“He is following the path he has said was corrupt: raising large sums of money and then giving donors special access,” said Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
Steve Deace, an influential conservative activist in Iowa and anti-Trump radio host, said he was not surprised that Trump was granting his biggest donors titles and insider access. But he was still angry.
“It is complete and total hypocrisy,” Deace said.
“He got a lot of mileage out of taking advantage of a lot of low-information voters who are rightfully frustrated that government left them behind,” Deace said of Trump’s claims during the primary that he was a self-funding billionaire who could not be bought. “They were an easy mark for a P.T. Barnum con man.”
.. Trump’s new economic team leans heavily on Wall Street investors and hedge-fund managers, despite Trump’s railing against them during the early parts of his presidential campaign.
“The hedge fund guys didn’t build this country. These are guys that shift paper around. And they get lucky,” Trump said last year on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “Look, they’re energetic. They’re very smart. But a lot of them, it’s, like, they’re paper pushers. They make a fortune. They pay no tax. It’s ridiculous, OK?
Size of the Ask: Would Anti-Trump Liberals Vote for Santorum?
4/ … were the shoe on the other foot. That is, imagine a “Trump of the left” as the Democratic nominee.
5/ Some amalgam of Sharpton, Jeffrey Epstein, Jill Stein? Yes, hard to come up w/analogue, but try: Imagine a clearly unfit Dem nominee.6/ Okay. You don’t want to support them. But the Republican nominee is … Rick Santorum.8/ Most of Santorum’s views, save for his zeal, were fairly mainstream 10 yrs ago. His views on economics closer to center than many GOP.
Trump’s Temperament
Such is Donald Trump’s vanity and sense of grievance that he cannot help himself, even when his actions are demonstrably damaging his campaign — and even when the people closest to him are warning him to knock it off and get back on course criticizing Hillary. If he can’t stifle it for the sake of advancing his own political interests, how is he going to control himself when the national interests are at stake?
The other night, I had to have a talk with my 12-year-old son about not letting his emotions get the best of him when somebody or something makes him angry. He’s struggling with this, as adolescents do. I hope that by the time he’s 70, he’s mastered his passions — especially if he runs for president.
.. A man with this kind of temperament in charge of the world’s biggest and most advanced fighting force is terrifying. If Khizr Khan and John McCain can get under his skin and into his head like that, how in the heck would he manage Hassan Rouhani and Kim Jong Un — to say nothing of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping?
Donald Trump and a C.I.A. Officer Walk Into a Room
“Mr. Trump, I’m Gene Smith from the C.I.A.”
“Smith, huh? Is that your code name? You know, I know a huge amount about the C.I.A., more than most C.I.A. directors. A terrific, beautiful, very good organization.”
“Actually, Smith is my real name. Anyway, let’s get started with China and our assessment that Xi is much more aggressive than Hu.”“She is more aggressive than who?”“Exactly.”