In his first government he hosted dignitaries in hotels that bear his name, at expense of the treasury // He puts his brand on tennis shoes, caps and even Bibles // Donors await their returns
▲ The future president of the United States, Donald Trump, promotes his book on social networks Save America.Photo taken from X
Jim Cason and David Brooks
Correspondents
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, December 16, 2024, p. 21
Washington and New York. The text arrived this December: congratulations, you are invited to Trump’s inaugurationwith a link to confirm ticketsand from there it leads to an invitation to buy a Trump Metal Gold Card for $47, which offers the opportunity to participate in a lottery where the prize is one of those tickets announced at the beginning of the message, to be able to attend the inauguration. of the next president, on January 20.
The US election is over, but Trump and his people do not stop seeking money from his supporters, whether they are a billionaire or a worker. Beyond the gold cards, hats (they’re on sale right now with discounts for Christmas), and photos, his fundraising organization Make America Great Again, Inc. will sponsor a candlelight gala dinner next week in Florida for the next president, with an entrance price of one million dollars per person (the menu has not yet been disclosed), reported the Washington Post. That price guarantees not only a place at the dinner table on December 19, but also good seats at the presidential inauguration ceremony, on January 20 in Washington, DC.
For decades, Trump has been a master at monetizing everything in his life, be it real estate, his reality show The Apprentice and even the presidency. He puts his brand, which is his last name, on everything – in the past to his buildings, hotels and golf clubs, to an aviation company, ties, beef steaks and for a time even a private university (closed for fraud) – including today their government plans and even sacred texts.
A businessman, whose father did business with Trump, told The Day that the Republican’s real estate company was famous for promising to pay a certain amount, and then refusing to do so, thereby provoking lawsuits with the result that they were forced to pay only 90 or 80 percent of what they owed. In The apprenticeTrump received a salary, but also negotiated other agreements for sponsor products and forced producers to rent space for the show at Trump Towers.
When the magnate entered the White House for the first time, he still owned a hotel that was less than 10 blocks from the presidential residence where official visitors, lobbyists and others who wanted to meet the president used to stay, paying luxury prices at the price. Trump’s company to please the tenant of the publicly subsidized home. In 2017, Trump promised to transfer control of his businesses to his children to avoid conflicts of interest, but an analysis by the organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW) found that he obtained more than 160 million dollars from foreign governments while he held the presidency between 2017 and 2021.
Trump hosted government meetings with foreign dignitaries at his hotels and golf courses in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Scotland, among others, which cost the federal government millions of dollars, the report reported. Washington Post.But money flowed even more generously after he left the presidency. Jared Kushner, the famous son-in-law married to Ivanka Trump, whose official White House work in his father-in-law’s first administration included pushing for an agreement between some Arab countries and Israel, was the first in the family to benefit. Kushner established an investment company with an initial amount of $2 billion from an investment fund managed by the government of Saudi Arabia.
These links are still valid. Shortly after Trump’s election victory in November, Yasir al Rumayyan, current director of a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, was photographed sitting with Trump and the first buddy Elon Musk at an extreme fight event in New York City.
Much of the fundraising is based on very small donations, but in large numbers. Beyond the caps, water bottles, t-shirts and other campaign materials, there are other items for sale. For example, the official Donald Trump footwear It is a gold-colored tennis shoe available for only $200 a pair. Trump attended a sneaker convention to promote his product.
For those seeking divine inspiration, the Bible God Bless America of Trump is available for only $59.99, which not only contains the religious text in format for easy readingbut also a copy of the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the lyrics of the country song chorus God bless USA. But there is also a special edition: for only a thousand dollars, you can purchase a copy of the Bible with the autograph of the next president of the United States. The business has great potential: Oklahoma’s state legislature passed a law this year requiring the state’s public school system to purchase 55,000 Bibles to exact specifications. Trump Bible. Ordinary ones can be purchased for about $6. After protests in that state about the cost – not the requirement – lawmakers changed their law.
There are no indications that Trump’s monetization will slow when he returns to the White House. The tycoon has made the vast majority of his announcements about the formation of his government through his Truth Social network, in which he has an investment of 3 billion dollars, and this time he has not promised to separate from his businesses when he reaches the presidency. Trump’s inauguration committee, which pays for gala balls and other events beyond the official one, where he assumes the top job, has already received donations from the country’s leading businessmen, and that despite the fact that many of them had sworn not to give him another fifth after the coup attempt in early 2021.
Zuckerberg and Bezos, in the front row
Among those who lined up to contribute at least a million each to the celebration are Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
But perhaps the biggest monetization of this presidential election will be disguised as something else: the massive business of government contracts that the president’s friends, and those who pretend to be friends, could receive. Over the next four years, the special interests that returned Trump to the presidency expect a return on their investmentcommented Democratic Senator Ron Wyden to the New Republic.
The biggest benefit for the ultra-rich will come in the form of more tax cuts that Trump has promised to push through. Less clear is what those workers and other low-income people who voted for the billionaire and who bought hats, T-shirts, Bibles and sneakers will receive in exchange for their support. Some will be able to keep their Trump gold card, even if they don’t win the lottery to go to his inauguration.
