A quick history on Trump demolishing the White House...Why should anyone be surpriosed?

[Grins]

Yesterday the Washington Post ran a story on the destruction of the East Wing of White House, writing that the treasonous, orange bloated gasbag, said the construction wouldn’t ‘interfere’ with the existing White House structure. And moved on.

There was massive "interference" with the White House. This should not have been unexpected. Some quick history.

The venerable Bonwit Teller department store closed its store at Fifth and 56th in 1979. The building was bought by Trump to be demolished so he could build his hideous "Trump Tower." The Bonwit Teller building had an artistic elegant facade that featured a spectacular 15-foot-high Art Deco sculptural ensemble. It was a treasured landmark in New York! (Google and find the image.)

Like the destruction of the White House, Trump assured NYC that the valuable art deco-style bas-reliefs, as well as the fence located above the entrance to the store, would be donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum was eager to have it and put it on display.

New York Times, June 6, 1980:

Two stone bas-relief sculptures high on the facade of the Bonwit Teller Building under demolition on Fifth Avenue, pieces that had been sought with enthusiasm by the Metropolitan Museum of Art were smashed by jackhammers yesterday on the orders of a real estate developer.

That "real estate developer" said "the merit of these stones was not great enough to justify the effort to save them.” That three independent appraisals (that he never identified) found them to be "without artistic merit” and worth less than $9,000 in “resale value.”

Which is odd because the Metropolitan Museum of Art had estimated its value at 22-times that at $200,000.

That "real estate developer" quickly became known in NY as “That fucking bastard.”
He was - who else? - Donald Trump.

Below, a snip of that NY Times story in 1980. Anything jump out at you...? (Hint: Last sentence.)



Yes; THAT "John Baron." To complete that sentence:

"But John Baron, a vice president of the Trump Organization, said after the demolition yesterday ...”

Five months later on 17 November, Trump would boast about smashing the art deco-style bas-reliefs pieces. He remarked that the gilt (because of course) lion’s head medallions at the Grand Hyatt's ballroom entrance were: “real art, not like the junk I destroyed at the Bonwit Teller.”

And seated nearby - Roy Cohn.

[PatSeg]

1. "Real art, not like the junk I destroyed"???

And he wonders why so many people hate him.