Parents Must Stick

I never noticed how remarkably peniform it is. Donald Trump's new lingam, the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue, via Wikipedia.

The valedictory tone of some of Trump's recent verse seems to be intensified in this piece, from his recent reading in Charlotte, NC (October 26)—it doesn't matter, he seems to be saying, if he doesn't make it to the White House, since he's got some property on Pennsylvania Ave., the Old Post Office, "and it's mine", he plaintively reminds us.

And whatever it is, he did it to encourage the children.

Parents Must Stick

a poem

by Donald J. Trump

1. Now is the time to embrace a new direction

I’ve been very lucky and I’ve led a great life.
Now I want to give back to the country
which I love and which has been so good to me.

I just left a hotel – beautiful, beautiful building.
It was the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue
in Washington D.C. and it’s mine.

And it was just built. It’s right between
the Capitol building and the White House.
So this way, I figure I’ll get to Washington
one way or the other, right?

2. Pennsylvania Avenue

But I’m very proud of it
and I’m very proud of my children because
we delivered it under budget and ahead
of schedule creating thousands of jobs,
including construction.

It will be one of the finest hotels anywhere
in the world and a great symbol
for our country for many years to come.
I took two hours to fly in to Washington
to cut the ribbon with my children
and then jump on the plane to be here with you.

3. Just did it

I wanted to be there for my children, who worked so hard
on the hotel. They worked so hard, in particular,
Ivanka in this case. And I always feel this.
I feel this so strongly, parents must stick
and encourage and support their children.

Strictly speaking, of course, the hotel wasn't "just built" but built in 1891-99, and the jobs created by the hotel project, according to Donald J. Trump speaking last March, totaled about 1.5 thousands, including construction, though according to Mayor Vincent Gray it was more like 700 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs in the hotel. Since Trump agreed to invest $200 million in the project and to open it by fall 2016 and now claims to have spent $200 million and opened it in September (though the official grand opening and ribbon-cutting was last week), it's not clear what "under budget and ahead of schedule" means. Rooms originally listed for $625 a night are now booking for $404, indicating that it is suffering from the problems that are affecting all his operations, in which evidence from travel agents suggests Trump hotel bookings are down somewhere between 10% and 30% over last year while the industry in general is up 16%. Many people who can afford to stay in his properties object to contributing to the income of someone who calls Mexicans rapists and regards himself as entitled to grab women by the pussy because he is a celebrity, and presumably not a Mexican. For the first time in I don't know how long, the Trump Organization is currently launching a hotel line, Scion, that does not carry his poisoned name.

If he should be elected president next week, he will be the first president in 50 years to have kept his tax returns secret (and although Gerald Ford did not release his tax reforms, he provided fairly detailed summary information, for eight years—while Richard Nixon released his when they actually were under audit). Before the inauguration, he will face trial for defrauding the students of "Trump University" (November 28) and raping a 13-year-old girl (December 16). That's far from the end; there are two further "Trump University" cases coming up, and who knows what else. But then Huma Abedin something something emails, amirite?

Truly strange times we're living in.

Groundbreaking, 2014.