Donald Trump has not won the election yet – thankfully, and things remain 50-50 that he will do so. But what he has done already is explore deals that will compromise him every which way to cash in. The Trump Organization has sought and still seeks to build a hotel in Israel. It also wants a possible deal to brand an existing skyscraper. This is just awful.
It is absolutely true that Israel remains a needed ally in the Middle East and always will. We have a special obligation to the nation and it’s never been needed more than when Iran rained down missiles as it had just a week ago. Additionally, Israel suffered a monstrous attack last October 7th – their 9-11, in which over one-thousand people were killed and many taken hostage. Israel has the right to defend itself – how far it goes in doing so is a matter that can be debated. Needless to say, Israel remains a moral and practical obligation. So..
According to The New York Times: This is a problem.
Former site of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to people involved in the previously unreported talks, as well as documents reviewed by The New York Times.
The property’s proximity to the nexus of governmental power evoked Mr. Trump’s erstwhile hotel near the White House, abuzz with dignitaries and supporters during his presidency.
Evoked? Such deals are exactly the same except for the fact that there may be even fewer ethical guardrails keeping Trump from self-dealing. One would have to be uniquely naive – and no one here is – to believe that such a deal leaves Trump with no choice but to do everything Israel asks. NO president should ever be in a conflict. It is absolutely necessary that no president ever be at the mercy of another nation no matter how big an ally.
Were that our only problem. Israel remains under a very conservative Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu who is a master manipulator which is what you want – the manipulator thing – if he is your own president. He is not. Our obligation to Israel has been twisted under Bibi and Trump. It would only get worse.
And that brings us back to the bigger picture. Trump has already promised to be a dictator, has already used the presidency to enrich himself, and we already know that he will feel even less constrained in a possible second term. If he succeeds in Israel – and he will if he wins – he will certainly do so in other parts of the world. Countries will line up to practically give Trump property as a down payment on future deals from the United States.
I Have noted many times that when Trump says that world leaders came to him and talked about how strong the United States was under him – he is certainly telling the truth! We know this because ask yourself what you would do if you were the despotic leader of another country and wanted something easy from the United States under Trump? You would kiss his ass and then laugh yours off all the way to the bank. Notice, though – world leaders in Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and some places elsewhere did not do so. They infuriated him.
Why? Because those nations are democracies with leaders that adhere to ethical standards. It only works with dictators who don’t have to answer to anyone: Russia, Saudi Arabia, India (A democracy in name only) and Turkey (Same) are perfect. Israel is a democracy and yet Netanyahu is already in trouble for self-dealing and Israel also remains in a position where it has to take anything it can get. Trump can and will be compromised in all these despotic nations but under a special obligation to Israel, it’s at war.
Trump’s conflicts didn’t go well. We saw Trump’s Washington hotel quickly sold after the presidency and the deal screams corruption in the first term. Look for more of the same. You surely won’t have to look very hard.
Trump won’t care how it looks.
God Bless:Â I can be reached at [email protected] and @JasonMiciak
God forbid, if he gets a second term, the self-dealing will be endless. At least until the USA is completely ruined and depleted.
If I were an Islamic extremist…his properties would be on my short list for an attack.