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On our political radar this week…

In the first days of Donald Trump’s Middle East War, he proclaimed that the only acceptable end was “unconditional surrender.” He didn’t specify WHO needed to surrender. This week, we got the answer. Iran wins permanent control of the straits of Hormuz, keeps its nuclear program, and gets around a half-trillion-dollars in direct aid and unfrozen assets.

Trump got a lobster dinner at Versailles. Americans got the bill for tens-of-billions of dollars for bombs, drones and downed aircraft … and 13 American families got the ultimate bad news about their loved ones in the military.

Trump got elected by promising to Drain the Swamp. His many grifts have actually expanded the swamp for him, his family and his cronies. Now he’s created a real-life swamp with his $14-million paint job of the Reflecting Pool … which has gone from American Flag Blue to an algae-filled puke green.

Still on the subject of expensive vanity projects run amuck – when Trump announced his Ballroom Project, he said it would cost $200-million, paid completely through donations. That, like everything else under Trump, wasn’t even close to the truth. The Washington Post reports the latest cost estimate from Clark Construction – winners of the no-bid construction contract – is $600-million (a 200 percent cost overrun) with half of that coming from taxpayers. The Post reports that Trump knew the real cost before he announced the project and promised the no-cost-for-taxpayers.

Trump is also screwing up Michigan’s economy a little more. A new analysis from the Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group says Trump’ s delay in opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge is costing $6-to-$7-million a week in direct costs to bridge operators and taxpayers, with even more potential costs to Michigan auto manufacturers. 

The battle is entering the final stages in the Republican battle for the party’s gubernatorial nomination with much of the candidates’ efforts aimed at an audience of one. Will Donald Trump endorse? And if he does, will it matter? 

State House Speaker Matt Hall is projecting another stalemate on a state budget, demanding Senate Democrats move some House-passed GOP bills before he will consider funding the state. It comes as state bean-counters report tax collections are running well ahead of projections. Total revenues are $370-million above initial estimates.

An NFL team has become the latest proxy for the political wars. The Republicans who run Indiana have promised incentives of around $1-billion to move from Chicago to nearby Hammond, Indiana. Illinois has balked at the idea of taxpayer subsidies for the owners of the team that’s worth an estimated $9-billion, and booked profits of $75-million in the last reported year. A billion for billionaires … it’s the GOP mantra.

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