Donald Trump's dance card is filling up very quickly. Right now he's all booked for the weekend after the Inauguration except that he doesn't know exactly with whom he will be hanging because Donald Jr. and Eric haven't finished selling the gig yet; and when they do, the identities of the mega-donors will remain secret, at least as currently planned. This from The Wall Street Journal. You want to talk about conflicts of interest?
An invitation for a Jan. 21 fundraiser, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, listed Donald Jr. and Eric Trump as “honorary co-chairmen” and said the event would be hosted by the Opening Day Foundation, a nonprofit where the younger Trumps were registered as directors, according to the Texas secretary of state, less than a week ago.….
Donors who give $1 million (“Bald Eagle” status) are offered a “private reception and photo opportunity for 16 guests” with Eric and Donald Jr. and a “very special guest”—confirmed by a person familiar with the event as the president-elect. They are also promised a “multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion for 4 guests with Donald Trump Jr. and/or Eric Trump, and team.”
Well there you have it. It’s like that old line of George Bernard Shaw’s to a woman who huffily asked him, “What do you think I am?” Shaw responded, “Madam, I know what you are, the only question I have is as to your price.” We know what price our President-can be had for, and that’s a cool $1Million per head to spend the weekend with Pops, and Uday and Usay and described as a charitable donation, for your tax paying convenience.
The Center for Public Integrity reported on an earlier version of the invitation that named the president-elect as attending.
And now this is where it gets amusing. Crooks and Liars reported earlier this afternoon:
The Trump transition team put out a statement that was full of damage control that managed to make the situation even worse. Hope Hicks, National Press Secretary for the Presidential Transition Team said, “The Opening Day event and details that have been reported are merely initial concepts that have not been approved or pursued by the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are avid outdoorsmen and supporters of conservation efforts, which align with the goals of this event, however they are not involved in any capacity.”
The Trump transition team clearly went into full backpedal and it backfired. Then, things went from bad to worse for the Trump transition team when Katy Tur of MSNBC got hold of the story less than two hours ago. Tur had this to say:
"TMZ first uncovered a brochure for this event and the Center for Public Integrity went further, digging into it and they found Donald trump's sons and a few others are offering donors who give more than a million dollars, two things. One, a private reception with 16 guests with president-elect Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., the day after the inauguration and second, a multi day hunting trip with his two sons."
Tur also said: "Is the Trump family selling access to the president-elect with a charitable donation? It's exactly what Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of doing on the campaign trail. He campaigned against this saying the Clinton Foundation was selling access to Hillary Clinton while she was in the state department. He called it corrupt."
Tur concluded: "It seems that when it's done by the other side it's not okay, but when done by Donald Trump and ostensibly the GOP, it is okay."
Yup, that about nails it. If a Democrat does it, God Almighty, but if a Trump does it — it’s just fine.
Is anybody going to buy the line about "charitable donation to conservation charities?" It's pretty well known how the Trump family feels about endangered species. Let me explain to you, if I may, how Rich White Men go on so-called "safari" in Africa. A member of the hunted species, say a leopard, I'm sure that you recall the boys proudly displaying their dead leopard, photo above -- the leopard is trapped, starved and dehydrated in a cage. Then the Rich White Man walks up to the cage with his rifle and shoots the helpless beast. There is nothing manly or sporting about it -- it is a travesty, like everything that the Trump family touches. And yet the translation that is prepared for the rubes, the you's and me's is that the Trumps are "outdoorsmen" and "supporters of conservation efforts,” and that the anonymous mega-donors are really “contributors to conservation charities.” This is our Newspeak, are you taking notes? The Trumps are liars and obfuscators and they are beyond disgusting.
What is truly beyond the pale about this latest Trump money making scheme is that it falsely involves conservation and endangered species who cannot speak for themselves. I can handle it when medical insurance and the like is being attacked, because that is a human problem and we humans can speak and respond. This newest below-the-belt effort on the part of the Trump family to plunder the coffers of our White House and our culture, robbing us not only of our substance but of our dignity and our reputation as a people in the world, and once again and always in the name of monetary gain for the Trump family; the almighty buck, is completely beyond despicable. This time they have really gone too far.