This is utterly fascinating. That mafia keystone principle of 'attack relentlessly, deny everything, never admit error', married to malignant narcissism and fronto-temporal dementia, unifies every action and statement by this administration.
Perhaps now he can retire knowing he's achieved that legacy and leave the rest of the planet to heal and live in peace. Oh, no, can't do that, he wants to be richer than Putin.
At its heart, Wendy isn’t simply criticizing one man. I see that she’s raising a deeper question about the relationship between power and accountability.
Every republic rests on a fragile agreement. The people allow leaders to wield enormous authority, yet that authority must remain separate from personal profit. Public office is meant to be stewardship, not ownership. Once that boundary blurs, the legitimacy of the system begins to weaken.
That’s the concern I hear in her argument.
She traces a long pattern, business dealings, court judgments, financial investigations, then places the presidency at the center of that story. Her claim is that the office has become an amplifier. The same habits that existed in private life now operate at a scale only the presidency can provide.
Whether every detail holds up under scrutiny isn’t something I can settle in a comment thread. But the principle she’s pointing toward matters.
A democracy depends on visible limits.
Courts exist for that reason. Ethics rules exist for that reason. Financial disclosures exist for that reason. They aren’t bureaucratic annoyances. They’re guardrails meant to reassure citizens that the power they’ve entrusted to leaders isn’t being converted into private advantage.
When those guardrails weaken, the public begins to wonder whether the system still belongs to them.
That doubt is corrosive. It erodes trust slowly, sometimes quietly, until people begin to assume that power always serves itself.
History shows that once citizens reach that conclusion, repairing the relationship between government and the governed becomes extremely difficult.
So the question Wendy raises is larger than any single political figure.
Do our accountability structures still function?
If they do, the evidence will eventually speak through them.
If they don’t, the silence will speak even louder.
Well said. Trump is the symptom. The disease is structural dysfunction in accountability. The accountability structures would function if we had elected officials that adhered to standards of ethics and morality. The continuous attacks and pushing the boundaries eroded those structures. Ethics and morality in public service can no longer be assumed. In the very near future, Congress must enact legislation and have the moral courage to Practice accountability for violators. Otherwise, we will continue to descend into the value of corruption.
Just as Trumps ancestors changed Drumf to Trump in the 16th century; In a future lifetime Trump will be added to the list of Surnames often used to label evil or villainous characters.
Dear god - Roy Kohn is the only person who ever walked the Earth who looks more evil than Stephen Miller. Maybe they sleep hanging upside down in the same cave…?
This is utterly fascinating. That mafia keystone principle of 'attack relentlessly, deny everything, never admit error', married to malignant narcissism and fronto-temporal dementia, unifies every action and statement by this administration.
Not that it's anything to which to aspire, but Trump will likely go down as the greatest racketeer, to date, in U.S. history.
Perhaps now he can retire knowing he's achieved that legacy and leave the rest of the planet to heal and live in peace. Oh, no, can't do that, he wants to be richer than Putin.
Timely and important
Thank you, WA L.
At its heart, Wendy isn’t simply criticizing one man. I see that she’s raising a deeper question about the relationship between power and accountability.
Every republic rests on a fragile agreement. The people allow leaders to wield enormous authority, yet that authority must remain separate from personal profit. Public office is meant to be stewardship, not ownership. Once that boundary blurs, the legitimacy of the system begins to weaken.
That’s the concern I hear in her argument.
She traces a long pattern, business dealings, court judgments, financial investigations, then places the presidency at the center of that story. Her claim is that the office has become an amplifier. The same habits that existed in private life now operate at a scale only the presidency can provide.
Whether every detail holds up under scrutiny isn’t something I can settle in a comment thread. But the principle she’s pointing toward matters.
A democracy depends on visible limits.
Courts exist for that reason. Ethics rules exist for that reason. Financial disclosures exist for that reason. They aren’t bureaucratic annoyances. They’re guardrails meant to reassure citizens that the power they’ve entrusted to leaders isn’t being converted into private advantage.
When those guardrails weaken, the public begins to wonder whether the system still belongs to them.
That doubt is corrosive. It erodes trust slowly, sometimes quietly, until people begin to assume that power always serves itself.
History shows that once citizens reach that conclusion, repairing the relationship between government and the governed becomes extremely difficult.
So the question Wendy raises is larger than any single political figure.
Do our accountability structures still function?
If they do, the evidence will eventually speak through them.
If they don’t, the silence will speak even louder.
Well said. Trump is the symptom. The disease is structural dysfunction in accountability. The accountability structures would function if we had elected officials that adhered to standards of ethics and morality. The continuous attacks and pushing the boundaries eroded those structures. Ethics and morality in public service can no longer be assumed. In the very near future, Congress must enact legislation and have the moral courage to Practice accountability for violators. Otherwise, we will continue to descend into the value of corruption.
I’m afraid you have the heart of it, Ken.
This public vermin needs fumigation.
Just as Trumps ancestors changed Drumf to Trump in the 16th century; In a future lifetime Trump will be added to the list of Surnames often used to label evil or villainous characters.
Nauseating - we have to figure out how to get MAGA to understand what they have wrought - it will bite them worst!
Dear god - Roy Kohn is the only person who ever walked the Earth who looks more evil than Stephen Miller. Maybe they sleep hanging upside down in the same cave…?