Now we all can own a piece of Trump's ballroom or bomb shelter or whatever it is this week

News and commentary for all Americans from a Florida state of mind

By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

I know what you’ve been wondering.

Ever since Donald Trump bulldozed the East Wing of the White House to build his great big, beautiful ballroom, you’ve been curious how you can get a piece of the action.

After all, our commander-in-chief assured us that the $300 million project would be funded entirely by donations. And as we’ve learned, huge technology giants and other corporations have been among those patriotically stepping up to make Trump’s dream come true.

But what about ordinary citizens like us?

Now, I realize that it can sometimes be a little confusing exactly what this project is for, which would seem a normal prerequisite before making a donation.

After all, Trump initially said it was because he liked to throw big parties and the White House lawn wouldn’t do. Oh sure, it’s good for cage fights, but not dinner with respectable people.

But then that story morphed. He needed it for national security. He wanted a bomb shelter next to his bedroom—or wherever he might be napping at the moment. Just in case, you know.

Then it was a legacy for the country. Or a legacy built just for him.

Whatever. It’s expensive.

Now, about those big corporate donors. We need to keep it real here. They aren’t doing it entirely out of the goodness of their hearts. (And even if the Supreme Court says corporations are people, they still don’t have heartbeats.)

No. We’re talking Amazon and Apple, Google and Meta, defense contractors, cryptocurrency shamans, and others who fully expect to be treated favorably by the federal government in return. Big contracts. Approved mergers. That sort of thing.

So, why wouldn’t we all want a piece of that action?

Well, the good news is that Trump has figured out a way to make that happen.

As the Washington Post has reported, the price tag for the East Wing boondoggle has now ballooned to $600 million, but — and here’s the good news! — only half of that will come from the aforementioned billionaires and their companies.

No, now the rest of us get to pitch in.

The Post has examined a detailed project summary, which shows that fully half the cost will be borne by taxpayers, not donors as Trump initially indicated when he announced:

“This is taxpayer-free. We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents.”

That, however, was then. This is now:

Multiple project summaries provided to the White House by Clark Construction show that internal cost estimates have been significantly higher than administration officials have acknowledged in public comments or court filings. They also show that the work was projected to rely heavily on taxpayer dollars from the moment it was announced.

So, if this bears out, then Trump hasn’t been quite telling us the truth, has he? Maybe he had his tiny, bruised fingers crossed behind his back all this time.

And while it may be shocking news to some that the president of these United States might be less than forthright, we should look at the bright side.

Now, we won’t be wasting those millions and millions of taxpayer dollars for trivialities like paying down the national debt or bolstering Social Security or fighting infectious diseases.

Nope. Now, each and every one of us gets to own a piece of Trump’s magnificent new dance hall.

Whether we like it or not.

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J.C. Bruce

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The Strange Files

Today’s edition of this newsletter is brought to you by Tropic Press Books, publisher of The Strange Files Series. Strange Fact: The first sentence of Florida Man, the second book in the series, sets the tone for how weird Alexander Strange’s adventure in the Gunshine State will be:

“I wanted to get to Florida in the worst way, so I arrived in a coffin.”

Check out the award-winning series here: