Donald Trump's imminently catastrophic reign of terror is an absolute certainty, simply based on the antics of the Mango Mengele since he 'won' on November 8, 2016. His promises are proven false each day, especially the pledge to 'drain the swamp' to rid us of Washington DC and Wall Street insiders. He claimed that he hated pay-to-play for the omnipotent lobbyists of D.C., a promise he has broken at breakneck speed.
Presidential Inaugural festivities like the Presidential Ball(s) have always been privately funded, though the actual ceremony is taxpayer funded. In 2008, President Obama raised money for the festivities of his first inauguration without corporate funding. He did allow for corporations to contribute to his second inauguration. This is no small affair.
All told, Mr. Trump hopes to raise roughly $65 million to $75 million to fund the parade, balls and other festivities surrounding his swearing-in as president, according to several people involved in the planning efforts.
Such a fund-raising total, if it materializes, would easily surpass the $43 million Mr. Obama’s team raised for his 2013 inauguration and the $53 million, a record, that it raised for his first inauguration in 2009.
For Bush/Cheney's second inauguration, they offered a deal:
Tickets to all official inaugural events, two additional tickets to an "exclusive" lunch with Mr. Bush and Vice President Cheney, plus an all-access pass to any inaugural ball: (set donors back) $250,000.
The price for similar access to the Trump SS-inaugural festivities has quadrupled in twelve years. Is this a reflection of future inflation under Trump? Yikes.
But look what they get for the low, low price of a cool milliion:
For seven-figure contributions, Trump's richest supporters will get a slew of special perks during the inauguration weekend, including eight tickets to a “candlelight dinner” that will feature “special appearances” by Trump, his wife, Melania, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, according to a sheet detailing “underwriter package benefits” obtained by The Washington Post. The 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee confirmed the authenticity of the donor brochure, which was first reported by the Center for Public Integrity.
Other million-donor benefits include an exclusive lunch “with select Cabinet appointees and House and Senate leadership,” four tickets to “an intimate dinner” with the Pences, eight tickets to a lunch with “the ladies of the first families,” eight tickets and premier access to the inaugural ball and priority booking at “Premier Inaugural Hotel(s).”
Two of the guests who will be hanging with DC Swamp VIPs and the most corrupt administration on the planet include some of the residents of my city, Las Vegas. Casino magnates and poor-people-loathers, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson and Steve Wynn, will receive the perks that lots of money buys, at least as far as the narcissist, Trump is concerned. None of these plutocrats care that there are probably more people who find this odious gathering to be anything but a perk.
Perhaps there is someone out there who would enjoy a night talking to Melania Trump sans subtitles and making painfully disingenuous small talk with Karen Pence, Mike's dutiful fundamentalist wife. However, this sounds more like a penalty than a party to me. How about you?
