Also, while talking about the situation with Pence and Hamilton right now, please keep in mind that it was a recipe for disaster from the start…..and that was more than likely intentional.
The danger of Trump’s camp from the start has lain in people equating ‘over the top’ with ‘stupid’. They are anything but stupid. Every move they’ve made has been calculated, and I don’t doubt this was any different. There is no way, in the face of all the protests and sentiments expressed towards Trump and Pence since the election, that it didn’t occur to anyone that Pence going and seeing Hamilton of all things, would likely cause an uproar.
And what else happened yesterday of significance? Trump settled the lawsuit for fraud against Trump University….for over double what it was expected to settle for. Our president elect essentially admitted to defrauding people via Trump U, and paid $25 million dollars to settle it. This is utterly unprecedented. Also of note in the last couple of days was that the Trump hotel in DC held an event for foreign diplomats, in which it was made plain to them what benefits might come from diplomats making use of the Trump hotel when visiting DC. After all, what better way to ingratiate yourself with the US President you’re here to see, than to be able to say ‘oh I stayed at your lovely hotel?’ And what worse way to get off on the wrong foot than by admitting you stayed at one of his competitors? This is but one more of the MANY conflicts of interest at work with Trump’s presidency.
But Pence goes to see Hamilton, and predictably enough, he gets heckled and booed and that’s the story of the day, and Trump’s tweeting about it, and everyone’s focused on Trump tweeting about it and Pence getting booed…..and suddenly nobody’s talking about the MASSIVE story that is a president elect settling a fraud lawsuit for 25 million dollars and enticing foreign diplomats to use his hotel to get in his good graces.
See how that works?
Also, let’s keep in mind that the likely reason Trump settled the lawsuit is so that he wouldn’t have to testify. This is a guy who does not want to be scrutinized, who does not want to be asked questions that he is compelled to answer honestly. Yes, the Hamilton incident is somewhat important because it illustrates Trump’s contempt for the First Amendment, but let’s not be so distracted by the middle finger he’s giving us with his right hand that we take our eyes off whatever the hell his left hand is up to.
My advice? Keep putting pressure on the House Oversight Committee to investigate Trump’s financial conflicts of interest. That will subject him to scrutiny that he can’t buy his way out of. The number to call is
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Thoughtfulfangirling 