It was peculiar enough that former President Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump, was buried next to the first hole of her ex-husband's exclusive New Jersey golf club. Still, the story got even weirder, as does everything with the ex-president. As we noted, burying Ivana there provides Trump with a nice tax break. However, this plan has been in the works for years.
According to reports, Trump had plans in 2007 to build a mausoleum with four obelisks on his golf course in New Jersey. Those plans were soundly rejected by city officials who called the design "garish."
Via Yahoo News:
Originally, Trump's plans for the mausoleum — where he would eventually be interred — included a 19-foot-high, classical-style stone structure to be built at Trump National Golf Club, which features two courses, local news site NJ.com reported in 2012.
The mausoleum would have included "four imposing obelisks surrounding its exterior and a small altar and six vaults inside," according to NJ.com. But, after encountering opposition from city officials who called the design "overwhelming and garish," Trump floated the idea of redesigning the structure as a "mausoleum/chapel," The Washington Post reported.
Plans for the large-scale mausoleum were ultimately scrapped and Trump proposed several other cemetery redesigns, including a 284-plot portion of the golf course with burial sites available for purchase. No such cemetery has yet been built, but the presence of burial grounds on the golf course property could offer tax breaks to the business.
“It never made any sense to me,” a longtime town official who heard Trump’s plans on the Bedminster Land Use Board told The Washington Post. But, he said, "we don't question motives. We're there as a land-use board."
What in the actual hell is a wedding tomb?
The plan was big: 19 feet high. Stone. Obelisks. Set smack in the middle of the golf course. In Bedminster — a wealthy horse-country town 43 miles west of New York City — officials had some concerns about hosting a reality TV star's tomb. The huge structure would seem garish, out of place. And there were ongoing worries that the spot might become an "attractive nuisance," tempting curiosity-seekers to trespass on club grounds.
That idea bombed, so Trump made a concession and said, "We're planning a mausoleum/chapel."
"Give me a break. Give me a break," Robert Holtaway, the town official, recalled thinking. "Why would anyone ever get married in a building with no windows?"
That didn't work out, so five years later, Trump came up with another idea to build a large cemetery with more than 1,000 graves, including one for him.
Trump wanted to give his golf club members a chance to buy the other plots, giving them the chance at eternal membership.
That didn't go over well, so Trump said he would build just 10 graves, enough for himself and his family members.
Which family members, exactly?
"Only the good Trumps," Ed Russo, a consultant who represented Trump, said. He did not elaborate, according to the outlet.
Trump sure seems obsessed with tax breaks and death. What a fun guy! I'll bet he's a blast at parties, too. Guys, here's a little love life advice. Don't pop the question, asking, "Hey, baby, you wanna get married in a tomb and spend eternity with me?" Just don't do that. You're welcome!
