Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Loyalty Over Honesty - Trump Log #27

In the early days of Trump's presidency he met with James Comey, then head of the FBI, in a private dinner. He asked Comey if he had his loyalty. Comey responded that he had his "honesty." A few minutes went by and Trump asked the same question and Comey responded with the same answer. Eventually, he got Comey to pledge "honest loyalty." I am not sure what that is other than someone diplomatically saying that he agrees that they disagree. (Source: New York Times)

Every president must grapple with this to some extent. It is obvious that Trump is all in on loyalty and doesn't give two shits about honesty. He will reward loyalty. He will fire honesty. So expect more lies, more smoke screens and more covering of the president's ass.

Trump Log:
5/10/17 - The big news of the day was the firing of FBI director James Comey. No one believes for a minute the reason Trump gives for doing so.  FBI directors usually stay in their position for ten year stints and then leave quietly. Only once, before now, has a director left early. (Source: New York Times)

5/11/17 - Our president doesn't like the American press, but apparently the Russian press is okay. In his first meeting with a top Russian official, he allowed the Russian press into a closed door session, but not the American press. This happened shortly after he fired Comey who was investigating the Russian tampering of the election. (Source: New York Times)

5/12/17 - Trump threatens to cancel Whitehouse briefings because his staff isn't capable of telling the truth. No, this is a not an Onion story or any other satire publication. It is real. (Source: Washington Post)

5/13/17 - Trump publicly threatens Comey on Twitter. Not that we expect him to act presidential, but it would be nice at some point. (Source: PBS)

5/14/17 - For years China has denied Trump several score of trademarks. Trump changed his mind on China's Taiwan policy and his trademark were approved shortly there after. Is anyone ever going to call him on the emolument clause in the Constitution? (Source: New York Times)

5/15/17 - You want to manipulate the President, just pass him some fake news. That'll do it. (Source: Politico).

5/16/17 - During his meeting with Russian diplomats earlier this week, Trump leaks some pretty serious classified information to the Russians on a whim. This was information provided by a Middle Eastern ally in confidence. What he did is not illegal but it is certainly questionable. In the future, if our allies cannot trust our presidents with vital information, then why would they share any information with us. As Trump said on the campaign trail: "We can't have someone in the Oval Office who doesn't understand the word confidential or classified." (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017

1 comment:

Olga said...

This presidency is mired in the insecurities of a very flawed man who apparently does not even know what honesty is. And yet he has ardent supporters. It is hard to comprehend.