Trump蘑菇视频 administration flawed from the start?
Steve Schmidt is a likeable, solid conservative.
He served as a campaign strategist for the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain.
I’m afraid for his mental health.
Mr. Schmidt is so distraught over the current White House burlesque show that he appears frequently on TV to vent — lest, I fear, his head may explode.
Last week he’d had enough.
There was a report that Mike Flynn, President Trump’s former national security advisor/convicted felon, may have even been involved in some shady business dealings – during Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
According to a whistleblower, while Flynn was sitting a few feet away from the new president, he sent text messages that may indicate he was ready to pull the strings on a lucrative, but questionable deal.
Just eleven minutes into Trump’s maudlin inaugural speech, Flynn texted a business partner that the newly instituted sanctions President Obama had brought against Russia (for meddling in the 2016 elections) would be “ripped up” as soon as Trump got to the White House.
That would set the stage for a cooperative effort between Russia and Flynn’s business affiliates to build several nuclear reactors throughout the Middle East.
The whistleblower claims that Alex Copson, the managing partner of the business in question said, “Mike has been putting everything in place,” and that, “This is going to make a lot of wealthy people.”
Mike Flynn was supposed to have been one of those people, even while he served as the chief in-house advisor to the president.
The mere hint that Flynn may have been lining his pockets while he was supposed to be serving the public, was troubling — especially to Steve Schmidt.
When he appeared the day after the Flynn revelations, Schmidt drew a stark comparison between the Obama years, and the Trump days.
“We had a presidency for eight years — Barack Obama. There’s not a senior official around the president who’s indicted. By every objective measure, it’s not controversial free. But it is a clean and ethical administration. They conducted themselves the proper way,” Schmidt said on MSNBC.
I did say Schmidt is a solid conservative. He’s also a Republican with a conscience.
Those Republicans don’t seem to be in abundant supply these days. Especially those who, of their own volition, equate Obama’s administration with wholesomeness, while chiding Trump’s administration for its unseemliness.
Flynn’s alleged pernicious behavior, just minutes after Trump took his presidential oath of office, allowed Schmidt to take on an administration that’s been mired in controversy from the very beginning.
“We’re 11 minutes — 11 minutes into this administration, and you have the national security advisor engaged in some type of nefarious business dealing to build Russian nuclear reactors across the Middle East. Eleven minutes. It’s just extraordinary,” Schmidt strongly concluded.
Slowly, though, there are more and more Republicans who’re saying enough-is-enough with the mounting piles of lies, and unforced belligerence emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
There just aren’t enough.
Consequently, there is a resistant cadre of Republicans, who’ve hidden behind their blinders, and who casually place their political affiliation above the common good.
When that Alabama scallywag, Roy Moore, was outed as an alleged child-molester, Republicans in and out of Congress rushed to the nearest TV cameras to wash their hands of the fellow.
That was to be expected.
Initially, Trump avoided making strong statements one way or the other about his support for Moore.
After all, he had his own widely publicized set of allegations that surfaced after that “Access Hollywood” video became public before the 2016 election.
The president waited until the dark smoke surrounding Moore cleared, and his poll numbers began to stabilize before he ratcheted up his full support for him.
He then made it clear that it would be far better for the folks in Alabama to vote for a man who has had a certain fondness for the affections of teenagers than for them to vote for any Democrat.
Alabamians go to the polls tomorrow.
If Moore wins, you can expect more Republicans to shun Trump.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter and anchor for Entertainment Tonight and 20-year TV news veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.