Once Burned
“Once Burned. Twice Shy.”
Remember when Donnie promised that his Ballroom “would not cost the American taxpayer one red cent?” Now, we are on the hook for $400 million and counting.
Donnie’s latest brainstorm is to transform a portion of his Palm Beach Golf Club into “a presidential retreat modeled after Camp David”. Yo, Donnie! A strip of Florida scrub palmetto and sand is not Maryland’s rustic wooded mountains. Camp David’s log cabins will clash with Florida beach houses.
The proposed retreat will be “a gift to President Trump’s successors and a lasting contribution to the presidency and to those who will hold the office in the future.” You are too, too generous, Donnie. As if the Ballroom and the Arch aren’t enough, you’re also passing on an unending war in Iran, $5 gas, and angry allies to the next President. Good luck with all that, JD.
On the positive side, future Presidents will be offered free memberships in the adjacent Trump Golf Club.
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Surprisingly, the Trump Organization does not own the land beneath its Golf Club or the proposed Retreat. Palm Beach County does. The County has already caved to Donnie’s demands to name a highway and its airport after him. To obtain County approval for the Retreat, the application claims, “Just as Windsor Castle, or the Elysee Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County.” Surely, free-spending tourists will pass up Disney World for a chance to see the President playing golf. Palm Beach businesses will prosper!
The application to the County states, “a name has not yet been selected for the Retreat.” Of course, visitors will fly into the Donald J. Trump International Airport and travel the Donald J. Trump Highway to get to the Retreat. I wonder what it will be named.
According to the White House, the Retreat’s benefits include, “It is minutes away from the Donald J. Trump International Airport, does not have buildings looming, does not have houses along the course, has great security features, is close to law enforcement, and happens to be a highly-rated golf course. These are features that are necessary for any Presidential Retreat.”
Talk about putting lipstick on a pig. If the ideal Presidential Retreat should minimize travel time, Camp David is a half-hour helicopter flight from the White House. Camp Trump is a two-hour flight plus ground transportation. If the ideal Retreat should be secure, Camp David has electronic and physical perimeter security. Camp Trump is subject to drunken golfers wandering over from the adjacent course. Of course, Camp David lacks a “highly-rated golf course” while visitors to Camp Trump will surely drop a few hundred dollars playing a round or two at the Trump Golf Club.
Donnie justified that extra $400 million in taxpayer money for his Ballroom as “necessary for security. The Secret Service insisted on it!” Surely, the Secret Service will insist on security enhancements costing millions for Camp Trump as well. “Once burned. Twice shy”, taxpayers!
By Ed Dufton
