AlanAPartridge · M
ElwoodBlues · M
We're talking about the guy who promised he could end the fighting in Gaza overnight?? The guy who said he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours???
Tяump is superb at the art of grifting.
In 1787, the Constitution’s framers gathered in a sweltering room in Philadelphia to design a government that wouldn’t collapse into monarchy or rot with foreign influence. They wrote the emoluments clause — Article I, Section 9 — which they saw as a firewall. It forbade federal officials from accepting gifts or titles from foreign states without congressional consent.
The logic was simple: no monarchies by stealth, no subtle realignments of loyalty. If a prince gives you a jet and you take it, you owe him — even if you pretend you don’t. In the founders’ eyes, it’s more than improper. It’s a betrayal. They didn’t fight a king just to watch a president accept a sky-high royal estate — or what Donald Trump calls a write-off.
The early republic was on high alert for anything that resembled aristocratic excess.
George Washington warned of “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” calling it “one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” His successors remained hypersensitive: Thomas Jefferson returned a diamond-studded snuff box from the French ambassador on constitutional grounds and warned that the presidency could devolve into elective despotism. John Adams was publicly dragged for his taste in carriages, so his son, John Quincy Adams, surrendered horses and gilded gifts to the State Department rather than risk the appearance of impropriety.
. . . NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked Trump whether, as president, he would uphold the Constitution. “I don’t know,” he replied. Fifty-three Republican senators refused to comment.
. . . What Trump is doing is anti-constitutional — not “unconstitutional,” a term we apply to so many of his official acts, as if they exist in a gray area of vague corruption that might be defensible. In reality, it violates the independence that was supposed to anchor the presidency.
Thomas Jefferson didn’t fear a tyrant who seized power. He feared one who bought it with borrowed luxury.
Tяump is superb at the art of grifting.
In 1787, the Constitution’s framers gathered in a sweltering room in Philadelphia to design a government that wouldn’t collapse into monarchy or rot with foreign influence. They wrote the emoluments clause — Article I, Section 9 — which they saw as a firewall. It forbade federal officials from accepting gifts or titles from foreign states without congressional consent.
The logic was simple: no monarchies by stealth, no subtle realignments of loyalty. If a prince gives you a jet and you take it, you owe him — even if you pretend you don’t. In the founders’ eyes, it’s more than improper. It’s a betrayal. They didn’t fight a king just to watch a president accept a sky-high royal estate — or what Donald Trump calls a write-off.
The early republic was on high alert for anything that resembled aristocratic excess.
George Washington warned of “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” calling it “one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” His successors remained hypersensitive: Thomas Jefferson returned a diamond-studded snuff box from the French ambassador on constitutional grounds and warned that the presidency could devolve into elective despotism. John Adams was publicly dragged for his taste in carriages, so his son, John Quincy Adams, surrendered horses and gilded gifts to the State Department rather than risk the appearance of impropriety.
. . . NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked Trump whether, as president, he would uphold the Constitution. “I don’t know,” he replied. Fifty-three Republican senators refused to comment.
. . . What Trump is doing is anti-constitutional — not “unconstitutional,” a term we apply to so many of his official acts, as if they exist in a gray area of vague corruption that might be defensible. In reality, it violates the independence that was supposed to anchor the presidency.
Thomas Jefferson didn’t fear a tyrant who seized power. He feared one who bought it with borrowed luxury.
View 3 more replies »
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
DanielsASJ · 36-40, M
@SomeMichGuy You are jealous of his popularity. Nothing less than that.
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
carpediem · 61-69, M
carpediem · 61-69, M
@FreddieUK I appreciate that. I do business with people in a few European counties including France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Italy and the UK. I find most are amenable to honest and open discussion once they get past their media induced biases. I also appreciate hearing their views. They all accept that the world is on the cusp of a realignment.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
iamthe99 · M
@TheOneyouwerewarnedabout That is De Niro, right?
basilfawlty89 · 36-40, M
DanielsASJ · 36-40, M
@basilfawlty89 You are? I didn't know that. Sorry to hear that.
basilfawlty89 · 36-40, M
@DanielsASJ no, you.
DanielsASJ · 36-40, M
@basilfawlty89 Sorry to hear that you have lost it.
FreestyleArt · 36-40, M
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
@Khenpal1 And thats not even a contract, which trump is legendary for welching on.😷
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
DanielsASJ · 36-40, M