Finally, a Donald Trump scandal that even the people in the middle can understand
Don’t ask the average non-political American to understand Donald Trump’s Russia scandal. Sure, half of Trump’s top people are convicted felons because of it. But they’re still hearing both sides make opposite claims about whether Trump was involved. And don’t ask the people in the middle to understand Trump’s various financial scandals either, because these are the people who think that all politicians are corrupt liars. Finally, we’ve landed on a Trump scandal that’s fundamentally different.
Donald Trump’s personal financial dependence on the government of Saudi Arabia is far from the first time in which Trump has made a foreign policy decision based solely on his own wallet. In fact it’s probably far from the first time in which Trump’s deference to his foreign overlords has gotten someone killed (how many people has Vladimir Putin offed with, presumably, Trump’s blessing?). But this one is different.
Jamal Khashoggi wrote for a major, respected American newspaper. He was murdered while trying to get the paperwork he needed to marry a woman who was sitting outside in the car. It happened in the Saudi consulate, where it could only have plausibly been done by the Saudi government. The guy was cut up with a bone saw. This story is uniquely chilling. We’re talking about a foreign government chopping up an American reporter to try to silence him. It goes against everything America stands for. It’s so painfully obvious to everyone involved that the government of Saudi Arabia has committed a horrific act against an American because he was daring to do something fundamentally American.
Yet Donald Trump, the supposed President of the United States, can’t figure out what side of this scandal he’s supposed to be on. Not only does he keep trying to cover for the government of Saudi Arabia, he’s acting deferentially to the government of Saudi Arabia. Even the people in the middle can figure out a mile away that something is very, very wrong here.
Yes, Donald Trump’s deference to Russia is the result of a far bigger criminal scandal, and one which will eventually put Trump in prison. But for now, Trump’s deference to Saudi Arabia – bone saw and all – is far easier to understand. The average non-political American can instantly figure out that the only possible reason for Trump to keep siding with Saudi Arabia on this is that he’s corruptly in bed with the Saudi government.
