As Trumps Monetize Presidency, Profits Outstrip Protests
The president and his family have monetized the White House more than any other occupant, normalizing activities that once would have provoked heavy blowback and official investigations.
When Hillary Clinton was first lady, a furor erupted over reports that she had once made $100,000 from a $1,000 investment in cattle futures. Even though it had happened a dozen years before her husband became president, it became a scandal that lasted weeks and forced the White House to initiate a review.
Thirty-one years later, after dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Jeff Bezos agreed to finance a promotional film about Melania Trump that will reportedly put $28 million directly in her pocket — 280 times the Clinton lucre and in this case from a person with a vested interest in policies set by her husband’s government. Scandal? Furor? Washington moved on while barely taking notice.
The Trumps are hardly the first presidential family to profit from their time in power, but they have done more to monetize the presidency than anyone who has ever occupied the White House. The scale and the scope of the presidential mercantilism has been breathtaking. The Trump family and its business partners have collected $320 million in fees from a new cryptocurrency, brokered overseas real estate deals worth billions of dollars and are opening an exclusive club in Washington called the Executive Branch charging $500,000 apiece to join, all in the past few months alone.
Just last week, Qatar handed over a luxury jet meant for Mr. Trump’s use not just in his official capacity but also for his presidential library after he leaves office. Experts have valued the plane, formally donated to the Air Force, at $200 million, more than all of the foreign gifts bestowed on all previous American presidents combined.
And Mr. Trump hosted an exclusive dinner at his Virginia club for 220 investors in the $TRUMP cryptocurrency that he started days before taking office in January. Access was openly sold based on how much money they chipped in — not to a campaign account but to a business that benefits Mr. Trump personally.
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Life in Post Democracy Era: The Trump 2/Elon Dictatatorship
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@DCGoldPants
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The Evil Genius
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Some of those that work forces...
Edit..fwiw i have no problem with the jeans or the masks (from an infectious diseases standpoint, which admittedly they probably are only wearing masks to conceal identity, but nonetheless); I do think they do need a standard uniform and proper outward identifying identification though. Too easy to fake them right now. And of course, ICEs actions and their dress up Barbie leader are going to need a Nuremberg level trial in 4 years.
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The Evil Genius
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What a slowdown in international travel could mean for America's tourist hubs
Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan is a small city with a thriving economy. That's because visitors from its larger northern sister city in Ontario, Canada, keep the border town's economy humming.
Situated on opposite sides of the St. Marys River, the U.S. and Canadian counterparts are connected by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, over which thousands of vehicles pass each month.
"It's so intertwined," said Linda Hoath, executive director of the Sault Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, who noted that many people have family members on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. "There's no separation between the two communities," she said.
But with the U.S. trade war unleashed against Canada in recent months — along with reports of detentions of travelers at the Canadian border by U.S. immigration authorities and threats of annexation by President Trump, the chasm between the two neighbors has grown, as fewer Canadians make the trip south to the United States.
According to Sault Ste. Marie's International Bridge Administration, the passenger car traffic in April was down 44% compared with last year. And while the waning bridge traffic may not mean much from the view of Canada's second-largest province and most popular destination, to the historic Michigan town it certainly does.
Sault Ste. Marie is not alone in its tourism concerns. Though travel this Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the highest on record, one group has been noticeably absent at U.S. travel checkpoints in recent months: international travelers.
International travel to the U.S. fell 14% in March compared with the same period last year, according to the the U.S. Travel Association. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest dip in travel, 20.2%, was from Canada, according to research from Tourism Economics, a unit of investment advisory firm Oxford Economics.
Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Trudeau urged Canadians to refrain from vacationing in the U.S., after Mr. Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian goods. The drop-off in Canadian travel is a notable shift, given that Canada was the biggest source of inbound travel to the U.S. last year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
As to what's behind the overall slowdown in international travel to the U.S., experts point to the Trump administration's stricter immigration policies, the strength of the U.S. dollar and long visa wait times. Aggressive tariff policies have also left a bad taste in many travelers' mouths.
"Shifting sentiment and perceptions of the U.S. are expected to continue to weigh heavily on travel demand," said Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics.
As of April, flight bookings to the U.S. for the May–July travel window are 10.8% lower than they were the same period last year, according to the research firm. It projects an 8.7% decline in international arrivals in 2025.
Economic Impact
The slowdown in international travel threatens to destabilize America's tourism industry which plays a vital role in supporting the nation's economy.
"International inbound travel is hugely important from an economic standpoint — people that come to the U.S. and visit spend on average $4,000 per visit," a spokesperson from the U.S. Travel Association, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Those dollars may already be slipping away: The World Travel & Tourism Council projects that spending by international visitors to the U.S. will drop to $169 billion, or 7%, this year, from $181 billion in 2024. That's a 22.5% decrease from peak tourist spending of $217 billion in 2019, before the pandemic.
Click on the link for the full article
Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan is a small city with a thriving economy. That's because visitors from its larger northern sister city in Ontario, Canada, keep the border town's economy humming.
Situated on opposite sides of the St. Marys River, the U.S. and Canadian counterparts are connected by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, over which thousands of vehicles pass each month.
"It's so intertwined," said Linda Hoath, executive director of the Sault Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, who noted that many people have family members on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. "There's no separation between the two communities," she said.
But with the U.S. trade war unleashed against Canada in recent months — along with reports of detentions of travelers at the Canadian border by U.S. immigration authorities and threats of annexation by President Trump, the chasm between the two neighbors has grown, as fewer Canadians make the trip south to the United States.
According to Sault Ste. Marie's International Bridge Administration, the passenger car traffic in April was down 44% compared with last year. And while the waning bridge traffic may not mean much from the view of Canada's second-largest province and most popular destination, to the historic Michigan town it certainly does.
Sault Ste. Marie is not alone in its tourism concerns. Though travel this Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the highest on record, one group has been noticeably absent at U.S. travel checkpoints in recent months: international travelers.
International travel to the U.S. fell 14% in March compared with the same period last year, according to the the U.S. Travel Association. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest dip in travel, 20.2%, was from Canada, according to research from Tourism Economics, a unit of investment advisory firm Oxford Economics.
Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Trudeau urged Canadians to refrain from vacationing in the U.S., after Mr. Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian goods. The drop-off in Canadian travel is a notable shift, given that Canada was the biggest source of inbound travel to the U.S. last year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
As to what's behind the overall slowdown in international travel to the U.S., experts point to the Trump administration's stricter immigration policies, the strength of the U.S. dollar and long visa wait times. Aggressive tariff policies have also left a bad taste in many travelers' mouths.
"Shifting sentiment and perceptions of the U.S. are expected to continue to weigh heavily on travel demand," said Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics.
As of April, flight bookings to the U.S. for the May–July travel window are 10.8% lower than they were the same period last year, according to the research firm. It projects an 8.7% decline in international arrivals in 2025.
Economic Impact
The slowdown in international travel threatens to destabilize America's tourism industry which plays a vital role in supporting the nation's economy.
"International inbound travel is hugely important from an economic standpoint — people that come to the U.S. and visit spend on average $4,000 per visit," a spokesperson from the U.S. Travel Association, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Those dollars may already be slipping away: The World Travel & Tourism Council projects that spending by international visitors to the U.S. will drop to $169 billion, or 7%, this year, from $181 billion in 2024. That's a 22.5% decrease from peak tourist spending of $217 billion in 2019, before the pandemic.
Click on the link for the full article
Let's check out some recent Trump pardons:
Donald Trump to Pardon Reality Show Couple Todd and Julie Chrisley
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to grant full pardons to Todd and Julie Chrisley, the stars of the reality TV show Chrisley Knows Best.
The couple rose to fame portraying a tight-knit, faith-centered Southern family enjoying an extravagant lifestyle.
In 2022, they were convicted of defrauding banks in the Atlanta out of more than $30 million and evading taxes. The pardons come amid Trump's broader pattern of granting clemency to high-profile allies and supporters, sparking renewed debate over the use of presidential pardon powers.
Click on the link for the full article
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Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner
As Paul Walczak awaited sentencing early this year, his best hope for avoiding prison time rested with the newly inaugurated president.
Mr. Walczak, a former nursing home executive who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes days after the 2024 election, submitted a pardon application to President Trump around Inauguration Day. The application focused not solely on Mr. Walczak’s offenses but also on the political activity of his mother, Elizabeth Fago.
Ms. Fago had raised millions of dollars for Mr. Trump’s campaigns and those of other Republicans, the application said. It also highlighted her connections to an effort to sabotage Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s 2020 campaign by publicizing the addiction diary of his daughter Ashley Biden — an episode that drew law enforcement scrutiny.
Mr. Walczak’s pardon application argued that his criminal prosecution was motivated more by his mother’s efforts for Mr. Trump than by his admitted use of money earmarked for employees’ taxes to fund an extravagant lifestyle.
Still, weeks went by and no pardon was forthcoming, even as Mr. Trump issued clemency grants to hundreds of other allies.
Then, Ms. Fago was invited to a $1-million-per-person fund-raising dinner last month that promised face-to-face access to Mr. Trump at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
Less than three weeks after she attended the dinner, Mr. Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon.
Click on the link for the full article
Donald Trump to Pardon Reality Show Couple Todd and Julie Chrisley
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to grant full pardons to Todd and Julie Chrisley, the stars of the reality TV show Chrisley Knows Best.
The couple rose to fame portraying a tight-knit, faith-centered Southern family enjoying an extravagant lifestyle.
In 2022, they were convicted of defrauding banks in the Atlanta out of more than $30 million and evading taxes. The pardons come amid Trump's broader pattern of granting clemency to high-profile allies and supporters, sparking renewed debate over the use of presidential pardon powers.
Click on the link for the full article
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Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner
As Paul Walczak awaited sentencing early this year, his best hope for avoiding prison time rested with the newly inaugurated president.
Mr. Walczak, a former nursing home executive who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes days after the 2024 election, submitted a pardon application to President Trump around Inauguration Day. The application focused not solely on Mr. Walczak’s offenses but also on the political activity of his mother, Elizabeth Fago.
Ms. Fago had raised millions of dollars for Mr. Trump’s campaigns and those of other Republicans, the application said. It also highlighted her connections to an effort to sabotage Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s 2020 campaign by publicizing the addiction diary of his daughter Ashley Biden — an episode that drew law enforcement scrutiny.
Mr. Walczak’s pardon application argued that his criminal prosecution was motivated more by his mother’s efforts for Mr. Trump than by his admitted use of money earmarked for employees’ taxes to fund an extravagant lifestyle.
Still, weeks went by and no pardon was forthcoming, even as Mr. Trump issued clemency grants to hundreds of other allies.
Then, Ms. Fago was invited to a $1-million-per-person fund-raising dinner last month that promised face-to-face access to Mr. Trump at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
Less than three weeks after she attended the dinner, Mr. Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon.
Click on the link for the full article