According to one analyst, President Donald Trump is using the presidency as a vehicle to rapidly enrich both himself and his family at the expense of both tax dollars and the efficacy of federal agencies in five particular ways.
In a Friday op-ed for the Daily Beast, columnist Michael Rothkopf likened Trump to a “vampire.” He argued that world leaders like Trump are in office not to serve the public but to “suck that strength out of the institutions, economies and resources they have been entrusted with protecting and cultivating — and take the wealth, status and influence for themselves.”
“They are parasites. And Donald Trump is our parasite-in-chief,” Rothkopf wrote. “… He is sucking the blood out of our country. If he continues as he has been, when he is done there will be nothing left but the pale, lifeless husk of the America that was.”
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To make his point, Rothkopf observed that Trump was “demanding gifts from other nations,” linking to a story about Trump’s $400 million jet from Qatar. He pointed out that the president had “created elaborate schemes” in which anyone seeking to curry favor with him can by his family’s official cryptocurrency. He also noted that the massive Republican tax and spending law “helped Trump and his rich supporters while burdening the economy with more debt.”
Rothkopf also hammered Trump for using the power of the federal government to “squeeze major corporations and institutions,” referencing instances like Paramount’s decision to settle with Trump over his lawsuit against CBS’ “60 Minutes.” And he also dinged the Trump administration for pilfering the government to advance his own personal goals.
“Trump is taking resources from departments and agencies that benefit the people — from those that provide health care or vital health research or protect us from extreme weather or disasters — and shifting it to enterprises that enhance his raw power or that of a burgeoning police state that he alone controls,” he wrote. “… All government agencies, which after all are created to serve the people and the interests of the country, now must loyally serve and never contradict or embarrass the Supreme Leader.”
“It’s not supposed to work that way. But it is where we are,” Rothkopf continued. “… The only comfort we can take is from the knowledge that in the end, sunlight kills vampires … We live in an era in which new social media and mass communication platforms are enabling and empowering all of us to contribute to that process. And that in turn is the only way to truly put a stake through the heart of this blood-sucking regime — that the we, the people, rise up and reject him and those close to him in every election that takes place from now until they are gone.”
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Click here to read Rothkopf’s op-ed in full (subscription required).