Snarky Opinion by Hal Brown
The quote in my title is from this CNN article: Glory days of Trump's gold-plated 757 seem far away as plane sits idle at a sleepy airport
It jumped out at me:
Trump's personal Boeing 757 was always the crown jewel of his wealth -- the ultimate sign that he had made it. He's used it as a backdrop for sleek photo shoots, campaign rallies, VIP tours, for shots of him eating his Big Macs and KFC, plated, with a knife and fork. Trump loved to show it off -- the customized cream-colored leather seats, gilded bathrooms, the seat buckles layered in 24-karat gold.
But today it sits idle on an airport ramp in Orange County, New York, about 60 miles north of Manhattan.
One engine is missing parts. The other is shrink-wrapped in plastic. The cost to fix and get it flyable could reach well into the high six-figures, a price-tag Trump doesn't appear to be dealing with right now. Though the current state of his finances aren't public, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the hospitality industry home to so many of his businesses.
You can use the word “broken” to apply both to Trump the 757 and to Trump himself, the pathetic excuse for a human being who once was president:. They are both fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order. You also can use the word “broke” to say that Trump may not be able to pay for the repairs necessary to get his signature ego-inflating airplane flying. Another thing he and the plane have in common is the fact that both are propelled by hot air.
He also may feel that after Air Force One flying the old 757 would remind his fans of the glory days of his first campaign and send the message that he is a has been.
Here’s a photograph of Trump stooping with his head bent forward as he reaches to balance himself as he steps up to the less than stable looking folding stairway as he got on the private jet to fly to New York City recently. According to this article, the Trump organization (which is now in legal peril) owns a Cessna Citation X and the Boeing 757 used as his campaign plane.
Another article: Downsizing: Donald Trump flying a Cessna while his Boeing 757 remains parked
Trump, supposedly 6’2” tall, has to travel on a jet which has headroom of 5’7” so he doesn’t only have to bend over to walk into the plane, he has to hunch over to walk around inside the plane.
He’s used to Air Force One with it’s boardroom, sofas, and private areas. Of course the Cessna by comparison has none of these features. Now he has to fly on the same kind of private jet many real billionaires own. In fact, the Trump hated Washington Post owner and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns two similar jets.
All of this may end up irrelevant if the next time he flies on a jet it is a Federal Marshal Service airplane: “The Marshals Service Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) is one of the largest transporters of prisoners in the world - handling about 1,000 requests every day to move prisoners between judicial districts, correctional institutions and foreign countries.”
The Poll: Here’s my most recent poll about Trump’s legal situation from my recent story “Trump's sad sack sycophant Allen Weisselberg is a portrait in pathetic .” The more that comes out the more it seems that Trump we will see perp walk pictures of him. In the new poll weigh in on the chances he will ever serve time either in prison or sentenced to home confinement at Mar-a-Lago where he wouldn’t even be allowed to travel the short distance to his golf course. The poor broken man would have to be content taking his little putter out to knock balls around on the putting green at Mar-a-Lago.
(Click to enlarge)