Since the day Joe Biden was sworn in, America has tried to move on from
You-Know-Who-But-Wish-You-Didn’t. But how do we move past Trump’s shadow?
Mike Rubens went to America’s saddest playground to find out.
Today’s story is about finding hope—eventually—in an unexpected place.
- [singing] Atlantic City! AC Town! That’s a hell of a town!
Atlantic City, once the gem of high society. - Atlantic City was known as the
millionaire’s playground. - [singing] You’ll love it.
A playground where screwball celebrities delighted us with their goofy gunplay.
Crowds were enchanted by daily attempts to murder a horse!
And where Miss America was crowned! - [singing] Atlantic City in Jersey Town.
Atlantic City in Jersey Town, where hope is— - Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
What? What, is it the horse? The horse is okay.
Oh right, the other thing. It was also here that Donald Trump successfully proved that you
could bankrupt not just one but several casinos, and in his wake, left pain,
and rubble, and… Actually, just hold on a sec. There we go! You’re welcome! The point is,
with his lying and cheating and destruction, Donald previewed in Atlantic City what he
would do to the country. In many ways, Atlantic City is America—as anyone here will tell you:
Is Atlantic City a metaphor for America? - No.
Ugh! Would you just go with me on this? You see, I came to talk to people to learn about
the past—and possibly the future—because if there is hope for post-Trump Atlantic City,
maybe there’s hope for all of us. When you think of Atlantic City,
do you think of hope? - [laughs]
Well, guess what? There are some who are
tremendously optimistic about Atlantic City. - I’m tremendously optimistic about Atlantic City.
This is Mayor Marty Small. This is Mayor Marty’s mantra:
- It’s always a great day here in the city of Atlantic City.
He says it at press conferences: - Today is truly a great day here
in the city of Atlantic City. They say it when you call his office:
- Mayor’s office. It’s a great day in the city of Atlantic City.
And everyone here seems to have gotten the memo: - It’s a beautiful, great day in Atlantic City.
- Always a great day in Atlantic City. - Can you say “great day?”
- Great day! - Great day.
Mayor Small says even greater days are coming. We spoke in front of the remains of
Trump Plaza about Atlantic City's way forward. - Atlantic City knows Donald Trump the best.
He left here on tremendously bad terms. This signifies the end of an era but it
also signifies the hope and the rebuild of something new, fresh, and exciting.
The implosion here drew a pretty big crowd, yes? - Yes.
Have you considered rebuilding it and blowing it up again?
- Haha, no. We want to rebuild it and have something that can attract families.
Right down the street we’re gonna break ground in about a month on a 100-million-dollar waterpark.
We also have a golf course going up in the inlet. 18-hole, state-of-the-art miniature
golf course… [construction noise] I’m sorry, what?
- Huh? What?
- I didn’t hear. Sorry, I can’t—
- Say it again? Could you hold on a second? Shut up!
[construction noise stops] Continue. - Yes, I mean, this is an optimistic
time in Atlantic City. That’s why we say it’s a great day here in the city of Atlantic City.
- Great day. - And I’m just
excited and optimistic about America too. - They say that sooner or later, you meet
everyone in Atlantic City on the boardwalk. To find out more, I set off down the boardwalk.
A little bit off of it, I found Robert Ruffolo. Since 1973, he’s sold vintage books and antiques
from the city’s golden era. - This is a ski board that
Rex the Wonder Dog would ride in the ocean.
The Rex the Wonder Dog? - The Rex the Wonder Dog.
The Wonder Dog was right here? - Yes.
So will Atlantic City—and America—ever feel the innocent joy of the Rex the Wonder Dogian era,
back when we knew how to properly terrify animals? If Atlantic City were a meal, what would it be?
- It wouldn’t be a steak dinner these days. But Atlantic City always comes back.
You have hope for Atlantic City. Is there hope for America?
- Oh, yes. Always bet on the desire of the American people to succeed.
If the mayor is an expert in the present, and Robert in the past, third-generation
psychic Miss Erica is our guide to the future. - The tarot cards are showing for me, happiness.
People starting to get back out there. Everybody’s energies that were once broken being happy again.
So there is hope? - Yes.
The cards say that there is hope? - I do see hope for the country.
There is hope. The final confirmation, here in the cards, that the future is...
You’re not hiding something from me are you? - No, I don’t see anything that I feel like
you need to be alarmed about. - Find the positive in things.
Wait. Maybe there is no hope. Maybe things won’t be okay. On the other hand,
she said there’s nothing to worry about, but on the other other hand,
I don’t even believe in the occult and I think psychics are full of sh...
Ah. You know? I feel better. Back to the hope-y stuff,
and Atlantic City’s reinvention. For example: - We’re in the process of creating a new slogan.
May I make some recommendations? - Shoot.
“Atlantic City: Horny For Improvement.” - I don’t like that one.
Just like Vegas has “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” how about, “What happens in
Atlantic City?” - No.
Okay. “Atlantic City: Existentialist Metaphor for America Writ Small.”
- That’s cool. There you have it, folks: I was right.
And if you can find hope here in this battered, struggling place,
there is hope for us all. Because remember: - It’s always a great day here in the city
of Atlantic City. -
[singing] - Four dollars each.