November 12, 2017

Trump Terrible 10: Big Olde’ Fat Man Edition

Since 2017, Republic Report‘s “Trump Terrible 10” has ranked the week’s 10 most disgraceful figures in Trump world.

Between Bob Mueller’s expanding Russiagate probe, and the fine people who cast their ballots last Tuesday against the ugliness of this presidency, Trump world is finally taking a beating. But there’s a long, long way to go, and meanwhile angry young white male Trump supporters are increasingly being addressed as “your honor” (because Trump is appointing them to federal judgeships). So let’s get to it.

Republic Report, which focuses on how money corrupts democracy, has met its abusive dream mate with the kleptocratic administration of President Donald J. Trump. Trump and his lieutenants personify how money and greed, mixed with disrespect for constitutional values, know-nothing ignorance, serious bigotry, and an endless capacity for lying, can really, really corrupt democracy.

Permanent spoiler alert: We can’t imagine anyone other than Donald Trump ever occupying the top spot in the rankings. But we won’t get tired of him winning. Believe me.

10. Marc Short, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. Last week’s ranking: —

The Koch brothers’ top man inside the White House (other than Vice President Pence) suggested that accused child sex abuser and Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore deserves the benefit of the doubt because he “is somebody who graduated from West Point, he served our country in Vietnam, he’s been elected multiple times statewide in Alabama” — leaving out Moore’s disgraceful record of bigotry and hate and his repeated refusals to obey the law.

9. Donald Trump, Jr., Executive Vice President of Development and Acquisitions, The Trump OrganizationLast week’s ranking: —

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya says that in the notorious Trump Tower meeting Donald Trump Jr. told her, “if we come to power” the U.S. and Russia could revisit their relationship. Maybe that’s just Veselnitskaya’s authoritarian-lensed paraphrase, but I don’t know, it kinda sounds like Don Jr. I can’t wait for an indictment that will propel President Don Sr. to tweet, “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named @DonaldJTrumpJr, who has already proven to be a liar.”

Junior also emulates dad with his own barrage of ugly tweets, including this week a retweeted side-by-side comparing his ex-model stepmom and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in chinoiserie fashion; a reference to Bowe Bergdahl as a “POS”; and a series of rabid election day endorsements of swampy lobbyist/racial dog whistle campaigner/losing Virginia governor candidate Ed Gillespie.

8. Stephen Bannon, executive chairman, Breitbart, and former Chief Strategist to the President. Last week’s ranking: —

As he lumbers around America trying to elect supposedly populist but actually just bone-headed, bigoted, morally-questionable characters like Roy Moore, it’s so painfully obvious that he’s dreaming of turning himself into a Trump-style TV celebrity, OK?

7. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of EducationLast week’s ranking: 6

DeVos is taking the next step this week to dismantle protections for students and taxpayers against crooked for-profit colleges — the colleges whose owners and executives are her own political appointees at the Education Department, as well as donors and friends of the president.

Last week we also learned — when he was dumped after Senate objections — that Trump and DeVos had selected to be her Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education a Michigan state legislator named Tim Kelly, who has called for banning Muslims from airplanes, said that women aren’t interested in careers in science, and opined that low-income parents are “academically and socially needy.” Kelly blamed the withdrawal of his nomination on “deep state… haters” and federal workers who don’t like Trump. Seems like he would have been amazing in the job.

6. Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Last week’s ranking: —

Pruitt couldn’t be bothered to go to Europe for the global meeting on the Paris climate agreement, which is now backed, after effing Syria joined up, by every nation on earth except ours. But he did manage to leave his heavily-guarded, soundproofed office to record a video fawning over attendees at a pathetic climate denier conference convened by the Heartland Institute.

It also remains exciting that coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler is Trump’s nominee to join EPA as Pruitt’s deputy — just in case Pruitt ever considered doing anything to harm poor lil’ coal. Which wouldn’t happen though. In fact, Pruitt continues to fill his senior ranks with fossil fuel industry lobbyists and donors, while shutting agency experts out of decision-making.

2, 3, 4, 5. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader; Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House; Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury; and Gary Cohn, Director, National Economic Council. 

How in hell is it “reform” to raise taxes for middle class people so the richest-of-the-rich dead people can pass more wealth on to their lazy heirs? And other questions about this disgraceful tax bill that is basically a GOP gift to big donors and a lie to the rest of us.

1. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States. Last week’s ranking: duh

After meeting with Vladimir Putin, Trump revived Putin’s hilarious argument that it couldn’t have been the Russians who hacked our election because they are too masterful to have left a trace, demonstrating again that Trump is a Russian agent, a Russian blackmailee, a Russian sycophant, or a Russian dupe. Obviously Trump also remains extremely bothered that proof of Russian interference undermines the legitimacy of his electoral win, but I think mostly Putin is Trump’s role model, because Putin figured out how to become a billionaire kleptocrat / autocrat president, and he wants to make great deals with Putin so, he, Trump, can become a real billionaire, too. Trump forgot to tweet that he sides with Putin on the toilet paper over/under dispute, but I assume that’s coming.

Amid his exhausting, for him, trip across East Asia, there was also this piece of international diplomacy:

The 45th President of the United States, ladies and gentlemen.

Trump is again number one — the most disgraceful figure in the Trump administration. Trump is not merely a disgrace; he’s a total and complete disgrace.

 

— Fats Domino 1928-2017 —

Vintage disgracefulness:

Trump Terrible 10: Apocalypse Now Edition

Trump Terrible 10: ESPN European Honeymoon Idiot Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Rocket Man Golf Strike BLT Steak Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Pro Sports Nuclear War Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Frequent Liar Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Great Job A+ Moron Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Adult Day Care Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Self-Imposed National Crisis Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Total And Complete Disgrace Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Manafort Indictment Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Always Russian Edition

This article also appears on HuffPost.