Krishnamoorthi Compares Trump's Billion-Dollar Vanity Projects to Dictators, Contrasts Spending with Cuts for Working Families

WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) yesterday opened his questioning in a Democratic shadow hearing on President Donald Trump's billion-dollar vanity projects by comparing the President's self-promotional initiatives to those of authoritarian rulers, then questioning witnesses about democratic backsliding, taxpayer waste, and the Administration's law enforcement priorities.

Krishnamoorthi began by asking Public Citizen Democracy Advocate Jon Golinger a series of multiple-choice questions with the same three options each time: Donald Trump, Muammar Gaddafi, or Turkmenbashi, the former president-for-life of Turkmenistan. Who named a class of warships after himself? Who put his own portrait inside our country's passports? Which leader wanted to add a 60-foot granite monument of himself carved into the side of a mountain? The correct answer, each time, was President Trump. "Even Turkmen dictator Turkmenbashi, a man who famously renamed the months of the year after himself, did not do the same," Krishnamoorthi remarked before concluding, "Room for one more on Mount Rushmore? The President wants to know. I think the answer is no."

"On a more serious note, it appears that President Trump is mirroring the actions of dictators worldwide," Krishnamoorthi said before asking Ambassador Norm Eisen whether the giant posters of President Trump draped over federal buildings in Washington "evoke the same looming display of Erdoğan in Ankara, Turkey." He continued, "Years before Trump gutted the White House to create his golden ballroom, Erdoğan built his own vanity project called the White Palace. I'm sure it has a nice ballroom as well." Krishnamoorthi then questioned Eisen about Turkey's voter roll purges, intimidation of election officials, and recent reporting that DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened election officials with prison time if they failed to cooperate with the Administration.

Turning to the cost of the projects, Krishnamoorthi cited The New York Times' estimate that President Trump's construction spree could cost at least $1.2 billion before arguing the money would be better spent helping working families. "In my home state of Illinois, countless families will lose SNAP benefits under President Trump. $1.2 billion could restore all those SNAP benefits this year," he said. "Countless Illinoisans are going to lose their Medicaid under Trump. $1.2 billion would restore Medicaid for 130,000 Illinoisans this year."

"President Trump found billions of dollars for his vanity projects, but he cuts billions of dollars from the vital safety-net programs that struggling families rely on every day," Krishnamoorthi said. "And that is what today is about. It's one man's vanity over the priorities of the American people."

Krishnamoorthi closed by questioning why the Department of Justice aggressively prosecutes those who vandalize President Trump's vanity projects while failing to pursue individuals whose names appear in extensive records related to Jeffrey Epstein.

"This contrast says everything about Trump. If you damage one of his vanity projects, such as the Reflecting Pool, the DOJ will pursue you. However, when extensive records implicate you in the worst sex trafficking ring in modern history, this DOJ will look away."

The full video of Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s question line is available here.