Transcription
Donald Trump's reflecting pool project is a disgusting, muck-filled mess. And there's also a lot of algae in there, too. This is just another day.
Often times, when it comes to shady government corruption, the culprits are nameless, faceless companies that live in the shadows. But today is our lucky day. Now, we found out about another no-bid contract to another firm. This one, according to the New York Times, is tied to one of Donald Trump's neighbors. The firm is tied to a man named John J. Carafo. He lives down the road from Mar-a-Lago and was once involved in a very public scandal in the early 2000s when he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a member of Congress. Are you kidding me? This is the guy we've entrusted with $1.7 million of our tax dollars. How did he even have time to clean the water in our reflecting pool when he's so busy tying people to train tracks? It's wild.
I have never seen a cigar holding a "help me" sign before. He looks like Mike Lindell and the Penguin had a love child. And then this guy ate that love child. He looks like he is the Undertaker's sidekick. He looks like he's got a no-bid contract from his barber. If his hair was dyed any blacker, it'd be denied membership to Mar-a-Lago. So, of all the people in America who own water filtration companies and could have been awarded this contract, it went to Donald Trump's buddy and coincidental donor, John Kafaro. Gosh, if only there was some sign that we'd be stuck with an algae-filled pool. Well, more of a sign than Kafaro looking like he's in a community theater production of *Goodfellas*. My god.
Normally, the double-breasted suit isn't used to hold up your double breasts. But look, in Trump's defense, it's not like there was some glaring piece of information that we could have seen that would have given us pause before handing over a multi-million dollar no-bid contract to someone whose sole task was turning a reflecting pool blue. I mean, all we had to go on was the name of Kafaro's company. And really, how much could we learn from that?
"Greenwater Services was paid $1.7 million."
Greenwater Services. What's the matter? Was Algae Incorporated too busy? Was Cloudy Water Corporation not taking on any more clients? I thought Trump was an expert on colors.
"And then you have Marjorie Traitor Greene, I call her, because green turns to brown under stress."
And I guess blue turns to green under corruption. This art class is fun. I'm sorry, but what is going on in D.C.?
"Well, there is something in the water. The reflecting pool water."
That is less than two weeks after a nearly $15 million renovation wrapped up, the water in front of Washington's Lincoln Memorial is green again. Parts of the historic pool's new paint job have even been peeling away. But the Trump administration, which granted the no-bid renovation, by the way, says all that green you're seeing just isn't true. In a post on social media, the Interior Department, which oversees the reflecting pool, claims the water is "crystal clear."
"No, something is definitely crystal clear right now, but it's not the water in the reflecting pool. You know, it takes a special skill to constantly gaslight the American people, telling them that every piece of news which highlights a negative aspect of this administration is nothing more than fake news from a totally biased, Trump-hating media outlet. But to tell you that you shouldn't believe what you're seeing with your own eyes, that takes a massive set of balls."
Then again, this all kind of tracks when it comes to a guy who has been known on more than one occasion to paint over a problem to convince the public that all is well. Am I the only one who seems to remember this?
"You're going to have something you're going to be very proud of and it'll last for 50 to 100 years before you have to do anything with it. Very strong, powerful substance that we used."
50 to 100 years. We didn't even make it to 50 days. I can't imagine why when the guy in charge looks like this shady dude from every Coen Brothers movie. Donald Trump was so confident of the bless of his water. Less than a month ago, he posted this on Truth Social. Sorry, but it looks like the fake Trump dropped on protesters ended up being the real that wound up in our nation's reflecting pool. All because he wanted to give a handout to one of his donors. And that's all it takes to get on this guy's good side. If you do a shitty job, but throw Trump some cash, he's got you covered.
Trump pardoned the founder of Nicola as a thank you for donating almost $2 million to his re-election campaign. He pardoned venture capital investor and fellow major donor Ahmad Zubberry. He pardoned Paul Walszac, a wealthy tax cheat, after Walszac's mom attended a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. And he pardoned former CEO of Binance, whose company was found guilty of money laundering. As long as Donald Trump personally gets paid, he doesn't give a what happens to the American people.
"The White House really wanted this to be a centerpiece of the attraction for tourists as the Fourth of July holiday came up. But take a look at this. This is the most recent trouble spot people have been focusing on because literally tourists were over here a short while ago tearing up parts of the lining and walking off with them."
Oh, I guess that's nice. I mean, it seems like a shame to visit our nation's capital and not go home with a souvenir. Can we hear from some folks on the ground at least?
"It looks bad. I just say green slime."
Pouring all that peroxide into it clearly didn't help. I feel for the ducks. Oh, you don't have to feel bad for the ducks. They've been dead for days.
In what world could anyone possibly defend this?
"Yeah, it's the whole thing from start to finish has kind of been a disaster, right? It's ugly to look at. It's over budget. The taxpayers are are footing the bill apparently for parts of this."
Wow. I I got to say that is a surprising level of honesty coming from Lara Trump to voice her disappointment in this botched reflecting pool and on Fox News, no less. What's that? I wonder if the Obama library will highlight the way that Obama had people spy on Donald Trump as a civilian during the 2016 presidential campaign. I'm just waiting to see what happens.
My bad. The ugly, over-budget, taxpayer-funded debacle she was talking about was the Obama library. Perhaps if it was shaped like Ivanka's ass, it might be more to a Trump's liking. But honestly, a cliché cartoon villain in cahoots with Trump who does a job and then pockets millions in taxpayer funds. Is this really a surprise to anyone for a president who constantly says this?
"Central casting. Brilliant guy. No, he's central casting. He's central casting. Is this central casting? This is what we want. This is a great brilliant man. This was central."
You would call it central casting if you were doing a movie for location. When it comes to finding an unqualified, scandal-ridden businessman to receive a no-bid contract for the president's vanity project, it does not get more central casting than this guy. What else would we possibly add that isn't already there? Kafaro stroking a cat.
Despite what this president has said for years, he does not hire the best people. He hires the people who look like the best people, but are completely, utterly unqualified. Pete Hegseth looks like a military general who knows what he's doing, but our status in the Iran war indicates otherwise. Todd Blanche looks like the hero lawyer in every John Grisham novel, but his greatest achievement is weaponizing our justice department, creating a slush fund for his boss, and protecting co-conspirators in a child's sex trafficking ring. And the head of HHS might look like a healthy individual, but I think most Americans would prefer to not take medical advice from a guy who avoids vaccines and grills rodents. If there's something more succulent than a slow-cooked possum, I haven't found it.
And could there be any more central casting than a corrupt businessman who promises the world to the American people in the hopes of getting elected, but once in office decides to do what he always intended, which is to turn the presidency into his own for-profit business, shoving billions in his pockets while the rest of America suffers? This administration is filled with a dirtiness never before seen in our country's history. And I know just who to call to clean it up.
"Greenwater Services."
Sure.
Before you go, I'm very excited to announce that I've written a new book titled *The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World*. The book explores what is, in my opinion, the single most important theme that we're dealing with in politics today and moving forward: power. Specifically, how Republicans abuse it and how Democrats refuse to wield it. This book explains how we got here and, more importantly, how we should finally wield power if we're fortunate enough to get it back. It is the blueprint for progressives who want to do far more than just restore the status quo. Please pre-order today by visiting the link in the episode description or go to brianylcocken.com/book. You can grab yours from any of the major retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble or find an independent bookstore closest to you that's also listed on that website. Thanks so much for supporting Independent Media.