Having overseen the greatest Republican midterm losses since Watergate, despite inheriting near full employment, President Trump’s demagogue routine is sounding more pathetic than ever.
After a couple of post-election weeks of lashing out and stewing, Trump tried to return to his bread and butter of lies and smears sprinkled with obstruction of justice in a Fox News interview aired yesterday. But really, it was just sad:
- He again decried “fake news” as the “enemy of the people.”
- Trump claimed that he had no idea that newly-appointed acting Attorney General, Matt Whitaker, seriously and publicly opposes the Mueller investigation. “I did not know he took views on Mueller.”
- Trump once again suggested that he believes Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s denials regarding the murder of Jamal Khasoggi, rather than trusting U.S. intelligence services (a running theme for this president, who values the friendship of murderous dictators over his own country’s security).
After two years of unchecked, rampant corruption, and a Congress willing to do his bidding, Trump seems despondent that democracy has caught up with him. Good for democracy.
THE WORST $2 TRILLION EVER SPENT.
Trump and the GOP have enjoyed just one major legislative victory to date—and it may have cost them the House of Representatives.
You’ll remember that Republican candidates on the campaign trail chose to lie about their deplorable health care records rather than touting the $2 trillion GOP tax scam. It didn’t work out too well for them, with Democrats gaining more than 30 House seats.
Republicans argue that the battle they lost was one of messaging. Democrats, on the other hand, have a different theory: Maybe voters are sick and tired of empty Republican promises of tax cuts for middle- and working-class families, tax cuts that end up helping only the wealthy, donors, and corporations.
Most outraged of all may have been California, where tons of people actually saw huge tax hikes in the bill. As one California GOP operative put it, “I believe that the party has to die before it can be rebuilt. And by die — I mean, completely decimated. And I think Tuesday night was a big step.”