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Evil Developer Geoff Palmer Donated $2 Million To Trump
Donald Trump has made enemies in every crevice of the political world. He can't even find a VP that he likes all that much. And inveterate GOP-backers like the Koch brothers have refrained from voicing their support.
He's even having trouble getting support in the one category that he knows so well: money. As reported by the L.A. Times, Hillary Clinton's camp is outpacing Trump when it comes to donations. Since April, Clinton's joint fundraising campaign with the Democratic National Committee has yielded about $82 million. By contrast, Trump and the Republican National Committee claimed approximately $32 million in that same filing period.
Still, it doesn't mean that Trump isn't without his backers. And it turns out that an infamous Southland figure is among his biggest supporters. As reported by Bloomberg, it was revealed this weekend that super-developer Geoff Palmer gave $2 million to Rebuilding America Now (see page 6), a new super-PAC that backs Trump. The group is responsible for this quaint little ad, which doles out a low-blow by bringing Bill Cosby into the mix:
Sponsored message
According to Bloomberg, Palmer isn't a regular on the donation circuit, and this contribution is the biggest splash he's made made so far. In a twisted way it makes sense for Palmer and Trump to be bedfellows. Aside from their ideologies, they're both embattled figures who seem to be impervious to backlash.
Palmer, as you may have heard, is the controversial developer who's been plopping mega fortresses around L.A. He has a propensity to build villa-like structures that give a lazy nod to the Old World (think: a Holiday Inn set in Tuscany). He's also got a weird case of Italophilia, as evidenced by the faux-Italian names of his structures, like The Orsini by Figueroa and Cesar Chavez, and The Lorenzo by USC.
In 2015, he said that affordable housing mandates were "not American," and in fact he was largely responsible for shooting down ordinances that were set in motion by the City Council secure affordable-housing units in new developments. Also, Palmer was discovered to be using 12,000 gallons of water a day, in spite of a historical drought. In 2014, one of Palmer's mega-structures—The Da Vinci by the 110 Freeway in Downtown—went up in a big blaze and was burned to a crisp. Dawud Abdulwali was charged as being responsible for the arson. He was reportedly angry with police violence against African-Americans, and allegedly started the fire to make a statement.
According to GHP Management, Palmer's development firm, the company currently owns "10,400 Southern-California apartment units, valued in excess of 3 billion dollars."
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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