Trump’s plans for Trinidad

Donald Trump’s private jet – specially painted red, white and black – landed at the Piarco International Airport. Those on board included Trump, his girlfriend Melania Krauss, and boxer Evander Holyfield.

Hours after landing, Trump was photographed at a cocktail reception held in Panday’s honour at the Prime Minister’s residence, St Ann’s. Seated next to the prime minister, the US businessman sipped from a Coca-Cola bottle.

In the photograph, Trump looks more or less as he does now, hair included.

But Trump’s visit was not just to celebrate Panday’s 66th birthday.

The businessman was in town for the latest edition of his Miss Universe Pageant which took place a day after.

These days, pageants are popular but not as popular as they were in 1999. Back then, Miss Universe was wired into the psyches of Trinidadians.

The year prior, people went crazy when Wendy Fitzwilliam won the crown.

The red carpet was rolled out.

Mas man Peter Minshall was asked to design costumes for the show; Brian Mac Farlane was put in charge of the “Coronation Ball”; the Chaguaramas Heliport was converted; even the Chaguaramas Hotel and Convention Centre – revered as the birthplace of Caricom and used by the PNM for its party conventions – was commandeered last minute when ruction at Pier One meant that venue was no longer ideal for the big after-party.

So much was at stake for the nation that even Opposition Leader Patrick Manning wrote to the Trinidad and Tobago Pageant Company offering the services of the entire PNM for the event. He confirmed he would be attending the show.

And he had good reason to. It was certainly a night to remember.

“Let’s get this party started,” said host Jack Wagner, star of TV’s Melrose Place. “I’ll tell you, they know how to party here in Trinidad and Tobago.” The opening segment’s costumes were beautiful, but not so the music. The nation listened, aghast, as for the first time we realised not everyone knows what soca is. Trinidad and Tobago’s Nicole Dyer did not make the final ten, but Miss Botswana, Mpule Kwelagobe, was crowned the winner. She was swarmed by adoring crowds in the capital the next day.

Hours after the show, the pageant company was promptly dissolved, the venues dismantled, the lights and cameras packed away. People asked: what was it all for? Manning said the pageant cost $150 million, not $100 million as claimed by the Panday government. Years later, Dr Keith Rowley would say the ever- controversial Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) took a loan for $12 million but spent $20 million.

One person who probably benefited was Trump. He told an audience at the Convention Centre – which included Enrique Iglesias – that the show received its highest ratings ever.

Though the pageant undoubtedly raised the country’s international tourism profile for one night, it was also a big political stunt. Panday looked to Trump to bolster his popularity. The politician sought to demonstrate clout and to court investment.

Various spokespersons went into overdrive, predicting countless riches based on Trump’s Midas touch. The businessman was asked to invest in a 1,000-room hotel and an 18-hole golf course at Sevilla, Couva, and to “take a look at” the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.

“I’ll be looking at Trinidad and Tobago over the next day and a half and it seems certain that we’ll make an investment here,” Trump told those gathered for a brunch put on by the American Chamber of Commerce at the Hilton. He said he had, “a very good feeling about Trinidad and Tobago.” Yet, as the American press might today tell you, when Donald Trump has a good feeling you better watch out. The proposal he finally settled on was ambitious to say the least. Panday said Trump wanted to construct a casino resort on Chacachacare Island – famous for once housing lepers. Reaction was swift.

Colm Imbert declared, “They giving away Chacachacare island to the mob, the mafia and the syndicate.” Manning called on churches to raise their voices in objection.

Environmentalist Professor Julian Kenny warned the site had a unique history and its ecosystem would be placed in jeopardy.

At the Amcham brunch, Trump told the Miss Universe Inc chief executive Maureen Reidy, “We really have to come back here, okay?” But it seems nothing came of Trump’s plans for Trinidad.