That's bad enough, but I also wonder whether an upgrade is cheaper than building AF1 from scratch. Could it be that there's no savings for the US?
Then, why the donation to "the Library"? Why doesn't the US retain it for AOC or whoever? Building AF1 from scratch will have to happen, regardless. Thus, there's no savings at all. DonOLD will gain the Qatari "donation" (bribe) AND the cost of the upgrade paid for by US taxpayers.
I wonder how much it will cost to go over that plane and make sure there's no hidden recording devices or hidden explosives or to find out if there is some built in ability for someone in Qatar to remotely disable the plane.
Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday rejected what they described as a “poison pill” amendment that Democrats say is intended to block President Trump from taking the Qatari luxury jet that the Pentagon intends to use as Air Force One with him after his presidency.
The committee voted 15-14 against adopting the amendment during consideration of the annual defense funding bill.
The amendment offered by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a senior appropriator, sought to block funds from being used in a manner that would enable transfer of “a presidential air transport aircraft that has been under foreign registry to a nongovernmental entity until the aircraft has served as a presidential air transport aircraft through the end of its service life.” ...
Perfectly reasonable, fiscally efficient and responsible, and patriotic proposal. This "gift" belongs to the American people, and the American people will be paying for all security costs and the upgrade. Taking it away from the American people in order to hand it to DonOLD is theft and those abetting it should be locked up.
The campaign finance violator, 34-time felon and proven sexual assaulter, head of the most lawbreaking admin* ever, wants a fascist takeover of DC in the name of law and order.
... Despite Trump’s claims of “out of control” violence in the city, violent crime is down 26% from last year, according to preliminary police figures....
Reporter: "You were the driving force behind Operation Warp Speed, these mRNA vaccines that are the gold standard. Now your health secretary is pulling back all the funding for research. He's saying that the risks outweigh the benefits which puts him at odds with the entire medical community and with you. What is going on?"
Trump: "Research on what?"
Reporter: "Into mRNA vaccines."
Trump: "Well we're going to look at that...We're looking for other answers to other problems."
Eamus Catuli~AC 000000000101010202020303010304 020405....Ahhhh, forget it, it's gonna be a while.
Meanwhile, the cult gushes in awe. Has anyone noticed that our resident cultists have never ever defended any of these posts poiniting out trump's stupidity and incompetence? I wonder why that is?
... The documents, released late Tuesday, show that Trump began the bond-buying spree one day after he was sworn in on Jan. 20 and that it includes debt sold by companies, local governments and entities that could be directly affected by his sweeping agenda. All told, Trump made about 690 purchases from Jan. 21 through Aug. 1.
The active trading by a president of the United States is unprecedented, and it puts Trump in a direct position to benefit — or lose out — if any of the entities that own the bonds he has purchased succeed or fail. It’s also another example of Trump’s pursuing business endeavors and transactions to increase his wealth in office.
Most corrupt POTUS ever.
... Trump’s buying continued at a steady clip for months, including bonds from megabanks Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Citigroup worth at least $100,000 apiece.
Trump’s direct ownership of bonds from three of the country’s banking giants also comes as he considers an eventual replacement of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and weeks after he nominated one of his top aides, Stephen Miran, to a seat on the Fed’s board. The Fed can directly affect a bank’s profit by lowering or raising interest rates, along with myriad regulatory actions. As a Fed governor, Miran would have a direct say in many of those actions.
... Trump’s net worth is around $5.5 billion, according to the Forbes Billionaires List, up a staggering $3.2 billion since last year.
Most of the gain is from crypto, IIRC.
Typically, presidents divest their financial assets before or shortly after they enter office, but Trump has rejected that precedent and retained most of his empire since his first term.
Typically, presidents are not so blatantly corrupt.
Typically the electorate has not tolerated obvious corruption so well, leading to sometimes excessive rules for those in office so as to avoid even the "appearance of impropriety." Sure, there has always been some hypocrisy but lots of people lost their jobs over minor transgressions. And then there's Trump and his lot.
I read the other day that they're still trying to get Alina Habba in the US Attorney position in NJ and trump is whining to Grassley about NJ Senators giving her the "blue slip" treatment. By this time next month, her brother Bubba Habba will be nominated for something.
What part of "illegal" do HabbaDabbaDoo, AG Bondage and DonOLD not understand?
Wow, Jack Smith must feel like he's living a Kafka novel.
