There are few similarities between Trump Hotels and the detention centers near the border. Aside from the fact that each are part of Donald Trump’s heinous legacy, one is an international luxury hotel chain, while the centers are a few steps away from being the concentration camps of our day.
One anonymous prankster is playing up the connection by using the domain TrumpHotels.org. While the Trump Organization, as Gizmodo points out, tried to take control of any site that could be purchased to insult Trump (DonaldTrumpSucks.com, ImBeingSuedByTheDonald.com, etc.), they failed to secure the domain for the seemingly innocent .org, now being used to slam Trump’s immigration policies.
The site leads with a slideshow of photos within a detention center in McCallen, Texas, followed by quotes from Trump under a section titled “Thoughts from Our Manager.” These include some of Trump’s most notorious comments about immigrants, like, “They’re really bad. You have people coming in, and I’m not just saying Mexicans, I’m talking about people that are from all over that are killers and rapists and they’re coming into this country.”
Someone purchased the domain last week, before populating it with criticism of the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy. The section titled “Features and Services” includes “child accommodations,” attacking the recently halted practice of separating children from their parents at the border, a practice that has torn apart more than 2,000 families since April. It’s still unclear when, how, or even if these families will be reunited.
While the site’s main focus is on the current immigration crisis, it also attacks Trump over various other issues. A link dubbed “handicap accessibility” sends you to a YouTube video of Trump mocking a disabled reporter. At the bottom of the site, users can click on categories labeled “The Blacks,” “The Hispanics,” “The Muslims,” and “Very Fine People.” These sections have yet to be filled out, but will probably include links to some of Trump’s racist quotes aimed at other demographics.
There’s no indication that Trump has seen the site yet, because if he did he probably would have tweeted about it. It’s also unclear who runs the site, but the author makes it very clear that the page is a satirical troll well within the protection of the first amendment.
“TrumpHotels.org is intended for entertainment, satirical, and political commentary purposes, a disclaimer at the bottom of the site reads. “The use of any intellectual property, including trademarks or names of public figures, is protected under fair use, as TrumpHotels.org serves to comment on social and political issues and problems regarding the federal immigration policies of President Donald J. Trump, as well as other statements and actions made by Mr. Trump, through the use of ridicule and criticism.”
