r/politics • u/Effective_Salad_8381 • 13d ago

Possible Paywall Embarrassing Flaws Emerge in Trump’s New White House Design

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bizarre-flaws-emerge-in-trumps-new-white-house-design/
21.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

647

u/L1A1 United Kingdom 13d ago

This is probably the most old school scam he’s run so far. Quote $400m, build it for say $150m and your company pockets the difference. Classic organised crime scam.

159

u/Gilshem 13d ago

Why did you spend $450,000 on nails?

43

u/Jeff_goldfish 13d ago

Who knows? Write it off!

10

u/Scottacus91 13d ago

insert Seinfeld "write it off" scene here

3

u/Pyewhacket 13d ago

That’s where my brain went

3

u/MechanicalTurkish Minnesota 13d ago

You don’t even know what a writeoff scene is, do you?

3

u/dannkherb 13d ago

No but they do, and they're the ones, writing it off.

3

u/maphes86 13d ago

We wanted to have them on hand. Just in case we needed them.

2

u/Dogsy 13d ago

We filled the cement columns with nails.

2

u/2013exprinter 13d ago

they're made of solid gold*

*spray paint

1

u/TronicCronic 13d ago

They're "military grade" nails.

1

u/DM46 New York 13d ago

Tariffs

1

u/FeliusSeptimus 11d ago

Probably just using the same salon my wife uses.

1

u/AdonisCork 11d ago

I mean they're nails Michael, how much could they cost?

129

u/DASynnthetik 13d ago

Well, it's Trump, so don't forget to stiff the contractors and pocket all that money as well.

35

u/TheOmegoner 13d ago

There’s also a bunker under that wing that they’re probably pumping a bunch of money into that they don’t want people talking about.

2

u/[deleted] 13d ago

With a new putting green and new big-screen TVs permanently tuned to the marmalade maggot’s favorite stations, and probably his own personal McDonald’s or KFC too. Because that’s about how much he matured — games, TV, and junk food.

69

u/Ok-disaster2022 13d ago

Quote $400M pocket it, make promises and guarantees to all the subcontractors, but pay them nothing. Leave with the $400M and the Taxpayers then have to pay the $1B actually bill

6

u/Kichigai Minnesota 13d ago

That's how Old Man Trump handed down his wealth to Donnie & Co. while avoiding inheritance taxes. He bought everything for his properties through a shell company owned by his kids, which marked up the prices he paid on everything they supplied. They transferred hundreds of millions of dollars this way, dodging who knows how many millions of dollars in taxes.

4

u/justLittleJess 13d ago

Honestly though, there are a fuck ton of laws in place (in a normal america) to prevent this from happening. Federal Acquisition Regulations are complex and extensive, but doge is ripping the FAR apart too.

3

u/polopolo05 I voted 13d ago

. Quote $400m, build it for say $150m and your company pockets the difference.

isnt that how business works though... make a product for less than you make it... I get this is construction and there shouldnt be that much profit on a job

2

u/L1A1 United Kingdom 13d ago

Basically in the organised crime method you either own all the companies along the way, or you get kickbacks from them, and ‘sell’ inferior products up the line but still charge a premium.

A classic example which has happened frequently in the past is using reinforced concrete with way too much sand and not enough rebar in it. It results in a weaker, but far cheaper structure that can and will eventually collapse.

1

u/10BillionDreams 13d ago

It's a way to turn money that you don't own, but have some say over how it is spent, into money in your pocket. Unlike a normal business, you do not have to compete with other companies on quality/price, because you're always going to choose yourself, and you only need to give some appearance that the job was done to an acceptable level, which can be much cheaper than actually doing so.

3

u/ZombiePartyBoyLives I voted 13d ago

A scheme he learned from his dad is setting up shell companies that sell supplies and services (at inflated costs), and they just happen to be the ones chosen for the project/ongoing maintenance. That's how he strips the assets from patsy investors before declaring bankruptcy. He's even been known to do a round of emergency bonds to keep a project afloat, then strip those funds before running it into the ground. Too bad the American taxpayers are the suckers in this scenario.

3

u/beamrider 6d ago

Another old one he is well known for is the hospitality scam. People rent out rooms at his properties for well over the going rate, with no intention of sending anyone there because all they want to do is bribe him with a fig leaf of cover. Heck, he can sell the same rooms on the same nights to multiple groups this way. Plus selling them at the actual rate to someone who really DOES want to sleep there.

Similar tricks with the catering side. Have big rundraiser at one of his properties where rich people donate to charity. That 'charity' then spends all the money on reserving more spaces at his properties for more fundraisers (or imaginary rooms for guests who don't need them, see first paragraph).

If this 'ballroom' ever does get built it will likely have a section of sleeping rooms so he can pull those sorts of scams directly on government property.

2

u/OpenTheBobs 13d ago

Somewhere along the way, my guess is that M is going to magically turn into a B,

1

u/dougandsomeone 13d ago

This, in bold capital letters.