Trusting Trump

What else does Donald Trump want us to pay for?

Part of Donald Trump's unconditional surrender to Iran is a promise of providing $300 billion in reconstruction funds. Trump has spent years attacking President Barack Obama, and the JCPOA, the nuclear treaty that President Obama and several other countries negotiated with Iran that gave it billions in unfrozen assets, but the deal he signed yesterday, or Sunday, depending on which version of his own stories you want to believe, provides even more funds to Iran.

Yesterday, Trump said, “And you know what the Iranians did? They laughed at Obama, and they said, ‘He’s a stupid son of a bitch.’” Of course, that's not true, but they are probably saying it about an American president now. Trust me on this, Donald Trump is a stupid son of a bitch.

Today, Senator Chuck Schumer called Trump a “terrible negotiator,” telling reporters that the agreement with Iran was “one of the worst deals that we’ve ever seen in the United States’ foreign and diplomatic policy.” And the criticism of the deal is bipartisan, as several Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, have criticized it.

So, how bad is the Iran deal? Dick Wright, Gary Varvel, and Chip Bok, and Chip Bok are criticizing it. You know it sucks when the Kool-Aid drinking MAGAts hate it and can actually summon up enough independence to say something about it.

Now, Donald Trump promises that American taxpayers will not be putting any money into the $300 billion relief fund. But didn't he say the same thing about his ballroom that he destroyed the East Wing for without any consultations with Congress?

When Donald Trump started his ballroom project, he promised that he and private donors would pay for it. Since then, he's kept the list of donors and the amounts that they have contributed a secret. Reportedly, Trump has donated his paycheck toward the ballroom, but none of the billions he's making off the Oval Office, of course.

Watchdogs have warned that donations from major corporations such as Meta, Coinbase, and Lockheed Martin, all of whom have significant interests before the federal government, create a substantial risk of corruption.

It wasn't long until congressional Republicans proposed giving $1 billion in taxpayer money to the wall. And now, we have discovered that the White House has diverted $352 million meant for the Secret Service to the ballroom.

The funds were drawn from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s signature tax legislation passed last summer on Republican-only votes. The law stipulates the money may only be spent on Secret Service personnel, training facilities, technology, and related costs, not construction.

About $340.8 million of the funding was placed into an account labeled “Procurement, Construction, and Improvements” on 12 June, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) database. Another account labeled “Operations and Support” was also approved the same day, adding another $10.75 million to the budget.

Internal records obtained by the Washington Post from Clark Construction, the firm leading the project, show plans calling for $155 million from Secret Service funds, $149 million from the White House military office, and $3 million from the executive residence, all of which is public money, alongside private contributions. The Washington Post has reported that total costs could reach $600 million.

Remember that the original projected price for Trump's ballroom was $200 million.

So what else has Donald Trump promised that we won't have to pay for?

Trump promised that we wouldn't have to pay for the tacky UFC fights that he hosted last Sunday on the south lawn of the White House. This was some ugly shit, but at least we didn't have to fork over any of the $60 million that TKO, the parent company of UFC, paid to stage this giant birthday party for Donald Trump on the taxpayers’ property.

However, taxpayers are funding an estimated $10 million to $12 million in supplemental security and logistical expenses incurred by local and federal agencies. But I don't trust the Trump regime, so when they say that taxpayers won't be footing the bill, I expect it to exceed way more than $12 million.

And make no mistake about it, this was not in celebration of America's birthday. America's birthday is on July 4, not June 14. June 14 is Donald Trump's birthday. Last year, for his birthday, the military had a parade in Washington DC. I was there, and I can attest that I saw more people celebrating Donald Trump than I saw celebrating our nation’s military.

Last year, taxpayers spent about $45 million on Donald Trump's birthday. How much will we spend on his 81st birthday in 2027?

After I published this cartoon, at least three people commented on Facebook that I did not include Trump's racist border wall, which he promised Mexico would pay for. So far, since Trump was installed in the Oval Office with the help of Vladimir Putin in 2017, his racist wall has cost American taxpayers about $15 billion.

Donald Trump claims that he donates his salary and takes no payment for being president. Last February at one of his hate rallies, Trump said, “We’ve had wealthy presidents before. In the history of our country, there’s never been a president that waived his salary. I’m the only schmuck. I get no credit for it. You know what, I get no credit for it. Nobody writes about it.”

As usual, Donald Trump is lying. John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover both donated their salaries, and in case you are a MAGAt, they were both presidents before Donald Trump.

That's not the only thing Trump is lying about. In 2020, the last year of his first term, Trump stopped donating his salary and collected it for himself, according to tax returns obtained by Democrats. The returns show that he donated $1.9 million in 2017 and just over $500,000 in both 2018 and 2019. His salary did not change in those years, but his charitable donations did, so he did not donate his entire salary. Once again, we get to call bullshit on Donald Trump.

It should also be noted that Donald Trump has monetized the Oval Office. During his first term, there were questions as to whether he was actually a billionaire, but there's no question about it now.

Trump probably lost money during his first term, but with no restrictions in place for his second term, it's a madhouse in profiteering. From his cryptocurrency schemes to his corporation's profiting off of foreign government contracts, not to mention the bribes he has taken from outlets like CBS, X, and Facebook, along with being given a plane from the nation of Qatar, Donald Trump is estimated to have increased his wealth by over $10 billion over the last year and a half.

We were also told that only private donors would be funding Trump's golden arch at Arlington National Cemetery. But you best believe that we'll hear more about that in the future.

Trump is costing US taxpayers billions, but he doesn't have to worry about it, because he's not a taxpayer.

Creative note: This cartoon was written while I was drawing yesterday's cartoon.

Drawn in 30 seconds:

Support your local cartoonist: If you want to support the cartoonist, please donate through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com, Venmo to clay-jones-87, or snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 3721, Fredericksburg, VA 22402.
I also take Zelle.
All support is appreciated.

Signed prints and books: I cannot take orders for signed prints or for my books at this time. So please do not send me money or place orders for them until further notice. Because of the stroke, it is an ordeal for me to get to the post office, so we’re gonna hold up until I’m fully capable of doing so. Thank you for your understanding.

Merch: Did you know there’s a Claytoonz store? My cartoons are printed on mugs, clothing, caps, and even a Peezy T-shirt. If you ever want a specific cartoon on some merch, let me know, and I’ll add it.