L’État, c’est Trump
by digby
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| The Trump family cutting the ribbon on their new hotel today. |
I wish I understood why this hasn’t been a bigger deal in the campaign. It’s such an obvious disqualifier and yet the press has just glossed over it like it’s perfectly normal even as they examine every donation to the Clinton Foundation as some kind of corrupt bargain to line the Clintons’ pockets. It’s mind-boggling.
This happened today, less than two weeks from the election:
Trump stood on a ballroom stage alongside three of his children who oversee his hotel projects at what was billed as the official grand opening of Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, just blocks from the White House. Trump’s co-mingling of his business interests and presidential aspirations were on clear display in and around the glitzy ballroom where he spoke.
A staffer employed by the campaign put the finishing touches on the podium on stage. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a top Trump surrogate, was on hand and spoke to reporters about the campaign. Gingrich sat in the front of the room.
Speaking after daughter Ivanka, who has overseen the redevelopment of the Old Post Office building, Trump said the project “shows how to work with our government and to get things done. My theme today is five words: under budget and ahead of schedule. So important. We don’t hear those words too often in government — but you will.”
He noted afterward that he would campaign later in the day in North Carolina before visiting other battleground states.
It was one of many instances in which he has simultaneously promoted his business and political interests. The last time Trump held a major public event at his hotel in the District was last month, when he acknowledged for the first time that President Obama was born in the United States.
He’ll say he’s just supporting his kids and isn’t that nice. Don’t worry he assures everyone that he won’t make any decisions that would particularly benefit the family business when he’s president so it’s ok. Just trust him.
And anyway, if people do nice things for him and it benefits his family fortune, well, that’s win-win, amirite??? L’etat c’est Trump.
I wrote about this for Salon last month. Trump’s conflict of interest is overwhelming and he’s so obtuse that he doesn’t even realize it. That nobody gives a shit about this tells us a lot about the media’s priorities. The news organizations have put dozens of people on the Wikileaks emails searching for a “bombshell” to take down Clinton. They’re just baby birds with their little beaks open waiting for mommy to feed them. This story, which breaks every norm in American politics, even beyond what the crazed Republicans have been doing for the last couple of decades, is almost completely ignored.
If he becomes president, Donald Trump will effectively be running an international business from the Oval Office and nobody cares.
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