January 17, 2018

Trump Terrible 10: S-Hole Edition

Trump Terrible 10: S-Hole Edition

I will be announcing THE WORST PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME AWARDS on Wednesday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty, Corruption, Bigotry, Misogyny, and Incompetence. Stay tuned!

We took a holiday break, and then decided to stop publishing this feature once and for all. But then, oh lordy. It writes itself.

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

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. Admiral Ronny Jackson (US Navy), White House PhysicianLast week’s ranking: —

While he’s no Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, Dr. Jackson seemed to have contracted a bit of MAGA fever, hyping up Trump’s health by (1) declaring the president by to be 6’3″, when his driver’s license has listed him as 6’2″, and thus narrowly keeping him out of an “obese” designation; (2) saying the president was in “excellent” cardiac health, even though he’s on cholesterol medication, has evidence of heart disease, is sedentary, and is at least borderline obese; and (3) chalking up Trump’s condition to “incredibly good genes” and complimenting him for having “a lot of energy and a lot of stamina” — all ways that Trump has regularly praised himself.

9. Alex Azar, nominee for Secretary of Health and Human ServicesLast week’s ranking: —

Set for a Senate committee vote Wednesday morning, the former president of the U.S. division of drug company Eli Lilly has offered no plan for lowering prescription drug prices, declined to commit to increased funding for communities devastated by the opioid epidemic, backed Trump’s plan for sabotaging Obamacare, and declared that a woman’s employer should be able to decide whether birth control should be covered by insurance.

8. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press SecretaryLast week’s ranking: —

Sanders helped educate our schoolchildren by explaining that Trump couldn’t be racist, because, if he was, “why did NBC give him a show for a decade on TV?”

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

Leaving Breitbart is cool with Bannon, OK? Gives him more time to run for president against Trump and Oprah, OK? And refuse to answer questions from Congress, OK? But maybe the subpoena will convince him to talk with Bob Mueller.

6. Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior. Last week’s ranking: —

Oil drilling off all U.S. coastline is awesome, except that Florida is “unique,” because it has coastline. And also because Governor Rick Scott is running for Senate and people don’t like drilling off their coastline.

Nine of the twelve members of Interior’s National Parks System Advisory Board jointly resigned Monday to protest Trump-Zinke policies they charge have disregarded science and the threats of climate change and environmental destruction.

5. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of EducationLast week’s ranking: 5

Her Department continued its disgraceful march toward dismantling Obama-era protections for veterans and low-income students abused by predatory for-profit colleges, proposing rules — urged by the worst behaving colleges — that would impose on defrauded students seeking debt relief one of the highest burdens of proof ever demanded against the government. Like lobbyists for the predatory schools, DeVos has vilified the victimized students, suggesting they are scam artists.

3 and 4. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Senator David Perdue (R-GA)Last week’s ranking: —

Shithole vs.shithouse means these ambitious right wing senators either flatly lied or else deceived the public about Trump’s racist Oval Office comments about African nations and Haiti.

2. Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland SecurityLast week’s ranking: —

Nielsen not acknowledging to Senator Dick Durbin that Norway is majority white is just plain silly; but her testifying under oath that she could not recall Trump referring to African nations as “shit” is disgraceful. This brand-new cabinet secretary defiled public service and integrity in pursuit of her career ambitions. Nielsen rolling her eyes at Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who had delivered an impassioned statement about Trump’s racist conduct, added to the ugliness. How much you wanna bet bigoted Trump chief of staff John Kelly phoned his protege Nielsen after the Senate hearing and called Booker an “empty barrel“?

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

DACA has reaffirmed that the supposed world’s greatest negotiator can’t negotiate his way out of a paper bag, and that the supposed world’s least racist person makes Archie Bunker look like Joan Baez. Trump capped off this reprehensible performance by imperiously ordering an offending CNN reporter “OUT!” of his Oval Office for asking too many questions about the matter.

If Trump doesn’t have cognitive issues, well then he’s just an s-hole, a very stable (albeit textbook generic) genius who parks a truck to hide his endless golfing from the public, who golfs on MLK Day where other presidents did public service, and who slams NFL national anthem protests but hasn’t even bothered to learn the damn words to the thing.

The announced expulsion of 200,000 Salvadorans who have lived here for decades and contribute so positively to our society and economy is one of the ugliest, stupidest Trump moves so far.

Corporations, foreign governments, and political groups continue sucking up to Trump by spending big at his emolument properties, adding to the picture of this POTUS as the most corrupt and unethical ever.

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.

This article also appears on HuffPost.

Vintage disgracefulness:

Trump Team Disgracefulness Power Rankings – Total and Complete Vindication Edition

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

Trump Terrible 10: Big Olde’ Fat Man Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Turkey Pardon Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Democrat vs. Predator Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Tax Scam Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Pensacola Rally Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Misogynist Disgrace Edition

Trump Terrible 10: Holiday Emoluments Edition