Although Fox News reporter Ellison Barber did her best to make Donald Trump’s salute to himself sound like the Salute to America he’s pretending it is, buried in the middle of the glowing thoughts was the fact that the Trump administration doesn’t want anyone to know how much this political rally is costing American taxpayers. Not mentioned at all is how much he stands to personally profit from it.
On the supposedly “straight news” show, America’s Newsroom, co-anchor Sandra Smith feigned neutrality on the July 4th Trumpaganza by saying, in her introduction, “The president facing some criticism for his Salute to America tribute” in her introduction. But then Smith’s voice rose with excitement as she continued, “Get ready for the Blue Angels, the Army band, fireworks and a big speech from the president himself!"
She should have also mentioned that taxpayers should also get ready to shell out big bucks so that Trump can rake them in. As HuffPost noted, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, found that Trump’s nearby Washington, D.C. hotel, which he still owns and profits from, is sold out for the 3rd and 4th despite charging double what the other luxury hotels are charging around the holiday.
How neatly that works with the fact that, as even Fox correspondent Ellison Barber reported, “The White House is reportedly giving some VIP tickets to Republican donors.”
Gee, where might those donors dine or stay if they’re from out of town?
But wait, there’s more. The Trump administration refuses to reveal how much we’re all paying to help him make a bundle off America’s birthday. Like a good propagandist, Barber also cast concerns about Trump’s hijacking of our national holiday as a partisan matter:
The White House has not said how much all of this is going to cost U.S. taxpayers. I’ve asked a number of agencies for an estimate of the cost. They have either referred me to another agency or those requests have gone unanswered. The White House is reportedly giving some VIP tickets to Republican donors. That, in addition to the president’s speech as well as the unknown cost for all of this is making a lot of Democrats question what this event is supposed to be about and some of them, many of them feel like this is turning into more of a political rally for President Trump.
But wait, there’s another way the rest of us are paying for Trump’s ego and financial enrichment:
Watch the Trump kleptocracy cover-up above, from the July 3, 2019 America’s Newsroom.
Published with permission from News Hounds.
