Once upon a time, Trump was against extreme vetting
From The Art of the Deal:
To buy an apartment in a condominium, all you need is the purchase price. To buy a cooperative—which is what most buildings in New York were at the time—you need approval from its board of directors, who have ridiculous, arbitrary powers, including the right to demand all kinds of financial data, social references, and personal interviews. They can reject you for any reason they choose, without explanation. It’s a license to discriminate. The worst part is that many people on these co-op boards get their kicks from showing off their power. It’s absurd and probably illegal, but it happened to be great for Trump Tower. Many wealthy foreigners didn’t have the proper social references for these cooperatives, or didn’t want to put themselves through the scrutiny of a bunch of prying strangers. Instead, they came to us.
5 Comments
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Note the key adjective, “wealthy”.
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Exactly, these “wealthy foreigners” were extremely well-vetted for the only thing that matters to a capitalist. Some have records that would no doubt bar them from consideration as refugees:
https://therealdeal.com/2016/10/25/meet-the-convicted-criminals-who-lived-in-trump-tower/
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Fertile ground for those who track inconsistencies. It is apparent that Trump cares not about such things as consistency and the narrative is always emerging without historical reference. I suggest the common thread here is the neoliberal’s desire to remove all structural barriers to the movement of capital. Thus, Hezbollah might purchase a condo at Trump Tower if the price was right.
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Now why would Trump have countenanced any policy of extreme vetting by his real estate ventures’ in their willingness to rent to wealthy types (but no Negros need apply)? After all, that business policy is entirely consistent with Trump’s willingness to receive foreign governments’ payments earned from his putting up foreign dignitaries in his hotels while he holds the highest elective office in the land.
For the rich and powerful, no extreme vetting then and no extreme vetting now!
So take that, Emoluments Clause! Trump’s got YOUR extreme vetting demand right-chee-yah!
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The co-op system always seemed insane to me.