I used to think Trump was just stupid.
Then I thought he was just a front man, a puppet, for oil CEOs and other rich people.
Now I realize that he is, perhaps in addition to the above, really good at blackmailing people for whatever he wants.
Reading this book has released me of my addiction to youtube videos in my attempt to understand what the fuck.
“But beyond the bare concept, no actual plans for the department [DOGE] yet existed. Musk carried himself with the bravado of a man accustomed to ruling his companies by fiat, but that was not the way the government worked. He had only the vaguest sense of the mammoth problem that he had set himself to fix. He had little knowledge of the labyrinthine federal system, nor how its budget functioned. And he had even less interest in the Constitution, which could severely hobble the dramatic unilateral reengineering of the government he imagined.” 45
“Underscoring just how ad hoc the [tariff] plan was, at one point in the meeting, Trump realized that he had forgotten to include China. ‘Where are they?’ he asked. Off the top of his head, he added, ‘Put them in for ten.’” 90 [Later, he’d raise it to 125%.]
“… Trump and Miller decided to redefine the very concept of an ‘emergency’ [to justify executive orders]. … Trump declared a national energy emergency, citing ‘inadequate energy supply’ even though the United States was energy independent when he returned to office, with domestic oil production at a record high.” 94
“One Republican senator said later that he could not believe ‘how poorly thought through the tariff strategy was. It’s not clear what their objectives is, let alone their strategy. And it seemed to change from day to day. Sometimes the stated goal was to raise revenue. Sometimes it was to eliminate the trade deficit with every country. Sometimes it was a negotiating tool.” 119
The whole second section, “Retribution” — Talk about misusing the office of the President. Stunning. Absolutely stunning. How did he get away with all those personal take-downs? Blackmail. As President, he could do anything. Take away a broadcasting licence. Prevent a merger. And how did he get away with that? Because he fired anyone who objected.
“… [p290] These were previously unimaginable uses of a White House communications department, to taunt adversaries and mock everyone else.”
The book shows Trump as such a petty, vindictive man, irresponsibly and illegitimately, using the office of the President—and of course, by implication, taxpayers’ money—to get revenge for every little thing said or done against him.
It’s easy for rich people to sue others. They simply say to one of their lawyers, do it. (Apparently, Trump has sued 2500 people.) The rest of us have to just suck it up, the wrongs, the slights, the injuries, the insults. (And of course, taxpayers are paying for the courts to process his very many lawsuits.
“But [the Epstein files] was still a horror story that revealed a hidden strata of society whose business was dense with insider favor-trading, market-moving information, … It was a story of depravity and entitlement and shocking indifference to human suffering, all run through with the sickening, clubby banter of rich men and women indulging a pedophile because he hosted entertaining dinner parties and funded their causes or lifestyle.”377
