Portside

Bernie Sanders’ communications team now has a fun way to continue contacting the Trump administration despite the closure of the White House’s phone line.

Previously, anyone wanting to leave a message for the White House was encouraged to call 202-456-1111. However, shortly after Trump’s inauguration, anyone who called that line got a message that said the line was “currently closed.” So Revolution Messaging, who Bernie Sanders hired to manage his campaign communications, has a solution — call Trump’s businesses instead.

The project is appropriately referred to as White House Inc. The way it works is simple — all you have to do is put in your phone number and your email, and then Revolution Messaging will connect you to one of Trump’s business entities. As of this writing, President Trump has not provided documentation proving he has separated himself from any of his businesses, meaning that Trump has created, as Revolution Messaging notes on its website, “satellite White Houses all over the world.

“Don’t be fooled, they’ll ask you to make a reservation or a tee time, but remember, you’re talking to the White House, so use the opportunity to discuss important issues,” the site reads.

White House Inc even includes some samples of what to talk about when connected to a receptionist at one of the president’s golf courses or hotels:

• Yanking Federal funding for any charitable organization who supports a “nasty” woman’s right to choose. And why stop there? Let’s tell doctors all over the world how to do their job, too. That’s leadership.
• Building a wall to keep out brazen Mexican immigrants who have the nerve to try to provide a better life for their families. All of those taco trucks would be an eyesore, am I right?
• Repealing the Affordable Care Act. So what if 24 million people lose insurance?
• Doing nothing to address the student loan debt. Let’s put those whiny millennials in their place.
• And so much more!

Trump’s stated plans to hand off his business empire to his two adult sons, Don Jr. and Eric, has been blasted by Office of Government Ethics chief Walter Shaub as “inadequate.” The only sure way for Trump to avoid conflicts of interest as president would be if he sold off all of his assets and put the proceeds in a blind trust, which he has flatly refused to do.

Tom Cahill is a writer for US Uncut based in the Pacific Northwest. He specializes in coverage of political, economic, and environmental news. You can contact him via email at tom.v.cahill@gmail.com, or follow him on Facebook.