Trump’s Continuing Grift

There’s a sucker born every minute.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Insert whatever turn of phrase you like, as it pertains to the slow witted being duped out of their cash, and it all applies.

When it comes to the Branch Trumpidian cult, the grift is endless, and I can’t say I feel sorry for any of them.

Shortly before the 2020 election, I was bombarded with an avalanche of fundraising text messages. Each was sent from some member of Donald Trump’s inner circle. Each was more desperate than the last, pleading with me to help stop the impending destruction of a Democrat win.

For weeks after the election and Joe Biden’s victory, I received those same texts. I couldn’t stop and block them, fast enough. These were of the “Stop the Steal” variety of pointless nonsense, pre-insurrection.

And now we get a clearer view of the urgency behind those texts: Trump knew he was gone and he needed to get as much cash as he could, on his way out the door.

A new report reveals how the now-former president used political fundraising for his own, personal enrichment. As it turns out, he was funneling that money straight into his pocket.

The former president’s reelection campaign moved roughly $2.8 million from donors into the Trump Organization over his term, including at least $81,000 since Mr Trump lost the election, according to Forbes, based on campaign finance reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

One of his campaign’s joint-fundraising groups working with the Republican Party also moved another $4.3 million from donors into the former president’s business over the course of his time in office, including $331,000 after Election Day.

Just soak that up, for a bit.

The thread of those pleading texts was that more funding was needed to fight the Democrat machine and preserve life, liberty, and the American dream. The reality was that Donald Trump was taking a cut for his personal business interests.

A week after news media outlets called the results of the election for Joe Biden, a joint-fundraising committee paid his hotels nearly $300,000 for room rentals, space and catering.

Nearly a month after Election Day, the campaign paid $38,000 to Trump Tower Commercial LLC, the business under which the former president owns a stake in his namesake tower in New York.

The presidency was one, big money-making scam for Donald Trump.

He made more than 500 visits to his properties while in office, while 346 executive branch officials made 993 visits to his properties while he was in office, and at least 143 members of Congress made 361 visits to properties he owns, according to Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington.

His campaign and the joint-fundraising committee with the RNC, along with Trump-affiliated super PAC America First Action, spent more than $7 million and held 32 events at properties owned by the former president, CREW found.

The watchdog organization found that special interest groups likely spent more than $13 million at properties he owns.

Sweet bucks!

You would think that with the dust settled and Joebama Biden getting settled into his own, big government/tax-and-spend groove, that the nation could close the book on the Trump family con.

You would be mistaken.

There is still the matter of the insane conspiracy cabal, Q-anon. These are the diehards, and no amount of reality can break through the fortress of crazy they’ve built around themselves.

The current line of misinformation and meth-addled thinking they’re spewing (considering everything else Q predicted has failed to materialize) is that the actual inauguration day is March 4, 2021. Trump won (of course) and would be sworn in on that day.

What has Donald Trump done to tamp down this idiocy?

Nothing.

He’s putting out notes on letterheads that bear a copycat version of the presidential seal, referring to himself as the 45^th president, rather than the “former” president, and he’s making ready to the flood of Q fools that will likely show up in Washington D.C. on March 4.

Coincidentally, the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, has hiked the prices of suites around that day. Some room rates at the hotel, just blocks from the White House, have almost tripled for March 3 and 4, Forbes’ Suzanne Rowan Kelleher reported.

Now, I’ll admit this is a risk. It hinges on the belief that the troglodytes that follow Q have jobs, and don’t spend all day and night smoking meth and disconnecting from the real world.

While a deluxe-king room would usually cost $476 to $596 around March, the price for March 3 and 4 this year was $1,331 per night, Forbes reported.

The price hike appeared to be exclusive to the Trump International Hotel, Forbes said, citing Zach Everson’s 1100 Pennsylvania newsletter. Other luxury hotels around the White House appeared to have standard rates for March 3 and 4, Everson said.

So why is it that only Trump’s property is jacking up the room rates, and why on those days?

Apparently, Q-anon is a hodge-podge of LARPing and “Sovereign Citizen” rhetoric.

I’ve had dealings with so-called “Sovereign Citizens,” in my line of work. They actually believe that the laws of this nation don’t apply to them (they make them up, as they go). They also have some twisted belief that a law passed in 1871 turned our nation into a corporation, thereby exempting them from a host of federal laws.

Apparently, there was a time when presidents were inaugurated on March 4, rather than January 20. Ulysses S. Grant was the last to be inaugurated on March 4, therefore, according to sovereign citizens (and QAnuts), he was the last legitimate president. Trump, however, is coming to regain that day, and the presidency! Just you wait and see!

Truly, I look forward to everyone who follows this line of thinking to dig deep into their savings and head to D.C. for the “inauguration.” I want them to stretch their resources to the last dime, just to be a part of this historic moment.

I want them to let their electric bills go, if necessary.

I want them to give, until it hurts.

I don’t blame Donald Trump for taking advantage of them. He’s always been a con artist. It’s what is expected of him.

Who I blame are the Republican lawmakers that continue to feed into wretched Trumpism, whether out of fear, ambition, or naked partisanship.

They deserve to go down in flames, along with the dupes who refuse to embrace reality.