Trump but one of the top things that burns me up about his money grubbing habits is that he charges the Secret Service full price for golf cart rental to chase his oversized posterior all over the golf course. Full price! Is Trump even aware they are there to protect his life or does he think they are there for him to profit financially by sticking it to the Secret Service?
536
There is no end to the insufferable gall of this man but what is wrong with the Secret Service that it allows Trump to bill THEM for protecting HIM?
77
Sticking it to the Secret Service? He's sticking it to us -- you and me -- us taxpayers.
The man is a blight upon this earth.....
20
And the Secret Service sticks it to .......?
6
I enjoyed a small bit of protest tonight as I pulled up to cross Southern Boulevard at Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach and was stopped for one the frequent processions of Trump heading from Mar-a-Lago back to the airport. I was the first car in line and at 9 PM I got out and stood waiting for his motorcade to pass. When they approached I stood in front of my headlights, turned my back, lifted my arms and gave him a double thumbs down. Hope he saw me.
942
Is that what democracy looks like?
Well, I suppose it is. (Man, are we powerless, or what? About the worst thing we can do is take 45 off our Christmas card mailing list and wait till 2020.)
7
I salute you but do be careful - a woman got herself arrested by a Texas sheriff for doing something similar.
16
Should have given him middle fingers up.
19
Mar a Lago has become an institution of the Trump administration. Not in a good way.
Last year, also while hosting Abe at the resort, Trump went over classified information during dinner, loudly enough to be heard.
Then there was that peculiar incident where Trump was supposed to be explaining a foreign policy move and abruptly advertised Mar a Lago, describing ‘the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake’ more enthusiastically than his course of action unfolding in Florida.
It is also disconcerting how much official business takes place at Trump’s resort. At a minimum, we should have Mar a Lago’s visitor logs made public. It’s not a private establishment anymore.
295
Dina Merrill, the daughter of Mrs. Post, spent part of her childhood at Mar a Lago. She must be turning in her grave to see this once lovely private home debased.
9
The man seems totally unfamiliar with the rules of decent behavior... a lowlife. From another country, one might find him amusing, as fabulously ignorant people frequent appear. (They're not laughing WITH you, Dondon... they're laughing AT you, in amazement.)
8
The general public has always been able to gain admission to the real White House. This one, on the other hand, requires an admittance fee that is well beyond the means of most Americans (and especially the ones who voted for Trump). Anyway, glad to have you back, Gail! You've been missed.
401
Trump's Cabinet are mostly rich, so it bugs me that they have to have taxpayers funding all their little perks. But I guess they are just following the "leader," who put several relatives on the federal payroll and appears to view the presidency as just another marketing opportunity.
114
And 40% of our country blindly support this President.
We need to take our country back in 2018 and 2020. Organize. Protest. Register. Vote!
738
"Vote!"
Who's in charge of ordering the paper for our ballots?
Trump really wants to remain in power, and Russia is very interested in exactly the same thing. Wasn't there a NYT story just the other day about Russian cybersecurity threats against the United States? And don't you think China would like to come along for the ride, too?
28
To "Organize. Protest. Register. Vote!," I would add that Democrats should nominate candidates without a lot of baggage who are electable. I will have more confidence when Democrats acknowledge their mistake in nominating Hillary Clinton.
6
MC: Take it back from whom? What we really need to do is to develop some tolerance an respect for each other by uniting a leader who can bring us together as One Nation before we wind up killing and eating each other.
When will Trump Enterprises open a Taj Mahal III in Branson? Doesn't he need a midwest White House too? Granted we don't care about gold flake or $ 20,000 memberships but we do love a straight shootin billionaire.
15
It’s a $200,000 membership fee, not $20,000!
1
You reveal your midwest values. That was not a $20,000 membership, it was a $200,000 membership.
1
How about one that shoots holes in the Constitution?
3
Is this numbness I'm feeling? Stop! No, this is my rage, distorted, choking me. Each time I read about the stupidity. greed, petulance and hypersized ego, my mind fights Hulk sized rage! Let's just take up a collection and pay him off.
124
Pay him off? I want a refund on all the taxpayer dollars that criminal has sucked up. And then I want him, Pruitt, Hannity, et al doing hard time.
76
If the word "tacky" did not exist, we would have to invent it to describe Donald Trump.
516
Donald Trump is a poor man's vision of a rich man.
8
"Trumpy": synonym for "tacky".
Like most Trump properties, Mar-A-Lago is decorated like a 19th century New Orleans Bordello.
One has to admire the impulse to historical preservation, I guess.
250
Some day we’ll all look back on the trump era and laugh...although it’ll probably take a few generations...
53
Isn’t similar to how the ‘good germans’ felt in the early 30’s? Thats a bold example, but unfortunately it’s also a fitting one.
11
No I don’t think we will ever laugh about these times they have cost us millions and millions of dollars, respect for our nation, loss of our allies, the rise of racism, Phenomenal polarization in our nation, shall I go on?
1
Maybe umpteen generations...
1
It's hard to know which exceeds the other -- Trump's tastelessness, or his shamelessness.
336
How about the lack of intelligence and, or the possession of basic information?
14
'It's hard to know which exceeds the other -- Trump's tastelessness, or his shamelessness.'
...or his chastelessness?
11
Emoluments! What are the laws on emoluments?
65
Yes. The obvious question, I've been puzzling over this too. Why do we have to wait for the Mueller collusion/corruption findings? Why can't action be taken on the emoluments clause? Is it just not being reported? They keep saying Trump has X million court cases running against him ... is this one?
82
Yes. A case brought by Maryland and D.C. The case in ongoing.
3
Yes. That is, at least one...
To answer your question: The president who doesn’t make any sense when he talks.
25
Pathetic little man and we foot the bill. When are our elected officials going to develop a spine and demand "ENOUGH!". Likely not going to happen.
60
Mr. Trump & most of his administration view working at the White House as a personal opportunity. Rather than saying "how can I serve my country", they say " how will this opportunity serve me".
Regarding today's meeting with Mr. Abe, why wasn't it held at the White House? Instead, it was held at the President's commercial property - one that employs 70 H2B visa holders, no less. What's wrong with Camp David? Is it sitting empty with a staff that we're paying for?
I did get a big laugh out of today's press conference. Trump taking credit for the success of the Olympics - what an ego!
212
And Camp David has a golf course, with available carts.
6
"But we’ve never had one who managed to hit all three markers, while simultaneously using the nation’s highest office to further his private asset accumulation."
We don't know what his assets are because he won't release his tax returns. Maybe what he has "accumulated" are late payments on loans from Vladimir Putin.
This Presidency is Fool's Gold Leaf.
85
Ms. Collins, I'm never unnerved by the president's nonsensical statements because he's no better than that. He snubs the Emoluments Clause because Congress allows him to, it's that simple.
The president promised to bring coal back to Appalachia but that's not going to happen. When he wined and dined foreign heads of state, such as the scandal-plagued Japanese Prime Minister, it's a safe bet that the plight of West Virginia coal miners never came up.
Kellyanne Conway plugged Ivanka's clothing and perfume line, was sent to the doghouse for a while by her boss but now all is forgiven.
Yes, Ms. Collins, this is a gold-leaf presidency. And don't forget the Cabinet. It's inlaid with the finest gold money can buy. Just ask the taxpayers.
136
In the mid 70's I attended a party in the most primitive surroundings imaginable. It was in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, up a 20 mile dirt road. The hosts, who lived in a tar paper shack without running water or electricity, roasted an entire wild boar, complete with the apple in its mouth.
It was an extremely hot day. The banquet table was a series of rough planks. We all took our food and sat around on rocks and stumps to eat. When I went back for seconds, I poked the pig with the carving fork. The entire side of the pig collapsed into a sea of maggots. Everywhere I poked that pig it dissolved into a sea of maggots. I wasn't drunk enough to swallow that pig. I feel the same way about Trump. Everywhere we poke that pig, maggots come gushing out. I cannot possibly get drunk enough to swallow what he feeds us.
395
This comment almost made me gag but was a perfect description of the Trump presidency - poke it hard enough and it's slimy innards are revealed, engorged with maggots.
Sometimes the truth is so horrid, we find it difficult to face, but face it we must so we can act to address it.
Act in 2018 and vote.
104
Comment of the year, Mr Cousins.
17
DELISH!
4
Just for the record Gail, that $200,000 Mar-a-Lago membership fee was only a meager $100,000 prior to the Fake President's election victory. Presto, after last November it was doubled to that present figure. Membership, as they say, has its advantages!
How far away from the "Southern White House" is the swampy Everglades? It must be lapping right up to the golf course. MAGA.
101
I thought Xi was against golf because it was wasteful and class-based. Don't remember seeing him with clubs.
18
Emoluments, Emoluments, Emoluments... My favorite topic for weekly phone calls to R-Congresswoman Stefanik, NY. She is being challenged by Democrat Tedra Cobb who actually lives in our district. Cobb will hold town hall meetings, Stefanik has had two.
This story is dear to my heart.
97
Thank you for clarifying the real background of Mar a Lardo. I was home sick, unable to change the channel, and had the misfortune to overhear the comments. I, too, was all agog. Did Ms. Post intend to run for office?
16
Maybe she left a box of Bran lakes for Donald to become a 'regular' guy
I also hope you have noticed that Trump has 45 embroidered on his shirt cuffs.
Is there something slightly seedy about having to advertise that every time you reach out to shake someone's hand, or have all presidents done that? It's the first time I've ever noticed.
208
Fitzgerald couldn't have made that up. Thank you for sharing that wonderful, surrealist detail with us.
63
Noticed that too, but my main takeaway was surprise that he didn’t have french cuffs with gold (plated) ‘45’ cuff links. It seems Trump has already skewed my opinions. Sad.
10
Maybe that's the sleeve length in cm? Or a laundry marker? There must be some reason other than an incredibly insecure ego. There must be.
9
Everyone talks about Trump tailoring his policy making (or, more accurately, faking) to cement his appeal to his base. But few ever speak of that segment of voters that he has continuously, unfailingly wooed: the tacky demographic. Unlike other guises he has adopted out of opportunism or expedience since his campaign began (pro-gun, anti-choice, follower of Christ, practicer of monogamy, somebody stop me), he genuinely has an aesthetic affinity with the tacky demographic, and they in turn feel a kinship with him and his hideous tastes.
44
Trump is the same person he always was, save for a bit of degenerative brain disease.
It's our deranged electorate that are truly terrifying--the ones whose hatred, anger, and bigotry feed into his vortex of destruction--the ones who will remain after Trump goes away.
This man is worse than even the most pessimistic among us could have imagined. He is destroying our country, and our planet, day by day in ways no one could have imagined in their most depressingly hyperbolic dreams.
126
This is a man who has absolutely no integrity or dignity. While the greatest impediment to all of the evils of the world are the moral compasses within us, this man simply hasn’t one. He very simply does not ever understand that he is being hypocritical, because it simply doesn’t register. If it weren’t so sad, it would be funny.
43
If only the transgressions, flaws and shortcomings mentioned in this piece were some sort of compendium.
Instead, they serve merely as a Cliff's Notes to the current administration - which appears to have hired just about everyone who makes Cliff Claven look like the optimal federal employee.
20
Look on the bright side - having Mar-a-lago has possibly prevented gilding of the White House and any attempts to rename it (with big sign, too) after you-know-who.
53
However, notice that the drapes he chose for the oval office are...ta da!...gold!
1
During the campaign Trump suggested that he could probably be President and run his family business at the same time. Promise made. Promise kept. The man is shameless in his arrogance and self-promotion.And to be fair he has delivered on his campaign commitments.Well some of them.
31
Tax cuts for the rich, but what else? No infrastructure, no better cheaper health care, more troops bogged down in battles around the world, Israel possible going to war with Iran. What's not to like?
30
Let's not forget one of the most telling moments of Trump's presidency, something that showed his true colors.
It was a few nights after the passing of that terrible tax cut he made a visit to Mar-a-Lago, checking in with all the guests, the same guests that pay over $200,000 for the privilege of a Mar-a-Lago membership.
He strolled among his guests and gloated over his tax cut, “You all just got a lot richer" because of the tax cuts.
That's all you to know about Donald J. Trump.
And to think that many of his supporters voted for him because it was a way to stick it to "coastal elites".
SAD!
398
"his supporters voted for him because it was a way to stick it to "coastal elites"."
The sad fact is, 65-70% of his supporters live in welfare-stricken states like KY, TN,ARK..just to name a few. Their welfare checks are paid from taxes on high-income "coastal elites".
Not only do they owe us a thank you ( we are their sugar-daddy), but an apology as well, for voting for this fraudster.
1
Everything about Trump is a disgrace.
It's an indelible stain on the honor of the USA.
85
Brad,
Sorry, he ain't alone.
We have 60+ million white-Americans who blindly and willfully support him.
5
Trump might have bought Mar-a-Lago, but he can't buy class or dignity. As for his "golden" presidency, Trump is actually a "reverse King Midas": Everything he touches turns rotten...
145
Do 30 million Americans think, "Wowee, this is just what I'd be like If I were rich! I'd be soaking the taxpayers, bragging and lying constantly, grabbing felines whenever I felt like it, and telling John Q Law to stick it!"? Really?
68
I think that’s very likely true. It’s also what many of us can’t understand.
5
Sadly I don’t think you’re too far off.
1
"The point is that you can't be too greedy."
- page 48, Trump: The Art of the Con
That's the man's life story, in a gilded white trash nutshell.
A greedy malignant narcissist who was never hugged as a child saw a branding opportunity in the Birther Lie and successfully marketed that lie to his lowlife White Wonder Bread TV-customer audience who catapulted him to the nation's cockpit by virtue of Grand Old Poison fertilizing the countryside with cultured stupidity, the good old slave-era Electoral College and a Russian-Republican joint venture.
What's not to like about a Snake Oil Salesman gone to Washington to clean up the nation by turning it into his personal 3rd world corrupt swamp ?
"Why can't we have the madmen rulers that the 3rd-world has ?", Trump is effectively saying.
"Other countries have dictators, clowns and creeps running their countries into the ground...doesn't America deserve that, too ?"
And 40% of voters cheer on this fake-haired shyster as if he were actually a President.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
- Carl Sagan
November 6 2018.
Don't blow it, America.
Hit the Presidential bamboozle EJECT voter button.
886
Carl Sagan's words are a perfect scary summation. Thank you for posting.
47
I think that's one of the things I find most distressing - the fact that no matter how much evidence & facts are pointed out to the Cult45 followers, they simply refuse to believe it. Are they ignorant? Are they embarrassed to change their minds? Are they simply delusional? I don't know, but I'm not sure I want to be associated with a country that has so many whackadoodles in it.
27
Awesome. Someone who has read Trump (Trump's ghost I suppose) and Sagan. Are you feeling OK?
I find myself unable to even write a short essay about this evil imitation homo sapiens.
I watched the PBS Frontline show last night about John McCain, an honorable man whom this imitation uncivilized (I hate to use the word man for him) but it would be an insult to others in the animal kingdom to refer to him as even a rattle snake, attacked, a disgusting display of hatred and bigotry.
His attack on McCain for voting down the ACA was just plain evil, no other words can describe it, and his personal attacks are just more of the same.
However, what is even worse, is that 40% of the citizens of this country follow these vicious attacks on honest and decent people. What has happened to our national sense of right and wrong? how can the GOP stand by and not say a word about such attacks on our very moral foundation. attacks on the news, the law, court rulings, the truth and even call themselves Americans.
The have no shame, they are traitors to this country and all the people here. In a few short months they and he have destroyed the admiration and esteem this country has been held in for 242 years, a great civilization being eaten from within by a few dishonest, greedy relics of an authoritarian age.
When history is written, they will be seen for the villains they are. There is no excuse for them, they are despicable to the core.
678
David,"how can the GOP stand by and not say a word about such attacks on our very moral foundation. attacks on the news, the law, court rulings, the truth and even call themselves Americans." Answer: M-O-N-E-Y
31
"40% of the citizens of this country follow these vicious attacks on honest and decent people. What has happened to our national sense of right and wrong?"
25 Years of Murdoch's FIX News got us here today. Murdoch will not rest until he sees this country split in half.
24
It's not enough to wait for that. The private sector offers us a way to compete with these traitors state by state, company by company, school by school, and tourist venue by tourist venue. They know this. They even have a name for it: they call this the "cultural leviathan" that permits us to direct our money away from these cancerous pockets and seditious interests. Two things need to be front and center for us: one, we are in a war; and two, the most powerful weapons are on the side of the reality-based community.
15
Mar-a-Lago brings in lots of cash
It doesn't serve bangers and mash
It's a fancy Hotel
Overdone too, as well,
And with foreign diplomats a smash.
Should we deny Donald income?
it should come to a tidy sum
Those payoffs cost plenty
They aren't low renty
And those Women just won't keep mum.
145
It’s got to be humiliating for reporters—people who pride themselves on being good communicators—to have to cover the most incoherent human being on the planet. Thoughts enter his brain only when they’ve given up the will to live. It’s a graveyard for grammar and a cemetery for sentences. Whatever comes out of his mouth must leave such a bad taste that it explains why he scwunches up his widdle face and grimaces when he talks.
And this guy is running the country—into the ground, mind you—but he’s running it nonetheless. He’s purported to be filthy rich, but who knows? He won’t reveal his tax returns, and he lies like the cheap rug that is echoed by his improbably immobile coif.
So with the kind of untutored crassness of a mid-level mob boss that passes for grace, he invites people to his gilded palace between the ocean and the lake (mar-a-lago), and invites in dignitaries who don’t care who they're seen with.
To be fair, he’s an idiot, but he was elected by the “people” so we can’t say that America doesn’t deserve him. How would we expect such a cartoon doofus to behave? Not like a cultured, empathetic, intelligent and gracious man like Barack Obama, whose shoes he is not worthy to shine.
So we’re stuck with him and his gilded pleasure-dome until some porn star, Russian low-life or kinky video appears that his supporters can’t sweep under the tattered, faux-silk rug. Then maybe we can elect a person worth of the office.
1479
What a delightful writer you are! "Thoughts enter his brain only when they've given up the will to live.." had me laughing out loud. Thank you for that.
77
Brilliant :-) I sit here, getting ready to grade freshman comp papers, and the phrase "a graveyard for grammar and a cemetery for sentences" is so a propos - whatever that says about the man in the White House. I always tell my students that they shouldn't model their writing (and overall communication) on his, but it's difficult to refute them when they come back with, "But, but, but - he made it to the PRESIDENCY!"
Sigh....
47
You made my morning!! Thank you!
35
Our past few presidents have at least had the decency to wait until they office to start capitalizing on their presidential experience. Yet they also have charitable foundations that also support a meaningful cause and make a difference in the world. That's American capitalism at its finest. Wealth isn't evil and in the right hands can do amazing things.
Trump is the first president to actively use the presidency to enhance his personal finances while still in office and I'm hopeful he'll be the last. The emoluments clause was put in the Constitution to stop this type of behavior. Sadly Congress hasn't seen fit to enforce it.
After Nixon's abuse of the presidency reforms were introduced to restore the credibility of our government. I don't expect anything significant to happen while Trump's still our president but I'm hopeful that we'll return to our presidential norms post Trump and take steps to ensure that we don't encourage this type of graft while in office going forward.
We can't allow ourselves to become numb to unpresidential behavior. Thank you for using your column to educate us while making us laugh.
320
Having to enact laws to prevent bad people from being elected to high office is a terrible thing. That means lawmakers are acting on the belief that the electorate isn’t always capable of making reasonable decisions. Now that’s a canary in a coal mine if I’ve ever heard one. And that was over 40 years ago!
22
Well, now that we know that 'bad' people can become president, we need to write well-crafted laws to prevent them from continuing their bad behavior while in office.
One can hope that he is not waiting, but capitalizing on his presidency while in office because he will be making license plates for President Sander's SUV (Subaru of course) in a few short years.
4
I can understand how a lot of Trump's followers imagine his life as how they would live if they were rich -- model wife, private jet and politically incorrect. Sadly, he has surrounded himself with swamp creatures instead of the brilliant cabinet he promised. Even Ronald Reagan would shudder and he appointed James Watt as his Interior Secretary who thought that a wilderness area was a parking lot without lines.
351
I can’t recall who said it. “He’s the poor person’s idea of what a rich person is.”
211
So True. Sad.
5
Not sure, but it might have been Paul Krugman, who also noted that he's a stupid person's idea of a smart man.
The remarks of His Unhinged Unraveling Unfitness upon Abe's arrival at Mar-a-Loco were another grotesque low for the high office of POTUS; surely, the typically publicly modest Japanese people were embarrassed for us.
We kept waiting for the theme song of 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' to start trilling.
In addition to all the amounts taxpayers have spent flying the Orange Jabberwock on his 21st Century high-tech version of Cleopatra's Barge, the Emoluments Clause in the Constitution is being trashed with all the fees charged back to tax-payers by Mar-a-Loco for the government staff flying down to support/protect the Gilded Infomercial welcoming remarks. Probably a nice boost to income in a month when 'the season' winds down in Palm Beach.
Until Mueller and his heroe have done their job, we've managed to teach Fido to growl each time the Pumpkin Bambino appears on-screen, and Catbert & Catbert spontaneously cough up furballs with each stomach-turning daily episode of public kowtowing, malfeasance, and careening off the guardrails - it's being dismissed as 'disruption', but disruption means there's a new paradigm to put in place.
Chaos is certainly not 'disruption'; not even if it's controlled chaos.
224
We should also factor in the amount the secret service pays for golf carts, accommodations, meals, etc.
49
Trump's Mar-a-Lago shows his emperor-like sensibilities, but I am at least glad to know it will be one of the first buildings underwater as the warming oceans rise.
67
@EricR - That's where the violations of the Emoluments Clause come into play.
27
I suspect one of many changes the Congress will be making post-Trump is to limit the President's budget for security and travel. This Mar-a-Lago and New Bedminster golf habit is obscene, especially for such an underachiever who can't even manage to staff key positions. He can pay for his constant state of vacationing out of his own pocket.
So the President drives across his golf course greens in his little cart chased by Secret Service agents while the government remains in a state of semi-hibernation.
Putin rubs his hands in glee at his good fortune, a US government under attack by Russian intelligence operations and taking no defensive actions because the President hasn't asked them to, for some strange reason. Too busy Tweet-denying all of his misdeeds, I guess.
BTW, Trump wastes more in a single weekend at Mar-a-Lago then all of the spending scandals of his Cabinet Secretaries combined. Its almost as if they were intended as diversions from the real spending scandal in the White House.
1343
Former President Obama was justifiably criticized for being tone deaf with the constant vacations to Hawaii. The costs were estimated to be around 100 million over eight years. Judicial Watch labeled Obama's travel costs as "a notorious abuse of presidential travel perks that wasted military resources and stressed the Secret Service.
It is all but certain that Crooked Trump will blow through more taxpayer money traveling in one year than Wasteful Obama did in eight.
When will the serfs storm Washington to stop the abuse of our money by the ruling elite?
58
You lost me at "Former President Obama was justifiably criticized for being tone deaf with the constant vacations to Hawaii."
And then you quote Judicial Watch as a reliable truth teller?
Obama paid for his private vacations. The Secret Service is paid for by taxpayers, because the President is always protected, regardless. Bush spent his time in Crawford with Secret Service protection, and helicopter travel; how much did Judicial Watch think that cost? Trump does no work in the WH; he does not work in FL. Perhaps that is a good thing. If he actually did something serious, it would not be to our benefit. We can thank our allies for keeping the Iran Agreement in place. He is possibly the most incompetent, unqualified, least educated man to ever live in the WH. The current rag tag Congress has managed to do nothing to restrain him, much like kids who are afraid to take down the playground bully. I don't know anyone who watches or listens to him; it is just that awful.