You might wonder what a lowly archaeologist might have to do with the likes of one of the current Republican Party frontrunners. Several years ago, one of my coworkers had the dubious honor of performing an archaeological survey on some of Trump’s land.
In many places, in accordance with various laws and statutes an archaeological and environmental survey has to be performed before land can be developed – this is to protect historical and cultural resources, endangered species, and water and air quality. To a lot of people (Trump included) it seems like a big waste of time, but this is how many thousands of people earn a living (myself included).
While Trump was trying to develop a certain property, it came to the attention of the township that an archaeological site was located in that area. An excavation had to be performed to determine its eligibility for the (extremely limited) protections the National Historic Preservation Act can afford. Depending on the extent of the site, this is a process that can take weeks or months.
One day, while my coworker was leaving the field, a limo pulled up and a window rolled down. A hand from inside the vehicle waved him over. There was the Donald himself, wanting to know the progress of the excavation.
“Find anything?” he asked.
“Oh! Yes-” Trump’s question is one you only want to ask an archaeologist if you have time to kill. We love to talk about the stuff we find, and my coworker made the mistake of thinking Trump actually cared because a few minutes later:
“Unfind it.”
No matter how many grumpy landowners and construction managers we deal with, a statement like this always comes as something of a shock, and in my coworker’s telling of the story, it took a moment to process. “What?”
“I said, unfind it.”
That was about the moment where he realized what exactly it was that Trump wanted him to do. Not gonna lie, going through an attempted strong-arming from the man himself would be a little surreal, and my friend handled it better than I would have: “Oh! Sir, we will ensure you are in compliance with all relevant laws and statutes.”
“That’s not what I said-”
“We’re here to ensure you are in compliance with all relevant laws and statutes, and that’s what we’ll do.”
At this point, Trump must have told his driver to drive off in a huff, because the window rolled up and the limo pulled away.
Later, at a meeting to see if Trump could get his building permits, he could be heard to loudly proclaim things about “Fucking archaeologists” and told his lawyer to “make it go away.” Charming guy.
But we already knew these things about him, so why is this more than an anecdote to laugh over and then forget?
SOMETHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN
Trump has gone on ad nauseam when it comes to his border wall. He wants to build about 1000 miles of it, which should trigger an absolutely massive environmental impact survey (the thing I do with my friends with shovels and nets and things to look at dirt and animals and plants).
Except, it should have happened before. Because there’s already a fence there. Or did we forget?
The area where Trump wants to build his wall should have already been surveyed, but in building the border fence in 2008, the Department of Homeland Security waved those survey requirements. If Trump gets his wall, he isn’t gonna survey shit. More graves are going to be bulldozed, more land defiled.
All in the service of ego and xenophobia.
This man is a plague that kills all that is good. Also, people like him are the reason we needed these laws in the first place.
Archaeologist Problems: Donald Trump.
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