The Pay-to-Play-and-Pray Presidency

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Elon Musk went to Mar-a-Lago, supped with the King, bent the knee, kissed the ring, dipped his nose deep into the royal diaper, and coughed up over a quarter of a billion dollars to help the portly and elderly politician retake control of the greatest country on Earth, the one that Elon had chosen for his own home base several years earlier.  The $277 million (or more) that Elon had donated to the GOP presidential campaign was not an outright gift - it was more of an investment.  He was buying influence and access to the person who he thought could best serve his interests in the White House.   Elon was taking care of Elon.

Money is the "lifeblood" of politics and it also is a very concrete way of showing respect, admiration, veneration, and adulation - and the incoming President enjoys the hell out of being respected, admired, venerated, and adulated.  It just does not get any better than having the world's richest man fuss and fawn over you while stuffing your pockets with cash!

Elon wasn't able to just write a check and hand it to the candidate.  Congress has established limits on campaign donations by individuals, so his money went in the campaign in a circuitous manner through political action committees - but behind all the legal garble and subterfuge, it was coming from Elon, and the King of Mar-a-Lago knew it.   Now Elon has a perch of prominence in the royal court - bought and paid for - as it prepares to move back into the White House.

Lesser billionaires watched Elon buy his way into a position of power in the new administration, and many of them are choosing to buy their own bit of prominence, or protection, as well.  The election is over, but they are feeling the urge (which is emanating from Mar-a-Lago) to join in the giving fest, and they are choosing to do that by writing checks to help with the inauguration festivities.  There is no cap on the size of donations that individuals or corporations can make to the inauguration. and the King, who set the record for. inauguration money collected with his first inauguration in 2017 ($107 million), is strongly encouraging his richest subjects to donate bigly to the 2025 inauguration - and this time $150 million (a new record) has already been collected.  

Oh it will be a fine inauguration, one fit for an Emperor!  (But alas, his title will just be President - for now.)

The soon-to-be President is openly soliciting donations to his inauguration, big ones.  Anyone who donates a million dollars will receive six tickets to events associated with the grand celebration.  The tickets will get the wealthy donors into a black-tie affair at which many important people will be present including the King new President, into a candlelight dinner with the President and his Lady, and into a reception with new Cabinet members.  Access, influence, access, influence, access, influence!  It doesn't get any better than that, and all just for a measly million!

Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Ken Griffin, and other oligarchs have lined-up and dutifully paid their million-dollar tributes, as have corporations like GM, Ford, Toyota, and Uber.  Ford has even donated a fleet of vehicles to help with the big celebration.  The money rains down like manna from heaven, and President-elect gloats, raises his arms, and declares euphorically that "Everybody wants to be my friend!"

It's either that, or everybody's afraid not to be his friend!

For those who would like the opportunity to pray with the incoming President, (and honestly, who wouldn't?), one of the inaugural activities will reportedly be an interfaith prayer service on the day before the inauguration, and for just $100,000 good Christians, like the man himself, can pray with, or perhaps to, the next Chief Executive of the United States and his Lady.  There is no word yet on whether the service will include a breakfast buffet or not.

If Jesus would like in on that action, he will need to show up with his own collection plate!

There can be little doubt about which segment of America will have the ear of the next presidential administration.   It won't be us, it will be them.   Money talks, buddy - loudly!