Atlantic City, abandoned Trump Plaza
As far back as 1981, Louis Malle said that his film “Atlantic City could be a metaphor for things going wrong all over America.” And recently the New Republic opined that “The closure of Trump Taj Mahal casino is a giant metaphor for Trump’s America.”
The New Republic
Atlantic City is a metaphor for America at large. That is one of the principal themes of my book about this fabled – and troubled – resort city. Corruption has long been at the heart of the enterprise going all the way back to Prohibition. Although Atlantic City may have invented the idea of the speakeasy where illicit activities are hidden in back rooms, the reality is that everyone knew what was going on, especially local law enforcement — and politicians — who were in on the scheme.
The Knife and Fork Inn
Standing where Atlantic, Pacific and Albany Avenues converge, the Knife & Fork was originally established in 1912 by then Atlantic City Mayor William Riddle, the Commodore Louis Kuehnle, and their cronies as an exclusive men’s drinking and dining club.
Knife and Fork Inn website
When casinos were legalized in Atlantic City, the graft went big time and mobbed-up real estate developers like Donald Trump moved in, sucked out money, and left the city littered with abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Everyone knew who Donald Trump was then and now. But it didn’t matter as long as the politicians and corporate thieves benefited.
City Hall, Atlantic City
Mr. Gilliam joins a long list of Atlantic City politicians who have criminal records. Among them, former Mayor Robert Levy pleaded guilty in 2007 to lying to the government about his military record to increase his veterans benefits.
The Wall Street Journal
Atlantic City became an institutionalized kleptocracy. When Donald Trump made his astonishing leap from reality TV star to President, he brought the casino ethos of Atlantic City with him trashing the ideals of democracy along the way. Those ideals now stand abandoned like the rubble of Atlantic City while Trump’s supporters, mesmerized, play the slots all night long, taking their momentary gains, while knowing, ultimately, they will lose everything before the morning comes. If it comes at all.
Playground Pier
In January of 2016, after a winter storm flooded parts of the Jersey coastline, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, then a candidate for president, sarcastically asked whether he should “pick up a mop” to help with flooding—a remark that was criticized by environmentalists for being out of touch with the gravity of the situation. Christie accepts that human activity contributes to climate change, but contends that the issue “is not a crisis.”
National Geographic
Meanwhile, back in the real Atlantic City things go on as before. The mayor gets in a brawl in a casino parking garage. The mayor is convicted of embezzling money from a youth basketball program. The mayor resigns and is replaced by a rival with an arrest record. Revenue is up over last year in the casinos because of the introduction of sports betting. Hooray! And the Atlantic Ocean waves creep ever closer to the boardwalk.