MAGA!

The "G" stands for "grifty," not "great."

I mostly try not to write about stuff covered extensively elsewhere. The avalanche of Trump grift in the past months is so epic and so galling, though, that I have to speak up. I'll keep it short.

I remember when the President of the United States was not for sale.

The "gift" of a tricked-out Boeing 747 from the nation of Qatar to the USAF, to replace the aging aircraft that has served as Air Force One since Ronald Reagan's Presidency, has gotten saturation coverage in my media bubble. Shortly before the end of Trump's current term in office, the Qataris require that ownership of the plane be transferred to the Trump library for his continued personal use.

This is a $400 million gift to the person, not the nation or the office. The Constitution forbids such gifts in plain language:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Meanwhile, as I write this, the President is on a trip to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Trump organization, overseen by his children, has business deals under negotiation with all three to license the Trump family name in real estate developments. The Saudis provided $2 billion in funding to son-in-law Jared Kushner immediately after the first Trump administration.

This torrent of money is in plain sight.

We were conditioned to this from the start of this term, though. Billionaires made substantial cash gifts to the President's inaugural fund, where there are few controls on how money can be used. Trump sued Meta, parent of Facebook, in 2021, claiming the company had blocked his posts. Zuckerberg settled that suit immediately after the President was sworn in last January, donating $22 million to that same Trump library and paying $3M in legal fees and other costs.

This torrent of money? Right in front of us, too.

And in a variety of crypto ventures, the President has created channels for ordinary citizens, billionaires and foreign powers to funnel money to him and his family through memecoins and stablecoins. Trump is dismantling regulation of scam-plagued cryptocurrencies while profiting by creating and selling them.

If you've got the stomach and the time, you should read Molly White's many excellent articles on the topic.

Different torrent, same story.

The world, and the American people specifically, need to know that the President is acting in the interests of the country, and not for his own personal profit. The emoluments clause prohibits officials from accepting gifts; this President is soliciting them.

Who could believe that this self-dealing is making America great?

A Congress that had a spine would impeach. Swap the name "Biden" for "Trump" in any one of these stories and imagine the Fox News coverage.

This is an indelible stain on the office and the nation.