Modnote: Take this distraction to another thread if you wish to pursue it. This thread will stay on focus.
…And already this has been overshadowed.
The new scandal is Trump misusing the pardon power to pardon some people indicted as part of the Mueller probe, a couple congress cronies and several war criminals who murdered civilians.
And note the context and timing here. This is mere days after the US was the victim of one of the biggest hacks in history, that most intelligence experts attribute to Russia. AFAIK Trump has done nothing about that whatsoever, not even a statement.
Instead he chooses to free some of the guys who illegally hampered the last Russia investigation.
It represents a bigger abuse of the pardon power in one day than all other modern presidents combined. But it’s just Wednesday for Trump.
Mr_Hoogly, this is why we dislike Trump so much. Even in the dying days of his presidency, I’m sure we could keep doing these updates on the appalling scandal of the day.
And threads like “The Trump Administration: A clusterfuck in the making” have been doing this for the last 4 years. You can go there and read tens of thousands of reasons why he’s a dreadful individual and the lasting harm he’s caused.
I think a problem Trump has run into with his corruption is his self-centered greed. In a well run corrupt political machine, everyone gets a cut of the money. And because they’re all making money, everyone in the system has a reason to keep the system going. Everyone’s breaking the law and everyone’s getting a share of the loot.
But Trump is dumb. All he can see is himself. As far as he’s concerned, an ideal system is one where everyone’s breaking the law but he gets to keep all the loot. Trump can’t see how weak such a system is. Nobody but Trump has a reason to keep this system going. Everyone else is taking the risks without getting the rewards.
Some people in Trump’s political machine have figured this out. They’re not waiting for their share; they’re stealing it. They’re showing the same lack of loyalty to Trump that he’s showing to them. I feel that when this is all over and Trump counts up the money he’s made in the last four years, he’ll be shocked at how much is missing.
This is why, while people have compared Trump to a gangster, he would NEVER actually be able to make it in the real Mafia, even in some alternate universe where he was Italian and therefore could be officially “made.” He makes enemies with EVERYONE. He can’t even grease the wheels of the corrupt machine properly, he thinks HE is the entire machine and he should dictate everything that happens by his own whims. He’s SO utterly self-serving, he can’t even put his own grudges and vendettas on the back burner for five minutes.
This is why he’s been such a failure as a president. As others here have said, he has no actual leadership ability.
He’s managed to live a pretty good life and stay out of jail all these years. The rot that is in our system has been there for years and years and favors the rich. Always has and probably always will.
If the rot is unavoidable, then obviously rich people are the problem. I wonder how we could fix that.
End trickle down. Implement pinata economics instead (beat the tax money out of the rich and spread it around).
In other words, Boris is incompetent, while Donald just doesn’t give a shit.