Dem
47
GOP
53
You have to hand it to Donald Trump. He has found more ways to corrupt the presidency than all the presidents before him combined. So far, the biggest grift has been the golden room where he wants to hold his balls, which resulted in unaccounted for "gifts" of at least $300 million. So is Trump content with that haul? Of course not. It merely whet his appetite for more.
His new gig is collecting money for America's 250th birthday party. People and companies with an interest in getting some favor from him can pony up and buy access to Trump. For $1 million, the donor gets an invitation to a thank-you reception hosted by Trump and a photo with him. For $2.5 million, the donor gets a speaking role at some event on July 4th. Bespoke packages for bigger players are definitely on the menu. For details, one can contact Meredith O'Rourke, Trump's top fundraiser.
Needless to say, there is no accountability for where the money comes from or where it goes. Trump has announced a few events already, like an Indy 500-type car race that will tear up the streets of D.C. Maybe this is Trump's reimagining of Paul Revere's famous ride with modern technology. He hasn't explained its connection to the events of 1776. He is also planning an Arc de Trump patterned after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It will be near and overshadow the Lincoln Memorial.
It didn't have to be like this. Years ago, Congress created a nonprofit group, America250, to plan for the birthday party. Trump has pushed it aside and put his own group, Freedom 250, a limited liability corporation, out front. Its chief executive is Keith Krach, a former Silicon Valley executive who served in the Trump v1.0 subcabinet. At last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Krach was there hawking "packages" for companies, states, and even countries. China produces a lot of tea. Maybe it could "sponsor" a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party.
Members of the America250 commission, like Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), are worried that there is a dual track going on. She has said that one of the lanes, the America250 lane, wants to get America's story during the past 250 years out there. The other one, Freedom 250's, is there to downplay the country and glorify Trump. Although Trump has said that Freedom 250 will be privately funded and not cost the taxpayers anything, some of the funding Congress appropriated for America250 has been quietly redirected to Trump's group. (V)