The Old Post Office Building--now the Trump International Hotel Washington (image courtesy Wyn De Vanter, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
The Old Post Office Building–now the Trump International Hotel Washington (image courtesy Wyn De Vanter, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)

Donald Trump is trying to troll, gaslight, and swindle his way to the White House. That’s been amply established for a long time. But any doubt that Trump has spent the last year pulling a fast one on the nation should have been put to rest when we learned that Trump’s swanky new hotel is filled with everything that Trump the candidate would like you to believe would come to an end if he gets into the White House.

Dana Milbank of The Washington Post spent Thursday night at the Trump International Hotel Washington, which recently opened after Trump spent three years renovating the Old Post Office Building into a luxury hotel. The Post paid $856 for one night–which is far more than the average Trump supporter could even hope to pay.

Milbank spent part of the night checking out the place with Post colleague Gene Park. Watch here.

When Milbank arrived, one of the first things he noticed was that his bathrobe and slippers were made in, of all places, China. But wait a minute. Trump has spent a year proclaiming that he would implement an “America First” policy if elected, and has spent that same year trashing China for monkeying around with its currency.

Milbank noticed that virtually all of the furnishings in this new showplace hotel were made somewhere other than the USA. Among other things, Italian and Chinese bed linens, Indian bath linens, Malaysian telephones, and a Chinese coffeemaker. By his reckoning, the only American-made item in his room was a $25 piece of chocolate.

David Brock’s super PAC, American Bridge, also had a look inside the hotel and discovered a smorgasbord of stuff that isn’t made in this country.

Then again, that isn’t a surprise, since it’s no secret that a good chunk of the clothing that bears the Donald’s name isn’t actually made here.

Later, Milbank took a peek inside the Gideon Bible that comes standard in nearly every hotel room in this nation, he noticed a note saying that a number of other holy books were available–including the Quran. He called housekeeping for a copy of the Quran–and within minutes, it arrived with a prayer rug and a compass facing toward Mecca.

Well, that’s interesting. Hasn’t Trump declared that he wants all Muslims banned from even entering this country, and also those living here subjected to close surveillance? But apparently to Trump, all that matters is if you’re willing to cough up as much as $5,600 per night for a regular room or $18,000 for a presidential suite.

At first glance, it appears that Trump the candidate is saying one thing, while Trump the real estate mogul is saying another. Milbank puts it more simply–this is more evidence that “that the man who would take up residence just five blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue from his new hotel is a charlatan.” That, friends, is an understatement.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR