Trump Terrible 10: Young and Beautiful Lives vs. 13 Angry Democrats Edition
Sixteen months down. We are, perhaps, one-third of the way through the Trump administration, although instead of 32 months more, it could be 3.2 or 320 months instead, lord knows, given the range of conceivable, disgraceful outcomes.
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. Kelly Riddell Sadler, Special Assistant to the President for Communications, and 9. Mercedes Schlapp, White House Director of Strategic Communications. Last week’s rankings: 11 and 7.
Both are apparently tattletales! Also, Sadler is very spiteful, and Schlapp is very swampy.
8. Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State. Last week’s ranking: —
There was a tiny instant when one thought that maybe, despite his Koch brothers/right-wing ideologue past, Pompeo might act like a competent grownup as Secretary of State, better than the clueless, remote Rex Tillerson. But then Pompeo expressed outrage, smirked, and laughed when Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) asked a legitimate question about the risks that Trump financial conflicts of interest posed for US foreign policy.
7. Scott Pruitt, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency. Last week’s ranking: 4
Barely any new revelations of grifting this week — a rarity — but there was more about fossil-fueled Pruitt’s efforts to deny the stark reality of climate change, and Pruitt remains a shameless, luxury-grabbing, influence-selling disgrace — the opposite of a public servant.
6. Stephen Miller, Senior Advisor for Policy, Last week’s ranking: —
The malicious Mini-Me in Trump’s white supremacist dramedy.
5. Corey Lewandowski, outside advisor to the President and 4. Michael Cohen, (former?) personal attorney to Donald J. Trump. Last week’s ranking: 5 (Cohen)
Since the election, rivals-for-Donald’s-love Cohen and Lewandowski have engaged in an ugly competition for the title of Mr. Swamp, each leveraging ties to Trump to ink huge unregistered-lobbyist consulting contracts with corporations and (at least in Cohen’s case) Ukrainian and Russian interests.
3. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. Last week’s ranking: 5
DeVos never lets the facts get in the way of her relentless efforts to demean schools, teachers, and students, and to reward greedy education profiteers. Late Friday, a federal court smacked down her unlawful effort to deny meaningful debt relief to students deceived by predatory for-profit Corinthian Colleges.
2. Rudolph Giuliani, counsel to President Trump. Last week’s ranking: 6
The reverse of a founding father, the one-time America’s Mayor now works to unravel our constitutional democracy with blatant lies and demagoguery. Just for example, Giuliani is saying that Robert Mueller’s indictment, on behalf of the American people, of thirteen Russians for interfering in the U.S. election is a “phony” effort to manipulate the media. Thank you Yankee Stadium fans for booing Rudy.
1. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States. Last week’s ranking: obviously
Hope Hicks is never in tatters. I guess he means the young and beautiful lives of Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn.
Trump’s reality show cliffhanger approach to nuclear diplomacy with North Korea illustrates how his vanity and incompetence endangers the world’s security.
Trump’s claim that the New York Times relied on an “phony source[]” “who doesn’t exist” regarding the likelihood of the Korea meeting still occurring on June 12 — when in fact it was a Trump national security official who addressed a large group of reporters on condition of anonymity — was grotesque but, at this point, just another day at the office.
Trump’s disgraceful propagation of the phony “SpyGate” scandal and other lies about the Russia probe aims to obstruct the inquiry into his own criminal conduct and advance the awful brainwashing of MAGA minion millions. We know — it’s working.
Trump’s ugly endorsement of the NFL owners’ cowardly stance on player protests reaffirms his utter disrespect for freedom of speech and his vile indifference to police violence against African-Americans.
Trump’s declaration to Naval academy grads that “our ancestors tamed a continent” was one more winning piece of white supremacist mythology.
Trump also threw under the bus his own speechwriter who had the nerve to write that the 2018 elections were as important as the 2016 contest where Trump’s name was on the ballot — “I’m not sure I really believe that. I don’t know who the hell wrote that line.” He can’t even pretend to care about others.
Trump’s issuance of executive orders weakening the power of government workers and unions was one more milestone in his project to hurt hard-working Americans while claiming to champion them.
Trump’s save of faltering Chinese telecomm company ZTE comes as Ivanka got her new China trademarks approved, which came on top of a Chinese state-owned construction company investing in an Indonesian deal with Trump Organization partners there. #Corruption
And Trump blamed Democrats for his own vicious policy of separating children from parents seeking political asylum. Perhaps the Mueller probe will ultimately separate him from Ivanka.
Trump is again number one — the most disgraceful figure in Trump world. Trump is not merely a disgrace; he’s a total and complete disgrace.
Recent disgracefulness:
Trump Terrible 10: Untruthful Slime Ball Edition
Trump Terrible 10: great Energy and unending Stamina Edition
Trump Terrible 10: Pre-Ordered Nobel Peace Prize Edition