Did you ever imagine that someone would run for President to make money?
Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post describes a few of the ways that the Trump family is cashing in.
He writes:
“The presidency was never meant to be a profit center for a nepotistic, money-grubbing family. But that was before the Trumps moved in. This scandal is lying in plain sight, overlooked because of the constant stream of missteps, outrages and distractions that come and go at an exhausting pace.
“While everyone watches his Twitter feed, President Trump is using the White House like a marketing agency for his family brand. This is not normal or acceptable — and it surely isn’t what laid-off factory workers and coal miners had in mind when they jumped on the “populist” Trump train.
“Last week, Ivanka Trump opened a retail store inside Trump Tower, her father’s New York skyscraper, to sell her eponymous foreign-made handbags and other items. We can now finally dispense with the notion that she is an “unpaid” adviser to the president.
“It’s not a very big store — more of a glorified kiosk, really — but the conflict of interest is obvious. She and her husband, Jared Kushner, are in positions where they can influence U.S. policy toward the countries where her products are made, such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. The store is located where it can siphon money from Trump-supporting tourists who make pilgrimages to Trump Tower while visiting the sights of Manhattan.
“This is just the latest example of how the Trump family is seeking to monetize the presidency. We haven’t seen anything like it since 1977, when Jimmy Carter’s brother started hawking Billy Beer. (President Carter, at least, had the decency to be embarrassed.)
“As is the case with other family members, including the president, Ivanka Trump has refused to divest herself of her business interests. Instead, the Trumps and Kushner have put them into trusts — but in a way that provides not even a fig leaf of probity.
“ That’s because the businesses — including the Trump Organization, the president’s umbrella enterprise — are still operating and are being run by family members whose aims are pecuniary, not patriotic. Do you believe for a moment that Trump pays no attention to how his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are handling his company? Or that Ivanka Trump and Kushner are unaware of what his siblings are doing with the troubled Kushner family real estate empire and Ivanka’s fashion line? I don’t.
“ Consider this sequence of events: Trump is elected president in November 2016. The membership initiation fee at his Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, doubles to $200,000 in January 2017. Following his inauguration, Trump spends 34 days thus far — fully one-tenth of his presidency — at Mar-a-Lago, mixing freely with members in a setting hidden from the prying eyes of the news media.
“If you had a corporate or private cause to plead with the president of the United States, and you had ample resources, might you consider a $200,000 Mar-a-Lago membership a promising investment? I think you might.
“The Trump International Hotel in Washington, just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, has become what The Post called “a kind of political clubhouse” for Trump associates and organizations, such as political action committees, that support the Trump agenda.
“Last month, for example, the Trump 2020 campaign held a “VIP reception” there that cost $30,000, according to The Post, and featured deviled eggs and lobster BLTs. Plenty of other nearby hotels could have hosted such an event — the W, the Willard, the J.W. Marriott. The campaign just happened to choose one whose profits accrue to the president’s bottom line.
“Likewise, for some reason, the Trump International has become a popular place for foreign delegations to stay while visiting Washington. Many legal scholars believe this line of business violates the emoluments clause of the Constitution prohibiting federal officials from receiving gifts or profits from foreign governments. At least three lawsuits have been filed seeking clarification from the courts.”
We are witnessing the death of Shame.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Uff. The most distressing part of this piece is in the beginning: “This scandal is lying in plain sight, overlooked because of the constant stream of missteps, outrages and distractions that come and go at an exhausting pace.”
Robinson rang an internal bell that caused me to look in my notes on Salman Rushdie’s novel “Shame,” about how this scandal can lie “in plain sight.” Perhaps Rushdie’s explanation of how we deal with shame fits: “It is the will to ignorance, the iron folly with which we excise from consciousness whatever consciousness cannot bear.” In other words, coping is little more than shameful resignation. Kind of how Joe Manchin and Doug Jones say we should “move on and not get distracted” by Trump’s predatory behavior against women (let’s not get into Robinson’s analysis).
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Yes. It always seemed to me that throughout the entire campaign season a full year before the election that “The scandal [was right there] lying in plain sight.” COPING IS LITTLE MORE THAN SHAMEFUL RESIGNATION.
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Someone always points out how there are lawsuits pendng against some of the Trump swamp activities. I have a feeling that Trump will be long gone before any decisions are rendered to which we can be privy.
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“The store is located where it can siphon money from Trump-supporting tourists who make pilgrimages to Trump Tower while visiting the sights of Manhattan. ”
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There is a Trump Tower in downtown Chicago. I was impressed with it and had for several years wanted to go to lunch there (blow my wallet) to see what it would look like. Then Trump ran for president. Now that I know what sort of miserable person he is I will NEVER EVER set foot inside that trap.
I read that the T was taken off the front of the tower. rump is a much better description of a creep. [I was in a tour bus in Seoul, S. Korea and it passed a Trump Tower. Ugh once again.]
How unfortunate we are to have a GOP dominated Congress that is so dedicated to pursuing its determination to devastate our government and the middle class that they put up with this degradation. Imagine the outcry if Obama had tried any of this ongoing nonsense.
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Unfortunately too many of those mine workers and factory workers still defend putting Trump I. Office. Thank God this mentally was overturned in Alabama.
Sent from my iPad
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Everything Trump does is to distract and deflect. Sure, his family is profiting, but so are the Koch’s, Walton’s, Broad etc……This is the plan and always has been. Trump is “the face” because he is nothing but an ignorant oaf with an ego that can’t fit through a door. Pence is “the man” and is backed by the Mercer’s and Koch’s etc….We must ignore Trump and his twitter tirades and look beneath the surface. If true Americans want to win this fight, we must treat this like a game of chess and always be thinking 3 steps ahead.
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Do not leave out the vulture plutocrats in the rest of corporate America In the Business Roundtable and the rest of Wall Street. Plutocrats who contribute to both parties . Which is why I am skeptical how quickly anything will be reversed . In comparison the real thievery is happening in Congress on a much larger scale (of course with Trump) what goes into their pockets is chump change compared to what is being robbed from the American people . The portion of this tax bill that will make its way to the ultra wealthy makes the Trumps look good in comparison.
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The dump family makes me puke.
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It is quite obvious this is a Obama loving liberal.. that prefers a Muslim parasite leader over an American.
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Russel Free; It is quite obvious this is a Obama loving liberal.. that prefers a Muslim parasite leader over an American.
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Please elaborate on on the DETAILS of how you can portray Obama as a ‘Muslim parasitic leader’ and that Trump is an American. Obama was born in Hawaii. If you read the comments on this blog you will understand what most of us think. Trump may be American but he is a con man working to increase his own portfolio while destroying the government and the middle class.
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As Americans what can we do to stop this egregious attack on the Constitution the way this family has no moral compass and just flaunts their immortality in our faces is a crying shame!!! Something needs to be done. I struggle every day to feed my family while they abuse the system that was set up to help the people of America just to enrich one single family.It makes me want to cry! And the Senate is complicent in this criminal behavior instead of upholding the oath they took to the Constitution of the United States not this thief that calls himself potus how can they look themselves in the mirror! God please please us! This family is out to destroy democracy and no one is stopping them!
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Trump has a ‘great plan’ to improve infrastructure in this country. Unfortunately, there is no way to pay for it. How exactly are we supposed to pay for the ‘gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, and waterways all across our land”?
HUGE tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations and give billions in more money to the military and then cut Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps and Social Security. Of course, there is extra money for the worthless wall that Mexico is supposed to pay for. Trump is an IDIOT. Will people finally rise up against him?
This comes from the WH:
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The President’s plan to rebuild America
America has long been a Nation of builders, President Trump told the country January 30 in his first State of the Union Address. “We built the Empire State Building in just 1 year—is it not a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road?”
He called on leaders of both parties in Congress to come together to deliver the safe, reliable, and modern infrastructure that Americans deserve. Today, he will outline his legislative principles to accomplish just that:
$200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments with partners at the state, local, tribal, and private level
New investments in rural America, which has been left behind for too long
Decision-making authority will return to state and local governments
Regulatory barriers that needlessly get in the way of infrastructure projects will be removed
Permitting for infrastructure projects will be streamlined and shortened
America’s workforce will be supported and strengthened
“We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land,” President Trump said. “And we will do it with American heart, and American hands, and American grit.”
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