Judge Arthur Engoron and Donald Trump
As an avowed Never Trumper, I have not spent one second thinking about voting for Donald Trump. I never watched an episode of The Apprentice -- or even a portion of an episode -- so the whole "you're fired" con man act never intrigued me.
I have, however, wondered why other people vote for Trump. What do they see in this guy who, to me at least, has so little to offer -- as a presidential candidate and a human being. The most common explanation I've heard for supporting Trump goes something like this: "Trump is a good businessman, and if we vote him into office, I look forward to watching him use sound business principles to run our country the way he runs one of his companies."
Now, we have documents from Trump's business-fraud case that indicate he is not a good businessman and probably never has been. (More on that in a moment.) On what then can one base his support for Trump? You certainly can't hang your hat on any government-related accomplishments. The closest thing that comes to mind is a fairly good economy in Trump's first two years in office as he rode on the coattails of Barack Obama's economic recovery, which saved us from the Great Recession 0f 2009 under George W. Bush.
So, what drives some Americans to support such a flawed candidate? My best guess is that it comes from deeply internalized and conflicted feelings about race. Even the most devoted MAGAts should realize that is a bad reason to support Trump -- or any candidate. Unless they truly want to see American democracy tossed aside to be replaced by some version of Trump authoritarianism (and that is exactly what he has promised to deliver, straight from his own mouth) would-be Trump supporters need to come to their senses and realize they are supporting a man who is not deserving of their support. And if they truly want to live in a form of dictatorship, they should realize they've been living in the wrong country all these years. They can stay here, of course, but they should embrace the form of American government that has served us well for almost 250 years. Donald Trump does not support that kind of system. He wants a government that will serve his own narcissistic interests -- based mainly on being able (he thinks) to pursue revenge against his perceived enemies. How is that going to benefit everyday Americans and help our country make progress? It won't, so MAGA types should realize there is no good reason to vote for Trump.
The "Trump as a great businessman" explanation is as fine as any, I suppose. But darned if that stumbling block we call reality hasn't caused it to run aground. No. 1, we have four years from Trump's first term (2017-2021) to realize he couldn't even "make the trains run on time." In fact, he failed so badly at a president's top job -- keeping Americans relatively safe within their own borders -- that numerous analysts have deemed his handiwork a failed presidency. Here's how we explained his hatchet job on the COVID pandemic, which cost 1.2 million American lives, and an estimated 3 to 7 million worldwide. (Public-health experts say this almost certainly is an undercount, with the real numbers likely being three times greater than those stated above, which would mean a range of 9 to 21 million actual deaths.
Trump is a presidential candidate with blood on his hands, which should not be seen as an attractive quality in a man who seeks to be "Leader of the Free World." Here is how we have explained Trump's tortured handling of the COVID pandemic:
As for Trump's incompetence and unfitness, consider the way he botched the coronavirus pandemic. Public-health experts knew an outbreak of a deadly virus was a serious threat when Trump took office for his first term in 2017. They knew the virus likely was to originate in China and previous administrations -- led by George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- developed a step-by-step "playbook" on how to deal with such a crisis. With genuine leadership from the U.S., the virus could have been contained in China and eventually eradicated there -- saving millions of lives around the globe, including 1.2 million lives in the United States.
Trump apparently could not be bothered to read the playbook -- or pay attention to warnings from intelligence officials in daily briefings -- and he downplayed the threat in public statements. Just before the coronavirus outbreak appeared. Trump eliminated the position of Dr. Linda Quick, an American epidemiologist who had been embedded in Beijing specifically to monitor for signs of a viral outbreak. Here is more information about Dr. Linda Quick and her abrupt exit, which coincided with a Trump-fueled trade war with China.
If Trump has proven to be a failure as a president, and public records indicate he never was a good businessman, his support should evaporate to almost nothing. An article yesterday at Yahoo! Finance (with original reporting from Molly Crane-Newman of the New York Daily News) shows Trump has dreadful business instincts:
Donald Trump can’t come up with almost half a billion dollars he owes the New York attorney general for committing large-scale fraud, his lawyers told an appeals court Monday.
With one week to go before the former president’s deadline to put down at least $454 million to appeal the mammoth judgment without its consequences taking effect, Trump’s lawyers said he was unable to secure the cash. They noted he needed to find closer to $557 million as most bond agents require 120% as security.
“[Very] few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that,” Trump lawyers Alina Habba and Cliff Robert wrote, asking the First Department Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments over his effort to halt enforcement of the crushing ruling while he appeals.
“The case involves no actual victims and no award of restitution, and [the AG] is fully protected by Defendants’ real-estate holdings.”
(No real victims? I suspect the banks and insurance companies who apparently relied on Trump's inflated valuations would take issue with that.)
Judge Arthur Engoron has played rough with Trump -- as he should have, in my view -- and it will be interesting to see what direction the case takes from here. Crane-Newman provides insights:
If Trump doesn’t secure a ruling from the appeals court pausing Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling from taking effect or lowering the security deposit, he’ll have to post the total with the court by March 25 to automatically prevent the AG from beginning the collection process — whether by asking the sheriff to seize his properties, including famed New York properties such as Trump Tower, or through other means.
The GOP front-runner in the 2024 presidential race appealed Engoron’s devastating ruling on Feb. 26. He previously failed to convince the mid-level appellate court to allow him to deposit a smaller sum of $100 million while appealing.
According to Monday’s filing, Trump’s lawyers unsuccessfully asked 30 underwriters to back the eye-popping bond, and none of them were willing to accept his properties as collateral.
The ex-president, who says he’s worth billions and has at least $400 million in cash, gave up after “countless hours negotiating with one of the largest insurance companies in the world,” according to an affidavit from Gary Giulietti, a broker and longtime friend of Trump’s, who testified for the defense at trial.
The broker, whose word Trump’s lawyers asked the appeals court to rely on, was described as a questionable witness in Engoron’s ruling finding Trump liable for fraud.
Engoron said Giulietti was the first expert witness he’d encountered in 20 years on the bench “who not only was a close personal friend of a party, but also had a personal financial interest in the outcome of the case for which he is being offered as an expert,” noting he made $1.2 million in commissions from Trump’s company in 2022.
Let's hope would-be Trump voters perceive the troubled reality of his candidacy -- this is a man who takes on more debt than he can handle; sounds like a great prospect to run the U.S. economy -- and decide this is a jalopy that needs to be pushed over a cliff.
