You’d think Dallas or any other city/town would have known better. There’s a long list of cities and towns as well as venues Donald Trump’s campaigns have stiffed when the bill for all the extra security and other government services was presented. Maybe Dallas thought because it considers itself the toast of Texas, a (formerly) Trump loving state they were special and would get paid for all they shelled out for that flop of a midterm RNC Convention Trump demanded. SUCKERS!
It was unlikely the city was going to get paid even before the midterms gave Trump and the GOP a blue enema. Now? Dallas can kiss that money goodbye because while $800K is an awful lot of money, all the lawsuits it would take to collect would probably wind up costing even more. We can hope Dallas might say screw it and go after what they are owed as a matter of principle because it would be entertaining as hell. We’ll have to wait and see but for now you can enjoy reading this article from Alternet that gives us some details on what did and did not happen between the city of Dallas and the organizers from the RNC as details of hosting the RNC Midterm Convention were worked out. Let’s start with the big picture:
“The city has yet to receive reimbursement from the RNC for additional public safety costs incurred during the convention, leaving Dallas taxpayers to cover expenses that should have been repaid,” states a Nov. 9 memo signed by Council Members Paul Ridley, Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon and William Roth. “This is unacceptable to us and raises serious questions concerning why the City did not in advance obtain financial security for the anticipated costs and efforts to collect the money owed.”
According to Kevin Oden, the city’s emergency management director, the police and fire departments took on much of the cost, which included personnel pay, overtime, barricades and vehicle use. During a financial committee meeting in October, Oden explained that the “overwhelming majority” of the expenses were already budgeted for, but did not elaborate on how expenses were budgeted for the event.
I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong but this is the biggest (by a lot) unpaid Trump related campaign bill we know of. Eight hundred thousand dollars! The amount of the unpaid bill is all by itself quite the new story. However there’s even more and boy does it make for a soap opera on the order of that old prime-time TV series named…you guessed it Dallas! Did you notice the last part in the highlighted section above? It seems like the City Council is pissed. They want answers and it looks like some heads will roll when they get them.
After all, the linked article notes how the The Dallas 2026 Host Committee raised tens of millions of dollars to support Trump’s desire for the event. They promised reducing the cost to the government/citizens of Dallas to put on Trump’s clownish and ultimately third rate carnival. However no specifics seem to have been agreed upon as to how much the city would get paid, or even if somewhere there was an actual written contract or agreement. Or just who from the city coordinated with the Committee, and of course the RNC and Trump’s people. The Dallas City Council has been demanding answers and not getting them, hence their initiating a formal audit:
“Dallas taxpayers should not be left responsible for expenses incurred to host an event when reimbursement was expected and remains outstanding,” the memo states from the city council members. “We are asking for a thorough examination of the process, decisions, and individuals involved, as well as documentation of the City’s efforts to recover the money owed.”
Supposedly that Dallas 2026 Host Committee raised $45 million bucks so I can understand why the city council is raising hell. I would be too. There are lots of pertinent questions and damned few (virtually none) answers:
When news broke that the host committee had raised $45 million, Dallas News reported that questions remained about who contributed the money, how it was spent, and what costs were still outstanding. The city expected to be reimbursed for its expenses, but officials had yet to determine who would be responsible for paying Dallas back, how much the city could recover or whether taxpayers would ultimately be left footing part of the bill.
My guess is that since this money was all, or mostly related to security functions it made for a perfect excuse to cite (needed for any President) coordination between the Secret Service, and state and local LE. It’s easy to imagine a ‘suggestion’ being made that since the Secret Service would have to oversee things it ‘would be best’ to put the money in a Trump PAC which would be ‘made available’ to the Secret Service for reimbursement to Dallas. Think that through. It’s just the kind of sleazy grift Trump has done his whole life. You can also be sure if that or any money raised by that committee was ‘passed through’ a Trump PAC not a dime that came in went back out. Once the money was under Trump’s control that’s where it would stay.
There’s one other thing Alternet mentioned I want to note: The audit is apparently going to include figuring out how much (if any) money the city made from hosting the RNC Midterm. It was a flop. It was clear many a Republican politician including ones from Texas were making excuses (lame ones at that) about why they couldn’t ‘golly gee just can’t break away from my schedule to attend.’ Regular Republicans who might have descended on Dallas and spent money on hotel rooms, dining out etc. got the message. Don’t bother showing up. I rather doubt that the city actually made money out of the whole dumbass affair.
Dallas got suckered by Trump. Or some of the ‘leaders’ there did and those who worked for or on behalf of the city to host the Trump/RNC midterm boondoggle are in full-on CYA mode. I said earlier the city was unlikely to get reimbursed even before the results of the midterms were apparent last week. Now, with the state having voted blue both for federal and state offices and even flipped one chamber of the legislature there’s not a chance in hell Trump will order someone to pay up. Dallas can kiss that money goodbye!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
