Donald Trump, the former Reality TV host and President, whose “brand” has become synonymous with both losing and shit 1, was processed and arraigned yesterday in New York, due to his having been indicted on 34 felony counts for falsification of business records — the first former President of the United States to be indicted and arrested2.
I have friends who are Democrats and/or Liberals3 and many of them are rejoicing, although I’m not really sure why they’d be rejoicing at this early stage of criminal justice.
I also have friends who are Republicans and/or Conservatives4, or as I call them “so-called Conservatives.”5 Many of them are outraged. Really? I mean, really? I just don’t see what’s so hard to get your head around.
Put aside everything we’ve learned about Trump in the last eight or so years, since he first announced his 2016 presidential bid. This is a man who had been engaged in New York City real estate development for nearly half a century! At the very least, this means he routinely had to “do business” with the mob6, and routinely had to “grease some palms” in order to get things done.
And yet, my Republican and “so-called” Conservative friends consider this man to be so meticulously scrupulous, that he would never even consider cutting some corners on business records! Phooey!
Or, they feel that he is somehow being “targeted.”7 But I submit that this is still a “government of laws and not of men”8. Besides, the United States Extreme Court has long approved selective enforcement of laws and selective prosecution, provided however, that the enforcement or prosecution is not based on an arbitrary reason such as race or religion, or some other reason that is forbidden by the Constitution.
yeah, in a minute…
2 “He’s number one! He’s number one!” We all know how much Trump loves being number one!
All I know is that for the first time in my life — and probably ever — Democrats and Republicans both are chanting “four more years” about the same person! ⇪
4 Not all Liberals identify as Democrat. ⇪
4 Not all Conservatives identify as Republican. ⇪
5 As I’ve said time and time again, you can call yourself whatever you like. Hell, I can call myself 7 foot tall. But simply calling yourself something does not make it so. You can call yourself a “Conservative” but if you are not actually practicing Conservatism, then you are not a Conservative. For more on this subject, see: On Conservatives and Conservatism. ⇪
6 According to multiple sources, including Trump biographer Wayne Barrett, “he went out of his way not to avoid” contacts with the mafia, “but to increase them.” See, e.g., Netflix’s Fear City Hints at Trump’s Mob Connections. The Real Story Goes Even Deeper.
Trump himself has even described mobsters as “very nice people”. Ibid. Sound familiar? ⇪
7 Isn’t it interesting how die-hard Democrats and die-hard Republicans always feel that people on their ‘side of the aisle’ are being targeted, but always feel that people on the other side of the aisle are being fairly and justly accused/prosecuted? This is called hypocrisy. And it’s worth noting that hypocrisy and good character are mutually exclusive concepts. A person with good character is never a hypocrite. See: What is Character? for the universally accepted definition of “character”. ⇪
8 John Adams, Founding Father and Second President of the United States, “Novanglus Papers” no. 7 (1774). ⇪