What’s good for Dear Leader is good for America
by digby
Yesterday Trump took a few questions from the press. He said some stupid things that you really have to see to believe. This comment in particular in response to reports of Russian government sponsored hacking of his rivals emails during the election was idiotic:
“I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what is going on. We have speed, we have a lot of other things, but I’m not sure we have the kind the security we need. But I have not spoken with the senators and I will certainly will be over a period of time.”
He’s like a fourth grader who hasn’t read the book for his book report. But it is telling that he has no interest in getting to the bottom of the story one way or the other. He just wants it to go away. Sadly, if Republicans a pleased that foreign agents are meddling in our elections as long as it benefits them and many members of the Democratic base think the US had it coming because of its own misdeeds in the past, then it’s unlikely to be an issue that sticks.
But this seems to be more salient, or at least I would have thought so. When asked about his blatant conflicts of interest and potential for corruption he said this:
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to dismiss concerns about his plans for his sprawling business empire when he assumes office.
“It’s a very routine thing. It’s not a big deal. You people are making that a big deal, the business, because look, No. 1, when I won, they all knew I had a big business all over the place,” Trump told reporters Wednesday outside his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“It’s a much bigger business than anybody thought. It’s a great business. But I’m going to have nothing to do with it.”
The president-elect said he plans to hold a press conference sometime in early January to discuss what will happen with his business when he assumes office.
He said he plans to focus on the country and his role as president after Inauguration Day.
“But when I ran, people knew I had a very big business. They elected me I guess partially for that reason,” he added.
“So I think that’s going to work out very easily. It’s actually a very simple situation. It’s not a big deal.”
He has said this before:
Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world.Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016
Now you may think this won’t fly with the public but it seems that people now expect him to use the office for personal gain and his voters are just fine with it. The new You Gov poll asked the question:
Trump’s voters clearly view business interests in general as good for the country (88% of them say what is good for business is good for the country). A smaller majority (58%) agree that what is good for Trump’s business is good for the country. Overall, a majority agree with the former statement, but not the latter.
However, there is agreement that the Trump business interests will matter when the incoming Administration makes decisions. Seven in ten adults believe they will affect the decisions he makes at least somewhat, and even a majority of Trump’s voters agree (though they overwhelmingly believe Trump will put the interests of the country ahead of his own personal interests). Most of the public expect the President-elect to use the Presidency to enrich his family and friends, though most Trump voters disagree.
What do you do with this? It is the very definition of corruption — from a man who ran for office accusing his rival of being so corrupt she belonged in jail. His voters trust him implicitly and yet he has no record of public service and had never done anything in his life to earn such trust from the public. The opposite, in fact. He’s been sued by thousands of people for cheating them. He lies as easily as he breathes. They know this and they don’t care. In fact, they admire him for it.
But what makes these people think that he won’t do it to them? That’s what I don’t get.
Happy Hollandaise everyone.
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