As a conservative and a Christian I’m still waiting for Donald Trump to convince me that he can be trusted to promote any of the values that used to be part of the Republican platform. You know, things like a constitutionally-limited government, fiscal responsibility, religious freedom, a strong national defense, energy independence, states’ rights, pro-life policies and other traditional social values…
Not only have we had absolutely no evidence that the GOP’s presumptive candidate will advance the majority of these principles, past performance seems to indicate that Trump doesn’t stand for much of anything at all – beyond his own self-interest of course.
So how can we predict what a “President Trump” would look like? We need look no further than Atlantic City, post-Trump. Here’s a helpful reminder from John Murdock at The Stream ~
The closest Trump has ever come to public office was his unofficial role as the self-promoting savior of Atlantic City. His name adorned multiple casinos and he expressed his “tremendous confidence” in the people there before later bragging that he had the “good sense” to file bankruptcy and leave “before it totally cratered.”
In September 2014 the BBC painted a particularly sad picture of the once-thriving east coast gambling mecca ~
Along stretches of the city’s famed boardwalk, blank screens and funereal black has replaced the dancing neon and garish signage of some of its most famous gaming palaces.
A third of the casinos are now shrouded in darkness. Small wonder. Over the past eight years, casino revenues in Atlantic City have plummeted by nearly 50% […]
In the space of 24 hours, the city had lost 5,000 jobs.
Atlantic City casinos used to enjoy a monopoly not just on America’s north-eastern seaboard, the most densely populated part of the country, but on the eastern side of the Mississippi River.
Clearly, market over-saturation was a major factor in the area’s decline, but Trump’s uncanny ability to take advantage of get-rich quick schemes and then get out while the gettin’s good is perhaps his most impressive trait. but is ruthless self-interest a quality that makes for a successful commander-in-chief?
Valerie McCorris, an Atlantic City cocktail waitress isn’t exactly a “Trumpster.” She shared her story with the New York Times last month ~
… (McMorris) learned the hard way that Donald Trump’s art of the deal too often proved to be the art of bankruptcy. “I’ve been through three bankruptcies with Mr. Trump,” she said, recalling how the fast years of gambling growth here degenerated into a crushing excess of casinos […]
The self-branding mania that has helped Mr. Trump earn his victory as the presumed Republican candidate for president has not worked here. Ms. McMorris, a union representative for Unite Here Local 54 of the city’s casino workers, is fascinated by how his political winning streak plays out just beyond a battered Atlantic City, a destination once identified with Mr. Trump that serves now as a reality check. His name has disappeared from three casinos, one of which has closed. Across the city, casino workers have lost pensions and health care in bankruptcy proceedings, and four of 12 casinos closed in recent years, with thousands of jobs lost. Home foreclosures are multiplying and the city has suffered such a precipitous loss in revenue that the state is threatening a takeover.
Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to know or care how a healthy economy is supposed to work; he’s all about advantaging the system to help the Donald. In fact, he reminds me of one of the wealthy, egomaniacal villains in a James Bond movie – not a president of the United States. But that simply doesn’t matter to millions of Americans – either desperate or delusional – who are willing to gamble on a shameless, ruthless, vindictive conman to “make America great again.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related:
Reports: Donald Trump lied about gaming and Florida casinos ~ Further evidence of his weak character; in a September presidential debate Trump denied his dogged efforts to bring gambling to Florida.
Atlantic City bailout signed ~ Oh look, Donald’s pal Chris Christie to the rescue.
