GRIFTERS
Secret Service Signs $179,000 Golf Cart Contract for Summer at Trump’s New Jersey Golf Course: Report
According to a report from the Washington Post’s Fahrenthold, the Secret Service agreed to a $179,000 contract earlier this week with a company that will supply them with golf carts to be used for just the summer when protecting Donald Trump at his New Jersey golf course.
While the Bedminster golf course is currently closed due to the COVID-19 health crisis, it is expected to open soon allowing the president to golf once again and agents to follow along in the carts that will be available to them until Oct. 31.
“The golf carts are being rented from a private vendor, New York-based Associates Golf Car Service, which has supplied similar equipment to the Secret Service in Bedminster every year of Trump’s presidency,” the report states, adding, “The contract does not say whether Trump plans to visit the Bedminster club soon. The Secret Service also protects his family, and Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her family have already visited the club this year, despite stay-at-home orders in Washington and New Jersey, as the New York Times reported.”
“Trump has visited his properties 250 times as president, including 22 visits to Bedminster,” Fahrenthold wrote. “In the past, Trump has frequently left the cottage to visit the main clubhouse, socializing with members in the restaurant and dropping in on weddings in the ballroom. Those buildings are now closed. In previous years the Secret Service has rented space from Trump’s company, paying $17,000 per month for a four-room cottage at the Bedminster club near Trump’s own.”
Both the golf course general manager and the Trump White House declined to comment on the report.
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Melania Trump has found a way to monetize her time in the White House. The former first lady has launched a blockchain-based cryptocurrency NFT (non-fungible token) art sale in coordination with French artist Marc-Antoine Coulon. She is selling them via Parler, the social media platform that is home to countless white supremacists, white nationalists, and other far-right extremists. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports Parler was “a haven for recruitment and promotion for the Jan. 6 pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol building.”
In a statement on Parler, Melania Trump says she is “excited for this new venture.” It claims a “portion of the proceeds…will assist children aging out of the foster care system,” but does not describe the “venture” as a non-profit, nor does it say how much of the funds raised will go to help children.
“Melania Trump is pleased to announce the Melania Trump non-fungible token (NFT) platform, which will release NFTs in regular intervals exclusively on MelaniaTrump.com. The first NFT, entitled ‘Melania’s Vision’ will be available to purchase for a limited period between December 16 and December 31, 2021,” the statement reads.
As of this writing the melaniatrump.com domain is offline.
“I am proud to announce my new NFT endeavor, which embodies my passion for the arts, and will support my ongoing commitment to children through my Be Best initiative. Through this new technology-based platform, we will provide children computer science skills, including programming and software development, to thrive after they age out of the foster community.”
“A portion of the proceeds from the Melania Trump NFT collection will assist children aging out of the foster care system by way of economic empowerment and with expanded access to resources needed to excel in the fields of computer science and technology,” the statement concludes. “The Melania Trump FT platform utilizes the Solan blockchain protocol; and will accept both the SOL cryptocurrency and credit card payments through MoonPay. Parler is powering the platform.”
Noting Trump’s entrance into the NFT world, Bloomberg News adds, “NFTs became hot this year, with celebrities, sports teams and artists trying to get into the action, and the likes of Ripple and Paris Hilton backing efforts to move the space forward.”
She also posted the statement to Twitter:
Excited for this new venture, which combines my passion for art and commitment to helping our Nation’s children fulfill their own unique American Dream. #MelaniaNFT https://t.co/XJN18tMllg pic.twitter.com/wMpmDDsQdp
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) December 16, 2021
GRIFTERS
Trump’s ‘Save America’ PAC Raised $75 Million This Year as He Lies About the Election – Cash Pays for His Travel: Report
Donald Trump, the erroneously embittered one term former U.S. president has raised $75 million this year through his “Save America” leadership PAC by lying about the 2020 election, an election he and his supporters, surrogates, and allies falsely claim was “stolen.” The funds, collected the PAC, can be spent in a wide variety of ways, including to pay for the flailing Arizona recount, or similar efforts in other states, but according to The Washington Post Trump’s PAC has not spent a dime on those efforts.
“Instead, the Save America leadership PAC — which has few limits on how it can spend its money — has paid for some of the former president’s travel, legal costs and staff, along with other expenses, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of the anonymity to describe the group’s inner workings. The PAC has held onto much of its cash,” The Post reports.
“Even as he assiduously tracks attempts by his allies to cast doubt on the integrity of last year’s election, Trump has been uninterested in personally bankrolling the efforts, relying on an array of other entities and supporters to fund the endeavors, they said.”
Commenting on the report, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow mocked the former president on Twitter, saying, “So he’s, like, living off the STOP THE STEAL money?”
It took Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) just “minutes” to begin fundraising off of what some are calling the former president’s “frivolous” lawsuits against Twitter, Facebook, and Google.
Politico’s Sam Stein posted this text from the joint Trump-RNC fundraising committee:
How you know this is a unserious lawsuit: Trump is already fundraising off of it pic.twitter.com/Njq8VqHAdB
— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 7, 2021
The New York Times’ Nick Corasaniti posted these screenshots from the Trump/RNC fundraising organization:
And there it is: Trump fundraising appeal off his lawsuit already out pic.twitter.com/4KUaokjezH
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) July 7, 2021
“Trump’s baseless Big Tech lawsuit is all about fundraising,” the tech and culture website Mashable reports. “Keep on grifting.”
“After Trump filed federal lawsuits against Google, Twitter, and Facebook for allegedly violating the First Amendment by banning or suspending him from their platforms, the NRCC and NRSC, the fundraising arms of the House and Senate GOP respectively, each sent out text alerts,” Forbes reports. “‘IT HAPPENED,’ said the NRSC – which, along with the NRCC, has spent months hyping Trump’s plans to start his own social media site – adding, ‘Trump announced he is fighting CENSORSHIP by SUING Big Tech companies.'”
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