ICE Trucks
Don't confuse them with the ice cream man.
Via the Independent: ICE dropped over $700,000 on tricked-out trucks with Trump’s name on the back for rap video recruitment ad.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent over $700,000 tricking out a pair of trucks designed to look like Donald Trump’s private jet for a series of social media posts to boost recruitment efforts.
A video posted by the Department of Homeland Security with music by rapper DaBaby shows a Ford Raptor pickup truck and GMC Yukon SUV rolling around Washington, D.C., and parked in front of the White House, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
The trucks have a navy blue paint job with red and white racing stripes and a gold ICE logo. The words “defend the homeland” appear on the side, and “President Donald J. Trump” is printed in gold on a rear window.
According to federal procurement records seen by The Independent, the government paid more than $505,000 for the vehicles from at least three dealerships. The government spent another $227,000 on the wrap jobs provided by at least four companies.
That certainly sounds like money well spent! (It is so tiresome to hear about “wasteful government spending” and then see things like this.)
Worse, the inclusion of Trump’s name on the trucks is just another case of authoritarian personalism, made worse by associating the leader with a specific paramilitary operation.
Government employees should be working for the American people, not for a singular leader.
Here’s the video.
At least they’re not Musk’s Ciphertrucks.
Trump insisting on putting his name on everything, even government property, is disgusting, of course. I’m sure the “Obama is a narcissist!!1” folks will be outraged.
(There’s no “like” button for articles, so kudos to you for continuing to call attention to these sorts of things and the “In Front of our Nose” series.)
Vanilla Ice could make a fortune. Where is Kristi Noem standing on the hood twerking?
“Stop, collaborate and listen, ICE is back with a brand new invention. Someone grabs ahold of me tightly. It’s just an ICE agent detaining me unjustly” yadda yadda yadda you get the gist. Would be a great SNL parody video
Think of all the things ICE could do with that money…
They have a massive budget, but it is finite. Given what they do when they’re doing their job well, I think I’m all for as much grift and waste as they can manage. Harm reduction.
@Gustopher: Fair.