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The Travelin’ Grampa Touring the U.S.A. without an automobile

Focus on safe, fast, convenient, comfortable, cheap travel, via public transit.

Vol. 9, No. 12 TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA December 2016

Photo credit: Mr. Trump’s 757 on YouTube.

President-elect Donald Trump in his Boeing 757 airliner. Note at right: USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal.

What a Trump presidency means for seniors “The election of Donald Trump, along with continued Republican majorities in the House and Senate,

will likely result in major cuts in federal programs that benefit older adults and younger people with

disabilities,” writes Howard Gleckman, Forbes magazine Washington correspondent.

Some federal programs he thinks could suffer: Medicaid, ways health care is delivered through

Medicare, and services funded through the Older Americans Act such as: senior centers, paratransit and

call-for-a-ride transportation, area agencies on aging, family caregiver support, aging and disability

resource centers, Meals on Wheels, etc.

What a Trump presidency means for senior travelers Urban public transit is likely to improve while Donald Trump is President of the USA, thanks largely

to the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act signed into law by President Barack Obama

in December 2015. Congress is unlikely to significantly amend it.

Air travel might improve significantly long term, if President Trump can convince Congress to go

along with his desire to upgrade our airports to what he imagines exists in China and elsewhere.

Likewise, passenger railroads – and maybe rural and call-for-a-ride transportation.

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .

Trump first travel industry tycoon elected USA president “Trump will be the first travel industry tycoon in the White House,” observes Simon Calder, travel

writer for the British newspaper Independent, noting Trump’s international chain of hotels. This being the

case, you’d think the outlook would be rosy for tourism businesses and tourists alike.

Not so, writes Calder. “If the US economy shrinks, as a result of ‘trade war’ policies he has proposed,

it is likely that airlines, hotels, etc., will rein in the scale of their operations, with travelers hit with less

choice and potentially higher prices, in an environment in which everyone feels a little bit poorer.”

Trump ‘most tourism savvy president in American history’ Donald Trump is “the most tourism savvy president in American history,” writes David Beirman in

ETB Travel News. “His company has developed hotels, resorts, golf courses and casinos in and outside

the USA. Not all have been commercially successful, but Trump has set high standards in service,

comfort and appointments in the luxury hotel and resort category.”

Half of Trump’s luxury hotels are in foreign countries

Pictured at Trump Hotels.com are six USA and six foreign hotels. Two are Latin American, in Panama

and Rio de Janeiro. Others are in Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Balmedie in Scotland. Trump also

has plans for hotels and resorts in Bali in Indonesia and Baku in Azerbaijan. See story on page 8.

Trump Real Estate’s website lists nine international properties, including three in India and others in

the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey and Uruguay.

Trump businesses import much from China, grass from the U.K. U.S. Customs and Border Protection records, monitored by ImportGenius.com since 2007, show

Trump businesses importing much from East Asia and other parts of the world. Products containing the

brand name Trump include: vodka from Holland and Israel; clothing cufflinks, belts from China and other

Asian countries; furniture from Germany and Turkey. And glassware from Slovenia, Trump’s wife’s

birthplace. Like many hotel chains, Trump Hotels buys many housekeeping items made in China, Taiwan

and other eastern Asian countries.

“Trump imported more than 70,000 pounds of grass from the U.K. for his golf resort in Jupiter, Fla.,”

reported The Washington Post.

USA second most visited country; first in income from tourists In 2015, says ETB Travel News, the USA attracted 77.5-million international tourists, making our

country the second most visited tourist destination in the world. France was first, but the USA was first in

tourism income.

Trump’s election could profoundly affect tourism business “Trump’s election is not without potential problems on the tourism front,” writes David Beirman in

ETB Travel News. His insulting Mexicans and Muslims could have “profound effect” on future tourism

business, he said. Much depends on if the USA tightens visa entry requirements, he added.

Bush drove tourists away; Obama increased them; Trump…? Iris Köpke, top editor at German travel magazine Luxusinsider, said she remembers travelers saying

they wouldn’t go to the USA so long as George W. Bush was president. “That totally disappeared with

Obama, who is rather popular in Germany compared to Bush,” she said. “I think a President Trump might

bring out those old resentments once again.”

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .

Photo credits: YouTube; International Jet Interiors.

Left: 24-katat gold seat belt buckles are among many golden items aboard Donald Trump’s private Boeing 757-200 airliner. Right: Luxurious interior of one of Trump’s two private Sikorsky S-76B helicopters

Public transport enthusiast Trump has own private transport President-elect Donald Trump uses public transportation little, if at all. Although he mocked

presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her New York subway inexperience, Grampa could find no

record of him using the subway in recent years, if ever.

Trump flies around in his own private Boeing 757-200 airliner, his own 12-seater Cessna Citation

corporate jet, and two of his own classy Sikorsky S-76B helicopters.

A typical 757-200 airliner seats up to 228 passengers. His can carry 43 passengers, but rarely does.

Besides a dining room, master and guest bedrooms, and private office, it has golden items throughout,

including 24-caret gold plated seat belt buckles. For more: https://youtu.be/UZq3iCn2y74

On CBS-TV’s Face the Nation, Trump called his 727-200 “the ultimate bus.”

Besides riding around in chauffeured limos and vans, Trump owns a fleet on luxury cars, including

Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Tulsa electric, Ferrari, Chevy Camaro, and Mercies Benz sports cars.

He has flown frequently on commercial airlines.

Photo credits: Donald Trump at Twitter; Real Donald Trump at Twitter.

Left: Trump tweeted this photo of himself aboard his Boeing 757 jet airliner. Right: This picture of Trump watching a TV news program appeared on a Real Donald Trump Twitter web page.

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA ..

Obama learned how vital tourism is to nation’s economy “It is important to reflect that the Obama Administration at first did not understand the economic

impact of travel,” David Scowsil, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council, told a Nov. 9

gathering of travel ministers in London. It took place only hours after Donald Trump’s election.

“An advisory group finally got through to the President, and once he understood it, policies introduced

to make it better,” Scowsil said. “We now have to start with new administration.”

It’s important that presidents and prime ministers understand the role of tourism in generating jobs and

boosting economies, Scowsil added.

During President Barack Obama's tenure, Brand USA, an agency that promotes coming to and getting

around our country, originated in 2010 with the aim of attracting 100-million tourists from abroad, who

were anticipated spending perhaps $250-billion by 2021.

Tourism also benefited from President Barrack Obama's effort in 2014 to jump-start a 10-year visa

program for Chinese visitors. Until then, only one-year visas were available.

Travel experts seek to reduce terrorism’s impact on tourism

At a recent gathering of travel ministers in London, Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the United

Nations World Tourism Organization, addressed terrorism’s impact on tourism. “No country is immune”

to such violence, he noted. “This is a global challenge.”

He called for careful issuance of travel advisories so that tourist destinations not suffer needlessly.

Vinod Zutshi, secretary of tourism in India, agreed that countries need to be more responsible when

issuing travel advisories, because perception is such a key factor.

Dr Rifai said the UNWTO will launch an online training program early next year, hoping to train more

than one million employees in travel and tourism about security issues and crises such as natural disasters.

“It will raise awareness about security for any individual in the tourism industry, whether a bell boy,

concierge, or museum guide.”

Traveler more likely to die in auto accident than by terrorism Fritz Joussen, chief exec, TUI Group, while admitting security is a top priority, said perceptions “often

compound the problems of terrorism.” He sees a need for more perspective. “Probability of being killed

by a terrorist is lower than being killed in a car accident on the way to the airport,” he related.

Destinations often recover quickly from crises such as a virus outbreak or earthquake, while traveler

response to terrorism often is “very different,” Joussen noted. “It generates more toxic perceptions, and

fear instead of diversity.” “We need to overcome this,” he said.

Travelers should be told when countries enhance their security David Scowsill, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council, suggested at a Nov. 9 meeting

of travel ministers that efforts be increased to reassure travelers when a terror-victimized country has

enhanced its security, such as in Egypt. Coincidentally, during a concurrent World Tourist Market

gathering in London, Mohamed Yehia Rashed, Egypt’s tourism minister, assured attendees his country

has the technology and security measures in place to protect tourists.

Travel market experts foresee ‘the Trump downturn’

Speaking at the World Travel Market in London, Caroline Bremner, head of travel market research

firm Euromonitor, described what its economists call “the Trump downturn,” with the U.S. economy

expected over the next five years to grow at just under 5%, i.e., 1.5% to 2% in 2017.

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA ..

Illustration credit: Facebook: Travel Weekly’s July 28, 2016 issue.

When Travel Weekly ran a picture on the cover of its Hotels, resorts, casinos, politics feature on Oct. 28, a week before Election Day, the magazine received many complaints.

Trump pix on Travel Weekly cover brings complaints

When Travel Weekly ran a nice picture of Donald Trump along with a cover story about travel

business and politics a week before Election Day, it received numerous protests and a few subscription

cancellations. Its Facebook page was unfollowed many times, including many “angry” emoji clicks.

“We were accused of pandering to, and promoting, Trump,” said Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief.

One reader said he was “nauseated” at the thought of Travel Weekly “wasting so much space on this topic

and man.” On the other hand, there were also “likes” and “thumbs -ups.” One reader wrote that he

enjoyed staying at the Trump International Hotel in “a wahoo, Hawaii.”

Travel Weekly is a most unlikely candidate to Trump pander. Not unlike when Donald Trump the

candidate stopped speaking to Washington Post reporters because he felt the newspaper’s coverage about

him was unfair, Trump Hotels similarly stopped responding to Travel Weekly inquiries after complaining

that the magazine’s coverage of its hotels had been “negative” and “inaccurate.”

Travel Weekly editor thinks Trump might undo Obama-era progress

“The U.S. travel industry has spent millions between different associations, like Brand USA, to

position the U.S. as a very welcoming destination,” writes Arnie Weissmann, Travel Weekly editor-in-

chief. “Trump might undo many initiatives that benefit the tourism industry,” he suspects.

“After 9/11, America adopted a fortress mentality, and it was a very unwelcoming experience to

visitors,” he recalls. “That hurt tourism and created a lot of lost years.”

Since then the tourism business “has turned around significantly, but it's all at risk if the messaging

by foreign media continues to be that Trump is working against that,” he lamented.

Tourism official sees Trump election having little impact Some tourism officials think President Trump won't affect tourism much, reports Justine Griffin in the

Tampa Bay Times. For instance, Visit Florida chief exec Will Seccombe told her. Last year, visitors came

to Florida from 190 different countries. “We expect that to keep growing,” he said. “I think that will carry

forward regardless of the election.” On the other hand, travel industry researcher Henry Harteveldt told

Stephanie Rosenbloom of The New York Times, “If certain groups are targeted, if hate speech is tolerated

against certain ethnicities, inbound travel will dry up. That would be bad for us.”

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA ..

APTA strongly opposes GOP platform plank American Public Transportation Assn. chief exec Richard White on July 19 issued a statement on

behalf of APTA’s more than 1,500 members strongly opposing a Republican platform proposal to abolish

federal financial assistance to public transit systems. “This proposal would undo more than 30 years of

overwhelming support for dedicated federal investment in public transit,” declared White.

“Having no federal funds would be devastating, not only to the millions of Americans who use public

transportation and to the employers who depend on it for their employees, but also for communities of all

sizes that need it for a thriving economy and quality of life,” he said.

Transit officials congratulate Trump & Pence After it became apparent Donald Trump had won sufficient votes to let the Electoral College on

December 14 elect Trump to be the USA’s 35th president, American Public Transportation Association

chairman Doran J. Barnes and APTA acting president Richard A. White on November 9 officially

congratulated the new president-elect and new vice president-elect. They did so on behalf of not only

APTA’s 1,500+ members, but also “public transit riders who take 10.6-billion trips a year.”

APTA already provided input to Trump transition team “The U.S. public transportation industry looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and

Vice President-elect Pence in moving our country forward with public transportation infrastructure

investment,” said a November 9 joint statement by APTA’s chair Doran Barnes and APTA president

Richard White. It noted that Trump “spoke of the need for increased infrastructure investment” during his

campaign.

APTA, in fact, already has shared its “perspective and expertise” with the Trump transition team in

recent months, they said. “APTA members stand ready to build on this work,” they said, “on revitalizing

our economy and creating jobs through greater federal investment in infrastructure.”

Photo credit: Matt Coneybeare, ViewingNYC; Welcome2TheBronx/Wordpress/

Back in September, an unknown artist painted this graffiti on this New York subway train car. It was noticed by a photographer who posted this picture on Welcome2TheBronx.com. Later, the Viewing NYC photo site reprinted it.

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .. Illustration credits: APTA; C. Steven Tucker Twitter tweet; Doran Barnes Facebook page.

Richard A. White Tucker’s ‘All the way to Pennsylvania Avenue’ train. Doran J. Barnes

Trump infrastructure enthusiasm hopeful sign for transit President-elect Trump did not specifically mention trains, subways, streetcars or buses during his

victory speech July 21 at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, but it did prominently

mention a great need for our nation to upgrade its infrastructure, noticed Art Guzzetti, V.P. for policy

for the American Public Transportation Assn. Guzzetti sees that as a positive sign.

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast., wrote poet Alexander Pope in 1734.

Trump got to where he is partly by practicing what’s preached in The Power of Positive Thinking,

authored by Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, once pastor of a church Trump said he attends.

For more: www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/donald-trump-2016-norman-vincent-peale-213220

Only a few days earlier, APTA’s Guzzetti and many other public transit advocates expressed dismay

after reading the GOP Convention platform’s position on public transportation.

Republican platform plank seeks to kill public transit funding The transportation plank of the 58-page 2016 Republican National Convention platform seeks to

eliminate Highway Trust Fund funds for public transportation. It says:

“The current Administration … pursues an exclusively urban vision of dense housing and government

transit. Its ill-named Livability Initiative is meant to “coerce people out of their cars. …”

“We propose to remove from the Highway Trust Fund programs that should not be the business of the

federal government. More than a quarter of the Fund’s spending is diverted from its original purpose.

“One fifth of its funds are spent on mass transit, an inherently local affair that serves only a small

portion of the population, concentrated in six big cities. Additional funds are used for bike-share

programs, sidewalks, recreational trails, landscaping, and historical renovations…. We propose to phase

out the federal transit program and…oppose an increase in the federal gas tax.”

Platform plank wants Amtrak & regional railroads privatized By proposing passenger railroad privatization, the 2016 Republican Convention platform virtually

calls for their doom. Here’s what it says:

“Amtrak is an extremely expensive railroad for the American taxpayers, who must subsidize every

ticket. The federal government should allow private ventures to provide passenger service in the

northeast corridor. The same holds true with regard to high-speed and intercity rail across the country.

We reaffirm our intention to end federal support for boondoggles like California’s high-speed train to

nowhere.”

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .

Muslim ban could cost USA $71-billion and 132,000 jobs A travel ban on Muslims could cost the USA perhaps $71-billion a year and up to 132,000 job losses,

taking into account both direct spending on travel and tourism as well as spill-over into other sectors, as

well as losses to tax revenues and institutions of education, said the Council on Foreign Relations.

During his first post-election trip to Capitol Hill, a reporter asked Trump if he would ask Congress to

ban Muslims from entering the country. He replied, “Thank you, everybody” and walked away.

Travel guru calls Muslim ban ‘dire’ for tourism

Under a headline “Raising the Drawbridge,” a travel writer for The Economist using the pen name

Gulliver, writes that if President Trump, “as he vowed to do on his first day in office,’ bans Muslims from

entering the USA, “the consequences for the travel industry would be dire.”

Trump’s plan, even if it applied only to immigrants and not to tourists, “would hugely dampen

enthusiasm among the world’s 1.6-billion Muslims to visit the country. Travelers from the Middle East,

many of whom are Muslim, tend to be among the biggest spenders.”

Travel + Leisure magazine says such tourists spend $6.8-billion a year during their trips.

“The actual hit to tourism would be far higher,” supposes Gulliver. “The majority of the world’s

Muslims live outside the Middle East.”

“This newspaper* doesn’t hold out much hope that a drawbridge-up Trump will be a boon for the

American economy, especially in the longer term,” he wrote. * The Economist insists it is a newspaper. For most of its 173-year life it was. It became a magazine in 1971.

Re: Trump: Travel business folk cautiously optimistic “Mr. Trump demonstrated throughout his campaign that travel and infrastructure issues have his

attention, and we stand ready to advise his administration on achieving his stated aims in these areas,”

said U.S. Travel Association chief exec Roger Dow. “We are encouraged that Mr. Trump's extensive

business and hospitality background.” Assuming Trump knows “travel accounts for 10% of all U.S.

exports and creates jobs in every single congressional district,” Dow said he is likely to have “a ready and

receptive ear for our agenda.”

“His background in the hospitality and leisure industry will have given him many insights into the

importance of the travel and tourism sector for generating jobs and growth,” said David Scowsill,

president, World Travel & Tourism Council, based in London, England.

“President-elect Trump has a unique understanding of the significant contributions that travel and

tourism make to the economy and in communities around the country. We look forward to working with

him and all elected officials on both sides of the aisle to ensure we preserve the ability for our industry

and our employees to grow and prosper. … It's now time to put the campaign behind us and move

forward together,” said Katherine Lugar, chief exec, American Hotel & Lodging Association.

“Sound bites from the campaign trail have a way of feeling different once in office,” said Jonathan

Grella, U.S. Travel public affairs guy. “We look forward to ongoing dialogue with the administration.”

Trump Hotels chain eyes travel business in Muslim countries Its website says Trump Hotels plans to open a Trump International Hotel & Tower on the tourist

attractive island of Bali, in Indonesia. It also is a partner building a resort and golf course in Lido,

Indonesia, 40 miles south of Jakarta. Earlier, the chain attempted unsuccessfully to open a new luxury

hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan. Both Indonesia and Azerbaijan are predominantly Muslim countries.

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. TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA . .

Left: Crippled America, published in November 2015 when Donald Trump wasn’t so certain he could win in the Republican primary elections. Center: Trump’s favorite book, by Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who he refers to as “my pastor.” Right: Great Again, published on July 12, 2016, just days before the Republican convention. Crippled America and Great Again are basically the same book, with minor edits and different covers.

Is a pro-transit Trump merely wishful thinking?

Public transit advocates’ optimism based on President-elect Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for major

upgrading of our nation’s infrastructure might be “wishful thinking.” Several web searches by Grampa

reveal no mention by Trump of public transportation since November 2015, except once while mocking

Hillary Clinton’s troubles using a fare card at a New York subway turnstile.

A 976-word policy statement issued in 2016 titled Donald J, Trump’s Vision outlines his plan to

“transform America’s crumbling infrastructure,” but it never mentions either “public transportation” or

“public transit.” What it says is: “Implement a bold, visionary plan for a cost-effective system of roads,

bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, ports and waterways, and pipelines…”

Read it for yourself at: www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/an-americas-infrastructure-first-plan

Trump’s convention speech didn’t mention public transportation At the Republican National Convention in July, in his acceptance speech, Trump said:

“We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools and

hospitals,” Trump said. “We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way,

second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.”

Yes, he’s a big railroads fan, but what about buses? At the Republican National Convention, Martine Powers of The Washington Post wrote:

“The irony? Donald Trump is actually a big fan of public transit -- and it’s one of the issues on which

he’s been absolutely consistent since he entered the race. He often talks in glowing terms about the state-

of-the-art train systems he sees during his international travels.” She then she cited a quote from a March

Trump speech: “You go to China, they have trains that go 300 miles an hour. We have trains that go

‘Chug, chug, chug.’ And then they have to stop because the tracks split, right?”

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .

Trump and Republican Party disagree on transit Like most Manhattan residents, Donald Trump seems to like trains, subways and buses. Most

Republican Party leaders apparently don’t. Or at least most don’t want revenue from federal taxes – or

even state taxes – being spent for public transportation.

Early in Trump’s presidential campaign, back in March, he stressed the USA’s need to improve and

modernize its airports and railroads to match those of Europe and Asia that he’s seen during his travels.

“You go to China,” he said. “They have trains that go 300 miles an hour. We have trains that go chug,

chug, chug. And then they have to stop because the tracks split…”

His book Great Again calls for big federal spending In Donald Trump’s 2015 book, Great Again: How to Fix Crippled America, he calls for big

infrastructure improvements, including roads and public transit. It says:

“We need to undertake a massive rebuilding …Public transit is overcrowded and unreliable and our

airports must be rebuilt. You go to countries like China and many others and look at their train systems

and public transport. It’s so much better. We’re like a third-world country.”

“On the federal level, this is going to be an expensive investment, no question about that. But in the

long run it will more than pay for itself.”

Trump sees self as ‘Greatest infrastructure president’ At the Republican convention, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Penn.), who chairs the House Committee on

Transportation & Infrastructure, told Business Insider that Trump told him he’s planning to be “the

greatest infrastructure president in the nation’s history.”

In his convention speech, Trump said, “Our roads and bridges are falling apart. Our airports are

Third World condition.” Later, he declared, “We will build the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports

and the railways of tomorrow. This, in turn, will create millions of more jobs. …and we will fix TSA at

the airports, which is a total disaster.”

NYC transit enhances Trump’s real estate holdings “While he may not often use New York’s subways, he certainly knows the city would come to a halt

without it,” says William Lind of the American Conservative Center for Public Transportation. “What

would his New York real estate investments be worth if New York’s rail transit ceased to operate?

Businessman are aware of this sort of thing.”

Transit workers’ union fears ‘death blow to mass transit’ Cutting mass transit funding from the Highway Trust Fund as proposed in the Republican platform

“would be a death blow to public transportation; pushing our already cash-strapped, crumbling transit

systems back decades,” said Amalgamated Transit Union president Larry Hanley. Using one of Donald

Trump’s favorite terms, Hanley declared, “It would be a complete disaster for safety and service.”

“The GOP is out of touch with everyday Americans when it comes to transit,” he said. “It’s not just

big cities where many Americans, especially seniors, people with disabilities and low income families,

depend on buses and subways each day.”

“Our government is spending $2-billion a week to fight wars and rebuild cities halfway across the

world, while our own cities and their transit systems get worse by the day,” he added. “This GOP

platform proposal takes us nowhere but backwards.”

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .

Photo credits: Stefania at Twitter; Sarah Shachat at Twitter.

Left: Post-election therapy post-it notes at Toronto subway station includes big one saying “Love Always Trumps Hate.” Others say “Don’t give up” and “Stay strong.” Right: Even more abundant post-election post-it notes at 14th Street subway station pedestrian tunnel in New York City.

Only photo of Trump on NY subway is a phony Back in August, news reporters at New York City public radio station WNYC gathered photos for its

website to depict “quintessential New York City experiences.” Eventually, they came up with more than a

dozen. One shows a typical New York subway seat hog, doing what’s called “manspreading,” where

someone, usually a guy, arranges his legs so as to occupy two or three seats.

What does all this have to do with Donald Trump? Well, after its manspreading picture appeared on

the web, a photo doctor substituted for the faces of WNBC’s posers those of German chancellor Angela

Merkel, U.K. prime minister Theresa May, and USA presidential candidate Hillary Clinton – all being

pushed aside by a seat hog having a laughing face resembling that of Donald Trump’s.

For more: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/13-quintessential-new-york-situations

Photo credits: WNYC New York Public Radio; Unknown photoshop trickster.

Left: Women crowded by manspreading man on New York subway. Right: Photoshopped Trumped-up version.

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA . .

Newspapers endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the USA Following is a list in alphabetical order of 154 newspapers that Grampa has counted as endorsing

Hillary Clinton for President of the USA. Others have counted as many as 200.

Akron Beacon-Journal, Albany Times Union, AM New York, Anderson (Ind.) Herald Bulletin, Arizona

Republic, Asheville Citizen-Times, Baltimore Sun, Bangor Daily News, Beaumont Enterprise, Beckley

Register-Herald, Berkshire Eagle, Billings Gazette, Birmingham News, Bloomfield (Pittsburgh) Bulletin,

Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Boston Globe, Boulder Daily Camera,

Brockton Enterprise, Bryan-College Station Eagle, Buffalo News, Burlington Free Press, Camden

Courier Post, Cape Cod Times, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Chicago Sun-Times, Cincinnati Enquirer,

Charleston Gazette-Mail, Charlotte Observer, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Columbus Dispatch, Columbus

(Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, Concord Monitor, Connecticut Post, Cumberland Times-News, Courier-News,

Daily Herald (suburban Chicago), Dallas Morning News, Dallas Voice, Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review,

Democrat and Chronicle, Desert Sun, Denver Post, Des Moines Register, Detroit Free Press, El Diario

La Prensa, Erie Times-News, Falls Church News-Press, Flint Journal, Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover,

N.H.), Fresno Bee, Galveston County Daily News, Grand Rapids Press, Greensboro (N.C.) News &

Record, Harrisburg Patriot Ledger, Hackensack Record, Hartford Courant, Honolulu Star-Advertiser,

Houston Chronicle, Idaho Statesman, Indiana Tribune-Star, Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, Joplin Globe,

Kansas City Star, Kenosha News, Kokomo Tribune, Lexington Herald-Leader, Lincoln (Neb.) Journal

Star, LNP (Lancaster County, Pa.), Longmont (Colo,) Times-Call, Los Angeles La Opinión, Los Angeles

Times, Louisville Courier-Journal, Mankato Free Press, Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.), Marin

Independent Journal, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Miami Herald, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Modesto

Bee, Monterey Herald, Myrtle Beach Sun News, Newark Star-Ledger, New London Day, Newport News

Daily Press, New York Daily News, New York Times, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), New Orleans Times-

Picayune, Niagara Gazette, North Andover (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune, Omaha World-Herald, Orlando

Sentinel, Peoria Journal Star, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Plattsburgh Press

Republican, Portland Press Herald, Poughkeepsie Journal, Providence Journal , Quad-City Times

(Davenport, Iowa), Raleigh News & Observer, Reno Gazette-Journal, Rockford Register Star,

Sacramento Bee, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Salt Lake Tribune, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Salem News, San

Antonio Express-News, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner,

San Jose Mercury News, San Luis Obispo Tribune, Schenectady Daily Gazette, Scranton Times-Tribune ,

Seattle Times, Spokesman-Review, Staten Island Advance, Stockton Record, Sunbury Daily Item, Sun-

Sentinel, Syracuse Post-Standard, Springfield (Ill.) State Journal-Register, Tacoma News-Tribune,

Tampa Bay Times, Terre Haute Tribune-Star The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.), The Decatur Daily,

The Hawk Eye, The Hour (Norwalk, Conn.), The News Leader (Staunton, Va.), The Olympian (Wash.),

The Post-Star (Glens Falls, N.Y.), The Record (Bergen County, N.J.), The Register-Guard (Eugene, Ore.),

The Republican (Garret County, Md.), The Southern Illinoisan, The State (Columbia, S.C.), Traverse City

(Mich.) Record-Eagle, Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.), Ventura County Star, Washington (Pa.)

Observer-Reporter, Washington Post, Watertown Daily Times, Wilkes-Barre Citizens' Voice, Wilmington

(Del.) News-Journal, Wisconsin State Journal, York Dispatch, and Youngstown Vindicator.

Newsweek cover calls Hillary Clinton ‘Madame President’ Newsweek magazine editors tweeted this explanation of why 125,000 copies of a special edition

portrayed on its cover Hillary Clinton as Madame President: They were produced by a licensee, Topix

Media, and not by Newsweek. Almost all 125,000 were successfully recalled. A few weren’t, including

one copy autographed by Hillary Clinton at a “last minute” pre-election rally in Pittsburgh.

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TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .

Illustration from Newsweek Facebook page.

Newsweek magazine prepared two covers for its post-election issue, but the one at right somehow got onto actually printed copies actually distributed to newsstands and bookstores on Election Day, before the votes were counted. In fact, Hillary Clinton autographed one of them.

The Travelin’ Grampa endorsed Clinton for President Yes, in last month’s issue, Grampa called Hillary Clinton the better candidate for President of the

USA, as did many other reputable publications, including: The Atlantic monthly, The Economist, Foreign

Policy magazine, Glamour, Latina, The Nation, Nature, The New Yorker, Philadelphia magazine, Rolling

Stone, US magazine, Variety, Vogue, and Wired.

This was the first time in Grampa’s 71-year journalism career, during which he was an editor or/and

publisher of more than a dozen publications, that he ever endorsed in print a candidate for the presidency

or any other elective office.

More than 200 newspapers also endorsed Mrs. Clinton According to David Sillito, BBC media correspondent, “More than 200 newspapers endorsed Hillary

Clinton, while Donald Trump got the backing of fewer than 20.”

By Grampa’s count, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson got nine endorsements, independent

conservative Evan McMullin one, and Green Party’s Jill Stein none.

Several newspaper editorial boards opposed Trump’s election, but didn’t endorse Mrs. Clinton.

Among them, nationally circulated daily USA Today, read by many travelers.

The Crusader, official newspaper of the Ku Klux Klan, endorsed Trump.

14

TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA ..

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Labor.

Likely next U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao was Deputy Secretary of Transportation in 1989-91.

To head DOT, Trump names immigrant, old DC pro, from coal state

To be next U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Donald Trump has picked arguably the ultimate inside

the DC Beltway insider. She’s Elaine Chao, formerly: U.S. Secretary of Labor 2001-09, deputy DOT

chief 1989-91, earlier Maritime Administration and Peace Corps big shot, United Way president and

Heritage Foundation fellow, all jobs based in Washington DC. She’s also wife of Republican U.S. Sen.

Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader. Both are residents of Kentucky, so-called coal state.

Having earned the Secretary title, Trump said of her: “Secretary Chao’s extensive record of strong

leadership and her expertise are invaluable assets in our mission to rebuild our infrastructure in a fiscally

responsible manner.” This suggests she might play a big role in upgrading our country’s airports, roads,

bridges, railroads, etc. As DOT chief, she’ll also be boss of the Federal Transit Administration.

Born in Taiwan, Ms. Chao came to the USA at the age of 8 with her parents. James Chao, her father, is

a New York shipping exec and founder of the Foremost Maritime that owns a fleet of cargo ships.

Chao graduated from Mount Holyoke College, Columbia University and Harvard Business School,

was a BankAmerica VP and Citicorp banker, and on the Northwest Airlines board of directors.

APTA promptly congratulates U.S. DOT chief-to-be

American Public Transportation Association chair Doran Barnes and acting chief exec Richard White

already have congratulated Elaine Chao, on behalf its members, noting her “extensive federal government

experience … at the highest levels” including “experience with transportation.”

“The public transportation industry is ready to work with Chao on President-Elect Trump's

infrastructure initiative and advance public transportation nationwide,” they said.

Labor Secy. Chao appreciates public transportation “As far as transportation goes, Chao has had a fairly open mind,” reports Henry Grabar at Slate.com.

“As secretary of labor under George W. Bush, she praised the potential of public transit.”

“Coordinated transportation is one of the most important, and perhaps least appreciated, components

of a transition from a life of unemployment and dependency for Americans to one of employment and

productivity,” she said at a luncheon in 2004.

15

TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .. Photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Rr7CO59HY Photo credit: Major Bigtime, Twitter.

Left: Still pix from video showing Donald Trump and, behind him, show biz personality Billy Bush getting off a studio bus. Right: Donald Trump head sticker, one of hundreds pasted on New York Transit rider courtesy promotion ads.

Trump seen on NY subway and on buses in many cities and towns Not him in-person. Only his image. An infamous 2005 Access Hollywood “locker room talk” video

stars Trump and show biz guy Billy Bush. Giant pix of Trump appear on the sides of several Trump-

Pence campaign buses that visited many cities and towns. New York bus and subway riders saw his

picture on stickers pasted by two Manhattan artists on hundreds of MTA Courtesy Counts ads showing

stick figures violating proper transit rider etiquette. They peeled off easily, leaving no residue.

Trump acted as if he is quite familiar with subway travel while mocking Hillary Clinton’s recent

difficulty using a fare card at a New York subway turnstile. “She hasn’t been in the subway in 20 years,

if she was ever in the subway,” he scoffed during an interview on The Michele McPhee Show on Boston

radio station WMEX. “The picture of her riding around for two stops, it’s called pandering,” he told Scott

Brown, the radio show’s host, who once was a U.S. senator. “It’s so bad.” Photo credit” WRCB-TV, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Mike Pence infrequently rode on a Trump Pence campaign bus, but Donald Trump never did, preferring instead to travel in his big fast comfortable Boeing 757 airliner, his speedy Cessna executive jet, or one of his two big Sikorsky helicopters.

16

TRAVELIN’ TRUMP EXTRA .. Photo credits: Emilio Herce, No. 1 train rider, Facebook; CNN Money web page.

Left: Trump mocking “unwanted sexual contact” fake poster in New York subway station. Right: Braniff Airways 1980s-era airliner first class seat with movable arm rest, to allow unwanted groping or other activity.

Unwanted sexual contact poster in subway mentions Trump Except it’s a phony, carefully done to resemble a typical MTA “public service” poster familiar to New

York subway riders. It showed up at the 72nd Street subway station soon after a scandalous 10-year-old

video-audio recording aired during which Donald Trump boasts about sexual exploits he has tried to

dismiss as mere years-ago “locker room” style exaggeration. Here’s what the poster says:

“Unwanted Sexual Contact shouldn’t be a part of anyone’s commute. Or their job. Or their life. A

crowded train is no excuse for unwanted sexual contact. Neither is being a rich guy with a TV program.

Women have the right to commute, work, and live without being harassed or touched in a sexual manner

without consent. By reporting an incident, women are letting violators like Trump know that pussy bites

back, and fights back. Report it to an MTA employee, police officer or a reporter.”

Braniff aircraft seat rests didn’t necessarily prevent groping During the recent presidential election campaign, several women accused Donald Trump of accosting

them. One claimed he groped her while the two were in adjoining first class seats in a Braniff Airways

airliner during the early 1980s. In his defense, a Trump campaign spokesperson said, “The first-class seats

have fixed arm rests. So, I can tell you if she was groped on a plane, it wasn't by Donald Trump and it

certainly wasn't in first class.” At the time, this sounded like a perfect defense. But within hours someone

from Braniff Airways Foundation showed news media a 1980s-era Braniff manual that says “the arm

rests in first class are removable by pulling up.”

If hate speech persists, travel to USA will dry up, says expert “If certain groups are targeted, if hate speech is tolerated against certain ethnicities, inbound travel will

dry up,” said Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research. “It will be bad,” he told The New York Times.

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© 2016, all rights reserved. The Travelin’ Grampa is published monthly by John A. Moore Sr., freelance journalist,

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