https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20543111

Trump is a moron fixated by fabric swatches.

Trump, the billion-dollar loser — I was his ghostwriter and saw it happen

Charles Leerhson
Yahoo.com, May 9, 2019

EXCERPT...

I tend to see my time with him — the first part of it, anyway, before things started going bad in a hurry — as his “King Midas” period. I never said this to him; if I had, he probably would have thought I was suggesting he enter the muffler business. But there was a stretch of months when everything he touched turned into a deal. The banks seemed to accept the version of him depicted in his first book, “The Art of the Deal,” which we now know from his previous ghostwriter, Tony Schwartz, was entirely invented. They believed it over what they saw on his balance sheets or heard coming out of his mouth, and they never said no to his requests for more money. Often they came up with things he could say yes to before he could think of them himself. As a result, a failing real estate developer who had little idea of what he was doing and less interest in doing it once he’d held the all-important press conference wound up owning three New Jersey hotel-casinos, the Plaza Hotel, the Eastern Airlines Shuttle and a 281-foot yacht.

A real go-getter, right? But Trump’s portfolio did not jibe with what I saw each day — which to a surprisingly large extent was him looking at fabric swatches. Indeed, flipping through fabric swatches seemed at times to be his main occupation. Some days he would do it for hours, then take me in what he always called his “French military helicopter” to Atlantic City — where he looked at more fabric swatches or sometimes small samples of wood paneling. It was true that the carpets and drapes at his properties needed to be refreshed frequently, and the seats on the renamed Trump Shuttle required occasional reupholstering. But the main thing about fabric swatches was that they were within his comfort zone — whereas, for example, the management of hotels and airlines clearly wasn’t. One of his aides once told me that every room at the Plaza could be filled at the “rack rate” (list price) every night, and the revenue still wouldn’t cover the monthly payment of the loan he’d taken out to buy the place. In other words, he’d made a ridiculous deal. Neither he nor the banks had done the math beforehand. Or perhaps Trump knew it because someone had told him, but didn’t want to think about it. The one thing he is above-average at is compartmentalization.

Source:

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-the-billiondollar-loser-his-ghostwriter-recalls-the-king-midas-years-090000640.html

He wasn’t building anything anymore. He was buying or leasing places. He’d change the design and then start marketing based mostly on his personal from his own telling and the TV show.

His marketing mainframe (if that’s the right term) was very likely how Russian interests communicated with him.

He marketed heavily to Russians. Many were simply bagmen cleaning money oligarchs couldn’t get out of Russia. I read once that one of his properties in Florida (I think) actually had street names in Russia. At least he was marketing the property.

In the period the author writes about, American banks finally realized he was a waste of time. I think before the TV show he only managed something like 5% of the things with his name on it.

Was licensing his name.

We cannot forget that Mark Burnett, the British producer of “The Apprentice“ is largely responsible for the Donald Trump we know today. If it had not been for The Apprentice coming along, Trump may very well have been a footnote in history. What I understand is that he was on the verge of filing for personal bankruptcy for the first time. All of his previous bankruptcies had been corporate in nature, not personal.

The Apprentice changed all that.

Gave him much needed cash flow when he was in desperate need of it, as well as allowed him to build his “brand”. That’s one of the reasons he is so obsessed with Panama for instance, because of the failure or loss of the marketing agreement he had with a Trump hotel there.

He has licensed his name on innumerable properties, but does not hold the “pink slip” as it were, on hardly any of them.


He is one of the most successful con men to have made it to high public office in the history of this country, if not THE most successful

He was in dire straits until Burnett bailed him out.
Burnett was selling jeans out of the trunk of his car in Venice Beach when he read “The Art of the Deal”. He was inspired. He swore if he could ever do something for Trump he would.

Burnett’s idea was to have a different lead every season but Spielberg and Bezos had other things to do than film 26 episodes. Trump was always going to be first and …he was available. He got per episode salary and worked it to be an Executive Producer. Nice favor Mark. They filmed in Trump Tower so he rented out the “boardroom” and the contestants lived in the building. He got the rent expense the production company was going to have to pay anyway.

I could find the clip. Yeah people sit and listen to Jr.’s ruminations.

Debanking, also known as de-risking, refers to the practice of financial institutions closing or refusing to open accounts for individuals or businesses they perceive as posing a risk, either financial, legal, or reputational. This can involve a variety of reasons, including concerns about anti-money laundering (AML) or counter-terrorism financing (CTF) compliance, or even reputational risk.

Used him as a snitch, I think I read that. And he would squeal on his competitors, but not his friends. I don’t know why anybody would ever enter into any deal with Donald Trump. He’s been a deadbeat and a liar all his life.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/trump-taj-mahal

Don’t remember who coined that, but it sure fits.

Tim Cook gifted Trump Corning glass with 24-karat gold base amid $600B commitment to US

https://news.meaww.com/tim-cook-mocked-for-gifting-trump-24-k-gold-plaque-amid-apples-600-b-deal-bribery-out-in-the-open

https://www.michaels.com/product/rub-'n-buff-wax-metallic-finish-M10183569

Kept the buckle all shiny. Any neurological problems, the instructors assured me, are my own.

It looks like vandalism to me.

"So much of [the new esthetic] seems to be situated around this idea of regalness," Givhan added on Morning Edition. "Part of the power of the Oval Office has always come from the fact that it didn't need all of these elements in order to convey authority. The authority came from the people and from democracy."

Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/18/nx-s1-5366630/trump-oval-office-golden-decor-critique

I’ll never forget when Madeline Albright said she had no problem getting respect from world leaders because she got off of a plane that had the United States of America written on it in big letters

That's the next step after the saddam hussein gold treatment

they already have baghdad-bob (the blonde bimbette 'speaker')

Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s MAGA Mockingbird, Puts Saddam’s Baghdad Bob to Shame

Excerpt...

... But in the MAGA ecosystem, women are either handmaids, courtesans, or schoolmarms. Only the last category explains how Leavitt shrugs off a grown-man slugfest with the kind of hands-off discipline you mete out in a sandbox. It’s condescending. But, more than that, it’s the smug authority of someone who knows the MAGA cult will cheer no matter what she says.

Source: https://www.theipinionsjournal.com/karoline-leavitt-trumps-maga-mockingbird-puts-saddams-baghdad-bob-to-shame/

For some reason my local (and national and world) news missed this:

“She’s become a star,” he told Newsmax on Friday. “It’s that face. It’s that brain. It’s those lips, the way they move. They move like she’s a machine gun.”

He also said: “I don’t think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline.”

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/wtf-trump-creepy-praise-karoline-090553221.html

"They move like she’s a machine gun." WTF does this even mean? Maybe I'd rather not know.

Washington Post, of course, missed the main story, which is the public confession of a criminal sex fiend:

Trump complains about microphone issues at rally

Those who have $5 million can purchase one for "fast-track citizenship."



Nothing on the website anymore, but the GOOGLE kept:

"The opportunity to live in the Greatest Country, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, with the largest economy in the World, is here.

Trump Gold Card."

Goldfinger would be salivating.

Bet it's missing in 3 1/2 years, if not before.

That looks ridiculous. Tacky, tacky, tacky. Tres gauche.

You know who's doing well these days?

Ghislaine Maxwell's Soft Life in Her Club Fed Prison

by William Spivey
Level, August 7, 2025

To appreciate how Ghislaine Maxwell must be feeling about her move from the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee, FL, to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, TX, you have to know more about the first prison. When Maxwell arrived at FCI-Tallahassee on July 25, 2022, to begin serving a 20-year sentence. The building had seen better days.

That year, the Justice Department’s inspector general found “alarming” conditions. Inmates were being fed spoiled food, and rodent droppings and bugs were an issue. A crumbling infrastructure and staffing were cited as the most significant issues facing the facility.

Snip...

At Club Fed, prisoners are primarily housed in two-person cells in dormitory-style facilities, according to Pink Lady Prison Consultants, an advocacy group led by former prisoners. All prisoners are expected to work, earning between 12 cents and $1.15 per hour. A range of educational programs is also available, including classes on business skills and foreign languages.

The handbook says inmates can also play sports, attend religious services, and access televisions. Visitors are allowed during the weekend and holidays, though with limited physical contact. When they say “lower-security,” they mean it. The facility is partially fenced, and photographers have been able to capture images of high-profile inmates like Elizabeth Holmes as she jogs and engages in outdoor activities. Inmates can just walk off the property if the perimeter is not monitored correctly or maintained, as happened in 2017 when three inmates escaped. There is conflicting information as to whether one is still at large.

Maxwell shouldn’t have been eligible for a transfer to the Texas camp. The Bureau of Prisons guidelines don’t allow for violent offenders, including sex offenders, to be sent without approval. No one in the Bureau of Prisons or the Justice Department has acknowledged who approved the transfer or the reason why. The transfer reeks of an attempt to appease Maxwell and keep her quiet about Donald Trump and Epstein’s other rich friends and their involvement with young girls. The possibility of a pardon or reduction in penalty is being discussed, though Trump keeps claiming he knows nothing about it while saying he has the right to do so.

Continues...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ghislaine-maxwell-s-soft-life-in-her-club-fed-prison/ar-AA1K5mJk?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a094cd52919a43f3b5c45d2073b82561&ei=21

So why didn't a non-violent offender get this treatment before the pee-residunce's 15-year lady friend?

"There's never been a President that's good at ballrooms," Trump said at an event at the White House on Thursday. "I'm good at building things."

Trump added that "they've always had to get tents" for large events at the White House, which he described as a disaster. "It's not a pretty sight."

Earlier this week during a Scotland meeting with European Council President Ursula Van der Leyen, Trump told her that "we're building a great ballroom at the White House"

"No president knew how to build a ballroom," Trump said while sitting in another ballroom at his Turnberry golf resort. "I could take this one, drop it right down there, and it would be beautiful."

Source: BBC -- White House unveils plans for new $200m ballroom

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2l7dey54zjo

“Gold melts in fire, women melt in gold, and men melt in women.” ― Mustafa Donmez, Red-White Love: The Love of Liverpool FC

May as well be talking about Mar-a-Lardo or Epstein's places.

It's called good gubment!!!

flea market crap on the walls used glue that peels off easily. It's definitely, definitely not a permanent look. The renovation back to normal is going to cost a fortune. Out with the gold and cement, in with the good taste and roses.

"Trump has expressly organized his business interests in his second term to facilitate the receipt of foreign gifts." -- The American Enterprise Institute

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/trump-2-0-and-the-foreign-emoluments-clause/

Yes they actually exist.

Donald Trump and his kids, Eric and Ivanka Trump, are seen with Jeffrey Epstein at the Harley Davidson Cafe opening in New York in 1993

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/22/politics/kfile-trump-epstein-photos-footage

Thank you for reminding me, yellowcanine!

gold😀

So, I asked A.I. why they call him that and A.I. said, and I quote:

"Some individuals refer to Donald Trump as "Pisswig". While the exact origin of this specific nickname is unclear, it appears to be a pejorative term used by his critics. The use of "piss" is often associated with something undesirable or unpleasant, and "wig" may be a reference to his distinctive hairstyle. This combination aims to convey a derogatory image of the former president. It is important to note that this is not a widely accepted or commonly used term, but rather a specific insult employed by some individuals."



Bet it gets under his skin to mention his unmanly hairdo. So, it's up to us to make it more widely accepted.

😂

That hair style has always been fugly, no matter what color he's dyed it.

We were there in 2019. Everything is crusted in gold and over the top fussy.
In Yiddish, an exquisitely expressive language, we call it ungapatchked.

(Unfortunately I'm technically challenged and can't post pictures)

Incredible! Thank you for the heads-up, Danmel!



And what Putin's Puppet wants to do to the East Wing:



https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/trump/2025/08/05/trump-white-house-ballroom-a-look-back-at-mar-a-lagos-grand-ballroom/85522726007/

Rick Wilson: "When you get inside Donald Trump's head you'll find putter, a cheeseburger, a porn video and somebody else's credit card."

Last edited Thu Aug 7, 2025, 04:59 PM - Edit history (1)

As in, "he's only taking a nap!"