Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) told the Times that Republicans on the Hill were worried about the optics of defending the Doral decision in the wake of Trump’s controversial and consequential decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria.
See, kids, it doesn’t matter that it’s illegal as all git-out, that it flagrantly runs afoul of the Constitution or rules governing government contracting or, hell, any of that inconvenient, annoying stuff. No. It’s that it might look bad (right now).
You can always count on a Rethugliklan from Okleehomer to clear things up for us slack-jawed yokels.
I bet he would resign if he could have a fancy title Wealthiest and Most Beloved Galactic Emperor of Hospitality in Perpetuity and live in a Gold House instead of that tacky White House.
Christie is no fool. He sees where this is heading, and the wheels are coming off the train. I see him trying to position himself as the voice of reason that tried to guide Trump towards better behavior behind the scenes — like the anonymous Op Ed writers. It’s the only way to even begin to hope to survive association with Trump.
Riddle me this TPMers… Something about Trump has me bothered. You see, I take him at his word that he doesn’t own nor control his businesses. He has told us these were transferred into a trust and that he gave up operational control to his sons.
So when Doral was pledged for the G7 event, I assume the President (or an aide) called up Trump Inc and asked for a bid. Similarly, everytime Trump goes to the place and plays golf or stays a night somewhere, I’m sure this was a business transaction. I’m sure Trump (as he expects the government) pays for his use of amenities he clearly doesn’t own or control. I assume he personally pays the full cost of closing the whole venue down and the extra time for staff (and lost opportunity).
Otherwise, wouldn’t this be a corporate contribution?
The so-called trust is a sham. It’s not and never was a blind trust, and there are absolutely no Chinese Wall mechanisms in place to separate his sons’ actions from his. They can and undoubtedly do talk about business constantly. He may not technically have day to day control, but he effectively does so.
The biggest joke was Eric issuing a statement after the Mulvaney announcement saying how “honored” the Trump Organization was to get the contract.
Trump’s style is in-your-face corruption, compared to the traditional method of behind-the-scenes corruption. This has caused hand-wringing among the corrupt Washington politicians.
Well at least he didn’t cause any regionally destabilizing troop movements with this latest 48 hour reversal. Which reminds me: Ergodan has nuclear ambitions. I really want to know what favor he did for the Trump Syndicate.
OT, slightly, but we’ve been talking on and off around TPM about ‘Middle America’ and how this is all playing out in the center of the country.
I found this today on my SM feed - it’s from my local paper and they did a survey of folks asking if they trust government. It may not be a representative sample, but it’s something this is very western Wisconsin:
I can only imagine how many times TRump brought up Doral since the first time he mentioned it and just eventually wore everyone down. I think his surprise at the reaction is genuine because he is completely separated from reality at this point. He still thinks if he can get the right lighting and the correct camera shot his “ratings” (poll approval numbers) will go up. He has never grasped the importance or the reality of being president - he still believes he is just acting the part, and he also believes that is all anyone has ever done because he attributes his motives and limited intellect to everyone else, if he bothers to even consider them at all. It is going to be strange and scary to watch this man continue to unravel - the only question now is when are they going to take the car keys away from grandpa?
A NYT/Siena College poll of the six states that will probably decide the 2020 election — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — finds that a majority of registered voters in these states support the impeachment inquiry by 5 points, 50% to 45%.
So Trump is blaming Democrats and the media for stopping him from doing something immoral and likely illegal? Sounds like the sort of blame more people around Trump should be striving to earn.
Apparently it has already come out that there were requests for “bids” – but those requests were made after the poop hit the fan about the Doral decision. Clearly, as an attempt to whitewash the whole thing. Sadly, people do keep records of things like phone calls…
This is an interesting read from earlier this year.
The short term grift Trump is running by sucking money out of the Federal government, comes to a end when he leaves office…and the Trump name brand will be shattered.
I actually think that was what was behind his statement worrying about impeachment being bad on a resume. He isn’t running for any other office. The “resume” he is concerned with, is how it impacts his businesses cash flow.
Even if he isn’t convicted of anything when he gets out of office, he will always be under increased scrutiny. Those sweetheart deals with Russian oligarchs? Those vanish after he is out of office.
To me, this looks like a preview of the tack that will be taken when Trump is forced to resign… Blame the Democrats and the media when the GOP tells him that he has to reverse course.
Trump will go when McConnell says he has no choice because he no longer has the support of the GOP Senate – but the game plan will be to blame the Democrats, and the media, for “making it impossible for Trump to govern, so he is resigning for the good of the country” (and a pardon from Pence, of course). Moscow Mitch and the GOP will say they continued to support Trump, and were willing to fight for him, but respect Trump’s decision.
Otherwise, Trump supporters will blame the GOP for Trump’s resignation. This will be a win-win for the GOP – they will no longer be burdened with Trump, and will still have the support of Trumpoids angry at Democrats for “overturning the election”.
Yeah, I read that article back when it came out. I particularly liked the point that the Evil Spawn have absolutely no idea how to run businesses on margins (indeed, at all). They just keep hauling in $$ from scams and dubious lenders and throwing it around on fake gilt.
He may slowly but surely be waking up to the fact that when this is all over, his “kingdom” is worth nothing. Nobody is going to want to stay at his tacky hotels, nobody is going to want to be associated with his “brand”…except maybe some die-hard koolaid drinkers, but they can’t afford to fork out the $$ to save them.
When there are no more PACs to bleed dry, when there are no more Saudi princes and Russian oligarchs to try to buy him for their own purposes, his bank accounts will dry up. 'Cause there’s nothing there but a Potemkin illusion.
I think that, on a certain level, he knows it already and that’s part of what’s making him so nuts.
