Letters Editor’s Note: The president is getting noticed for all the wrong things. Post readers are reacting to what many describe as “grift,” whether it’s ballroom spending, the stock trading or the “lawsuit settlement” used to pay people Donald Trump feels were “wronged” by previous administrations. A sampling of letters follows:
Criminal slush fund unprecedented
In keeping abreast of the news, we now know that $1.776 billion of our tax dollars will be used to compensate those who attacked our Capitol, who defecated on the floors, urinated on the walls, destroyed structure and injured Capitol police, some of whom died. How generous of our president to support their cause. Oddly, I have never heard him give one iota of sympathy to the thousands and thousands of Americans this year who have endured flooded basements, blown-off roofs, wind-destroyed and burnt-out homes because of weather. So many have lost everything, but he only seems to worry about his ballroom and the reflecting pool. I guess it is called priorities.
Susan R Suing, Royal Palm Beach
Playing the victim has its rewards
Every taxpayer should be furious about our president’s latest grift, having our tax money to the tune of $1.7 billion handed over to him by a compliant Department of Justice to use as his personal piggy bank to pay off the insurrectionists who desecrated our Capitol. Just file a ridiculous lawsuit claiming that you were harmed to the tune of $10 billion because your tax returns were released by the IRS and then “settle” for only $1.7 billion because of the weaponization of the government against you. Playing the victim is certainly a lucrative racket. The Republicans always justify the harmful cuts they are making to social programs by saying they are eliminating fraud and waste. There is no more blatant an example of fraud and waste than this.
Dianne Golder, West Palm Beach
A billion here and there, then US bankruptcy
Trump is getting his pockets full of our money, giving some of it to his family, friends, and outlaws he will need for the next election. He’s talking about paying the pardoned Jan. 6 rioters’ money. Are you kidding me? And there was his pet personnel prosecutor twisting in the wind defending this grift, which originated from a $10 billion lawsuit Trump brought against the IRS. How do you settle a suit against yourself without going to court?
Trump then increased the paint job on the reflecting pool that once done won’t reflect anything. He started out at $1.3 million. Now it is $13.1 million, and they are not done yet. The company that got the no-bid contract was a personal friend and never did a pool before this. They’re roadway contractors. Oh, and let’s not forget the destruction of the East Wing and the construction of the Frenchy styled Banquet Hall, with blinding gold leafing that was supposed to be built with private donations, which he lied about, and now he needs $1 billion of public money to build this monstrosity that we never needed.
On top of all that Trump and his family are lining their pockets with investments. When Trump promotes a product, usually because the CEO donated millions to Trump PAC, the stock jumps and the Trumps land big profits. Presidents are not supposed to use the office to enrich themselves or their family and friends. Before this mob boss president, no president used the office for such a grifting process that Trump has. If you’re not paying attention, you are getting ripped off daily by this crass, undisciplined, felon grifter. He bankrupted everything before politics, if we don’t act soon, he is going to bankrupt the country.
John Adler, Royal Palm Beach
Don’t forget the jet from Qatar
Congress has estimated that the cost to retrofit the Boeing 747 gifted to the United States from Qatar, for use by a sitting president, will cost roughly $1 billion. I’m willing to wager that no sitting president will ever fly in that plane. What you will see is a dog and pony act worthy of The Wizard of Trump with the plane painted in the 250th anniversary colors like lipstick on a pig on the Fourth of July. Another Donald Trump grift of the day.
William Damato, Boynton Beach
Trump’s dystopia unbelievable
Donald Trump has outdone himself again. He has sued the government he heads for leaking his IRS tax information to the tune of $10 billion. Then his Department of Justice agrees to settle for $1.7 billion. Rather than pocketing the money as his company has done in cryptocurrency benefits, hotel stays, and other emollients (supposedly illegal), he has decided to set up a fund to compensate supporters that [former President Joe] Biden’s justice department wrongly pursued.
Meanwhile, the current justice department has filed flimsy charges against James Comey, Adam Schiff, Jerome Powell and other “enemies,” including Comey’s posting a picture of seashells that the department has conflated into an assassination plot against Trump. Does anyone remember January 6 rioters? They were pardoned and could receive compensation from the $1.7 billion fund. What kind of dystopian world are we living in?
Ray McGogney, West Palm Beach
IRS ‘settlement’ just plain criminal
On the infamous January 6th, as I settled in to eat lunch and turned on the TV to watch Congress count the presidential electoral vote, I became an eyewitness to one of the worst days in American history. I saw every frightening, disturbing moment unfold live. For hours, I wondered where the Calvary was to stop this violent insurrection by traitors and the torture of these poor police officers and terrible threats to our congresspeople.
So what insanity reigns that these dangerous violent convicted criminals, including Nazis and racist White supremacist extremists have not only been pardoned by Trump, but now will be given almost $1.8 billion? Beyond belief. Trump has taken huge sums of money from food for children, education and healthcare for the poor, but will take taxpayer dollars for vicious traitors? A special MAGA Tax is in order to pay this outrageous loyalty payoff. The rest of us should start refusing to pay taxes, like the Trumps do.
Elin Shusterman, Boynton Beach
Ballroom’s another bailout for Trump
President Trump has made so many claims that no taxpayer money was needed for the proposed ballroom as it would be paid for by donors. It, like many Trump claims and promises, are just lies that will be come be. Now Republicans in the Senate are proposing $1 billion for supposed security enhancements for the ballroom in their reconciliation bill. Well, the Senate parliamentarian shut that down, so they are scurrying to rewrite that bill so that now $220 million will go for ballroom construction. One has to wonder if there will be any transparency on how the other $780 million will be spent. This seems to be just another Republican scam to bail out another Trump lie.
Richard Briant, Royal Palm Beach
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump’s $1.7 billion scheme irks many Post readers | Letters
Reporting by Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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