That actually is the most accurate, and succinct, description of Trump's behavior at the so-called CPAC convention. CPAC is a gathering of extremely reactionary, malevolent, irrational people, part of the hard rightwing political power structure of the U.S. (CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Conference. It is held annually by a viciously reactionary outfit called the "American Conservative Union.")
"Conservative" is the standard euphemism in "Western Liberal" discourse for reactionary and fascist. And "anti-communist" is code for fascist.
Trump whined in a loud bray about his business dealings being investigated. His distress is easy to comprehend. So many of his "deals" involved crimes, and even those that didn't often went up to the line of criminality. One of the constants of Trump's life is a total absence of ethics. And now the Democratic Party is belatedly using his vulnerability against him, after squandering two years with a phone "Russiagate" fantasy conspiracy. By pressing this sinister fantasy of Trump as under Putin's control, based on the thinnest of evidence (often no evidence), the Democrats not only wasted time, they wrecked their own credibility and now allows Trump to push the theme that he's a victim of persecution- an emotional theme with natural resonance for reactionaries, who have a persecution complex and see themselves as victims of an oppressive "liberal" establishment, forced to pay for (black and Hispanic) "welfare cheats," etc.
We really didn't need Michael Cohen to tell us about Trump's crimes, or that he's a con man and a racist. The information has been publicly available for years, such as in the reportage of Wayne Barrett and David Cay Johnston. Oddly, that information was always ignored by the establishment. Trump's fraudulent "charitable" foundation, his tax frauds and false valuations, and other actions that should have brought government action, almost never did. (One of the only rare exceptions, maybe the ONLY one, was a consent decree that Trump and his late father entered into with the Federal government, promising to cease their illegal practice of refusing to rent apartments to African-Americans, an agreement they then went on to violate, with no consequences.)
Trump was also caught helping people illegally evade sales taxes. He got out of that one by ratting out others. (These days he decries "rats" and says prosecutors' "flipping" people, i.e. getting criminals to turn state's evidence, "should almost be illegal." The weasel word "almost" doesn't disguise the fact that he devoutly wishes it were illegal now. Just as he's called for harsher libel laws favoring plaintiffs, so he could more effectively shut up those who expose the true facts about him or merely criticize him.)
The fact that a crook, grifter, tax evader, chiseler, four-time bankrupt, and serial fraudster could even RUN for president, much less get elected, is due to the malfeasance and irresponsibility of the bourgeois "authorities" who looked the other way for this man's entire life, until now. [1]
Trump didn't expect to actually become president. Now he is desperate to cling to power. He has to try to run out the clock on indictments, by getting reelected president until the statute of limitations runs out on many of his crimes. (The legal consensus is a sitting president "can't" be indicted, even though nothing explicitly bars that in law or the Constitution.) The Republicans in the Senate will never vote to convict him if the House impeaches him- because the GOP base of voters is fanatically devoted to him, and no facts can change that. They just don't care about facts or truth. This degree of unshakeable loyalty is reminiscent of that commanded by Adolf Hitler.
But could Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, who are currently investigating certain matters about Trump, obtain a secret indictment, and unseal it after he leaves office? An interesting question.
And what happens if magically Trump is removed? We get a reactionary theocrat as president, Michael Pence!
1] I would argue that Trump's repeated "business" practice of stiffing his suppliers and contractors by pretending something was wrong with their work is evidence of criminal fraud. As for taxes, Trump's father Fred and Trump and his siblings created a multi-generational ongoing tax fraud. See "Special Investigation-Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father," New York Times, October 2, 2018; "11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth," New York Times, October 2, 2018.
"Conservative" is the standard euphemism in "Western Liberal" discourse for reactionary and fascist. And "anti-communist" is code for fascist.
Trump whined in a loud bray about his business dealings being investigated. His distress is easy to comprehend. So many of his "deals" involved crimes, and even those that didn't often went up to the line of criminality. One of the constants of Trump's life is a total absence of ethics. And now the Democratic Party is belatedly using his vulnerability against him, after squandering two years with a phone "Russiagate" fantasy conspiracy. By pressing this sinister fantasy of Trump as under Putin's control, based on the thinnest of evidence (often no evidence), the Democrats not only wasted time, they wrecked their own credibility and now allows Trump to push the theme that he's a victim of persecution- an emotional theme with natural resonance for reactionaries, who have a persecution complex and see themselves as victims of an oppressive "liberal" establishment, forced to pay for (black and Hispanic) "welfare cheats," etc.
We really didn't need Michael Cohen to tell us about Trump's crimes, or that he's a con man and a racist. The information has been publicly available for years, such as in the reportage of Wayne Barrett and David Cay Johnston. Oddly, that information was always ignored by the establishment. Trump's fraudulent "charitable" foundation, his tax frauds and false valuations, and other actions that should have brought government action, almost never did. (One of the only rare exceptions, maybe the ONLY one, was a consent decree that Trump and his late father entered into with the Federal government, promising to cease their illegal practice of refusing to rent apartments to African-Americans, an agreement they then went on to violate, with no consequences.)
Trump was also caught helping people illegally evade sales taxes. He got out of that one by ratting out others. (These days he decries "rats" and says prosecutors' "flipping" people, i.e. getting criminals to turn state's evidence, "should almost be illegal." The weasel word "almost" doesn't disguise the fact that he devoutly wishes it were illegal now. Just as he's called for harsher libel laws favoring plaintiffs, so he could more effectively shut up those who expose the true facts about him or merely criticize him.)
The fact that a crook, grifter, tax evader, chiseler, four-time bankrupt, and serial fraudster could even RUN for president, much less get elected, is due to the malfeasance and irresponsibility of the bourgeois "authorities" who looked the other way for this man's entire life, until now. [1]
Trump didn't expect to actually become president. Now he is desperate to cling to power. He has to try to run out the clock on indictments, by getting reelected president until the statute of limitations runs out on many of his crimes. (The legal consensus is a sitting president "can't" be indicted, even though nothing explicitly bars that in law or the Constitution.) The Republicans in the Senate will never vote to convict him if the House impeaches him- because the GOP base of voters is fanatically devoted to him, and no facts can change that. They just don't care about facts or truth. This degree of unshakeable loyalty is reminiscent of that commanded by Adolf Hitler.
But could Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, who are currently investigating certain matters about Trump, obtain a secret indictment, and unseal it after he leaves office? An interesting question.
And what happens if magically Trump is removed? We get a reactionary theocrat as president, Michael Pence!
1] I would argue that Trump's repeated "business" practice of stiffing his suppliers and contractors by pretending something was wrong with their work is evidence of criminal fraud. As for taxes, Trump's father Fred and Trump and his siblings created a multi-generational ongoing tax fraud. See "Special Investigation-Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father," New York Times, October 2, 2018; "11 Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation Into Trump’s Wealth," New York Times, October 2, 2018.
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