Trump stokes outrage to distract from outrageous graft | Editorial
From mocking the papacy to embarrassing displays of fawning by cabinet members, Donald Trump lines his pockets while turning the U.S. into a laughingstock.
Donald Trump’s outrages come so fast and furiously it is often hard to keep up.
That is all part of the plan — provided there are “concepts of a plan” beyond upending democracy, wrecking the economy, power tripping, and lining his pockets. More disturbing, Trump’s supporters happily indulge his depravity.
In the last few days, Trump said he “didn’t know” if he needed to uphold the Constitution — even though he swore an oath to do just that a few months ago. Trump added that he “didn’t know” if every person in the United States is entitled to due process — a bedrock principle of the American legal system.
Trump marked his first 100 days in office with a litany of lies about his accomplishments, including that gas is now $2 a gallon.
He blamed former President Joe Biden for the shrinking economy brought on by his erratic tariff policy. If the economy continues to falter in the second quarter, Trump said that will also be Biden’s fault.
» READ MORE: Trump’s first 100 days: Chaos, mass firings, tariffs, and brute force | Editorial
Trump capped the weekend by posting a photo of himself on social media dressed in the traditional white vestments of the pope. The White House reposted the picture on its official Instagram and X accounts.
Vice President JD Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism and Trumpism, tried to dismiss the photo as a joke. But the only joke is Trump and the enabling stooges in his administration. They are turning the country into a laughingstock.
It is also disrespectful and abhorrent to mock the papacy — especially as many Roman Catholics are mourning the recent passing of Pope Francis.
Just as disturbing is how few Catholic leaders in the United States failed to call out Trump. The archbishop of Milwaukee called it “very unfortunate.” New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said he hoped Trump “didn’t have anything to do with that.”
Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez declined a request from this board to comment.
That is in keeping with the culture of obsequiousness Trump has imposed on his supporters, and even some in his crosshairs. Trump’s cabinet meetings are an embarrassing display of fawning over a dictator.
Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed that Trump has saved “258 million lives” due to the amount of fentanyl taken off the streets. Vance said previous presidents whose pictures adorn the Oval Office — which include Ronald Reagan, James Madison, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln — were mere “placeholders” who weren’t “men of action.”
Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, gushed, “I just want to say thank you, as a veteran of our military, for assembling what is the greatest national security team that I have ever seen in my 27 years associated with the United States Army.”
But all of the sycophancy, tariff-wrought economic destruction, and immigrant roundups are distractions to the graft taking place.
» READ MORE: The Trump family is taking crypto payoffs in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Who will stop them? | Will Bunch
A fund backed by Abu Dhabi is investing $2 billion in the Trump family cryptocurrency business. Trump’s push into cryptocurrency comes as he is rewriting rules and scaling back regulation and oversight of the industry.
The lack of transparency raises questions whether foreign countries or individuals can funnel money into Trump’s crypto company to influence American policy at home or abroad.
For example, an international trucking company bought as much as $20 million worth of Trump’s crypto coins to influence the administration’s trade policy. After a Chinese billionaire accused of defrauding investors turned around and invested $30 million in Trump’s crypto firm, the Securities and Exchange Commission paused the case.
At the same time, Trump’s two sons have been traveling the world striking lucrative business deals in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Trump claims to have no role in the deals, but he stands to benefit since it is his company.
While Trump feeds the masses bread and circuses, he is laughing all the way to the bank.