You’ve always known that Donald Trump didn’t belong anywhere near government, let alone the White House, but it’s just now today coming out yet another angle on how he simply does not have the slightest idea about the decorum involved in government vis a vis handling classified documents. Not even a clue. Walt Nauta went before a grand jury and excerpts from the testimony transcript show that Trump used to handle classified materials in the Oval Office in exactly the same way that he handled dirty laundry or old newspapers — by throwing everything on the floor when he was finished with it and expecting people to pick up after him.
The Washington Post reported that some of the White House records the National Archives and Records Administration turned over to the committee appeared to have been torn apart and then taped back together.https://t.co/fZ37F2pcaK
— Crankypants (@upserny) April 27, 2024
That’s how Trump deals with everything. He doesn’t take care of anything, never puts anything away or puts laundry in an assigned receptacle, trash in an assigned receptacle, he just throws everything on the floor because that’s how he’s done it all his life. Whether it’s a Mar-a-Lago maid, or a NARA librarian, it’s all the same to him. Don’t take my word for it, read this piece from 2019.
Two housekeepers — Sandra Diaz and Victorina Morales — described to The Washington Post working as Trump’s housekeepers at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, as undocumented migrants.
According to the pair, when Trump is done with things like newspapers or clothes he simply throws them on the floor, expecting someone else to pick up after him.
“Trump decided when he wanted something discarded. When that happened, with clothes or newspapers, he would toss them on the floor,” according to the report.
And he’s got people ironing his shorts, you believe it? I have never known a guy who wore ironed shorts. And God knows I’ve never known a guy who actually ironed his own shorts or paid anybody to do it. Man, he IS going to flip in prison.
In his closet, she would hang six sets of identical golf outfits: six white polo shirts, six pairs of beige pants, six neatly ironed pairs of boxer shorts. She would smear a dollop of Trump’s liquid face makeup on the back of her hand to make sure it hadn’t dried out.
The years of service that Diaz and other undocumented immigrant housekeepers, cooks, landscapers, greenskeepers, waiters, bellhops, farm hands and caddies devoted to the Trump Organization have given them a remarkable vantage point into the unvarnished lives of the now-first family. They have seen poolside tantrums and holiday arguments. They’ve laughed with the in-laws and watched after the grandkids. […]
For decades, and well into Trump’s presidency, illegal immigrants lived as Trump’s shadow family — ever present, if rarely considered. Trump had met many of them. There were three questions nearly every immigrant who worked for him was asked as Trump strolled the grounds of his resorts and golf clubs inspecting their work. “Your name. How much time you’d been there. And if you like it,” said Margarita Cruz, a housekeeper. This banter often ended with Trump pulling out $50 and $100 bills for tips.
This transactional relationship of discreet service for long hours and often low pay began to evolve as Trump entered politics on the promise to keep out the upward-striving immigrant workers who crumbed his table and scoured his toilets. When Trump referred to some Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists, when he vowed to wall off the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent an immigrant “invasion,” the worry and anger began to build in the kitchens and laundry rooms of his properties.
The bulk of this article is to describe Trump’s hypocrisy regarding migrant labor. But the details of how he lives and the level of service he expects are something else.
Trump loved Tic Tacs. But not an arbitrary amount. He wanted, in his bedroom bureau at all times, two full containers of white Tic Tacs and one container that was half full. The same rule applied to the Bronx Colors-brand face makeup from Switzerland that Trump slathered on — two full containers, one half full — even if it meant the housekeepers had to regularly bring new shirts from the pro shop because of the rust-colored stains on the collars. A special washing machine in the laundry room was reserved for his wife Melania Trump’s clothing.
Time out: Melania doesn’t even want her CLOTHES washed in the same machine as her husband’s clothing? This is something. This right here tells you everything you need to know about their “marriage.”
Donald Trump liked Irish Spring bar soap in his shower. But his housekeepers quickly learned not to throw out his soap even if it had worn down to the tiniest sliver: Trump decided when he wanted something discarded. When that happened, with clothes or newspapers, he would toss them on the floor.
A regular recipient of Trump’s castoff clothing was Melania’s father, Viktor Knavs, Diaz and Morales said.
“They’re the same size and everything,” Morales said.
Same size, same age. I can only wonder if Melania is/was thrilled about screwing somebody that much of a clone of her own father?
Knavs and his wife, Amalija Knavs, were favorites of the Bedminster staff, even if much was lost in translation from Slovenian to Spanish. Amalija Knavs would often cook breakfast in the villa for Melania while Trump regularly ate breakfast in the clubhouse.
One day in 2013, Viktor Knavs went out to play golf wearing one of Trump’s discarded red baseball caps. When Trump spotted him on the fairway, he blew up, and he ordered his father-in-law, in front of other golfers, to remove the hat and get off the course. Diaz and Morales were in the villa when Knavs returned, threw the hat on the ground and cursed Trump.
The housekeepers pieced together the story from what Amalija Knavs told them in English and what they heard from the caddies who were on the course at the time.
“Nobody could wear the red hat but [Trump],” Diaz said.
“The whole world saw what Trump had done to his father-in-law,” Morales added. “[Knavs] was very embarrassed.”
Trump is a swine, there’s little debate on that point. Back to the classified documents, he treated them like he did his underwear or his makeup-stained shirts, he just threw them all on the floor when done reading them — except for the documents he decided to tear up or shred or flush down the toilet. Those were in a different category. This article is from two years ago:
And he did it all in violation of the Presidential Records Act, despite being urged by at least two chiefs of staff and the White House counsel to follow the law on preserving documents.
“It is absolutely a violation of the act,” said Courtney Chartier, president of the Society of American Archivists. “There is no ignorance of these laws. There are White House manuals about the maintenance of these records.”
Although glimpses of Trump’s penchant for ripping were reported earlier in his presidency — by Politico in 2018 — the House select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection has shined a new spotlight on the practice. The Washington Post reported that some of the White House records the National Archives and Records Administration turned over to the committee appeared to have been torn apart and then taped back together.
Again, no other president in history did anything like this. There was too much respect for the office, for the institution of intelligence gathering, for all of it. This is Trumpzilla, on one of his rampages, acting irrationally.
It is unclear how many records were lost or permanently destroyed through Trump’s ripping routine, as well as what consequences, if any, he might face. Hundreds of documents, if not more, were likely torn up, those familiar with the practice say.
“It is against the law, but the problem is that the Presidential Records Act, as written, does not have any real enforcement mechanism,” said James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association. “It’s that sort of thing where there’s a law, but who has the authority to enforce the law, and the existing law is toothless.”
It’s like everything else in Trump world, like the Supreme Court discussing presidential immunity or Jack Smith’s January 6 case, or the fact that Trump’s currently in criminal court in Manhattan. Everything is a case of first impression with this man because he’s so utterly unsuited for the job of POTUS. Say what you will about any modern president, or any president, period, nobody ever behaved like this.
Yet, he would return, not just for another four years but until he died on the job. And the GOP is just fine with that. They’re happy to destroy America, burn down democracy, as long as it provides them with a way to return to power.
Trump rapes E Jean Carroll, Tump rapes America.
Trump.lies about rape and harassing women. Trump.lies about everything.
This is a really interesting article, which also leaves out trumps rumors for flushing documents. In any case, I want to attach some things that have gone under the radar because of the trials and supreme court cases and maybe get back to the fall campaigns.
Three stories from Texas. I apologize for the length of the post.
Story number 1. Greg Abbott brought the jack booted thugs to the UT Austin campus. 57 people were arrested. The UT Austin population was not amused. I am not sure how Ivy league schools do things, but mostly UT Austin is a sleepy campus waiting for something to get interested in. When I was a student back in the 1980’s there were protests about investment in UT system in South Africa. Like the current protest, students wanted to divest from investments in the apartheid regime. At the first protest a few students were arrested, the second protest, I along with many other students were arrested , the third protest had thousands of students, so many that none were arrested (I included). suppressing speech like this will ignite students.
Story number 2: San Antonio has closed one of its migrant transit centers. Unlike the whiney mayors of New York or Chicago or Denver, San Antonio has handled several hundred thousand migrants through the transit centers in the city. Catholic charities have handled the fundamental logistics of getting people from here to wherever. What is not getting reported is that because of a dramatic reduction in migrants there is not a need for one of the transit centers. Various Biden policies have reduced border crossing. The republicon talking point of undocumented immigration is going away. Of course the faux news crowd will keep screaming about migrant crime, hopefully people will realize it is not really happening.
This might be a more murph comment. Texas 23 congressional district was once one of the most competitive in the country, but it got redrawn after 2020 to be a more safe republican district. It is one of the largest in the nation, running all along the Texas Mexico Border from El Paso to San Antonio. Mostly ranch land and small towns. Tony Gonzales is the current rep. he is a moderate republicon who voted for gun control after 19 children and 2 teachers were killed in Uvalde Texas which is part of his district. Gonzales has a big republicon primary run off this week. His opponent is actually famous for his gun blog. here’s the macguffin as murph likes to mention. greg abbott has spent this spring trashing every moderate republicon in the state, he helped take down 9 moderate republicons in primary elections for various races. republicon on republicon hate.
Recently abbott has decided to endorse Gonzales against the gun nut for the primary run off. Who knows who runs republicon endorsements now? Somebody got to abbot and told him if the gun nut wins now, we will lose the election in November, even in a plus 7 trump district. Otherwise abbot would have stayed out of it.
Trump.may well have used sensitive documents as toilet paper before flushing them. Trump.every likely shat on American democracy and laws.
Who is that guy in the shower?
Well, the pool boy of course.
Secret Service guy
The first thing that the new Congress needs to do is in on law pass one that gives teeth to all the laws and segments of the Constitution without them and have no statute of limitations on any of them as well as grandfathering them to the beginning of time. Second, that makes it a crime for any justice/associate justice of the SC to add or subtract any words to the Constitution with a mandatory life sentence. No statute of limitations. The Constitution gives the Congress this power over the judiciary. They need to use it.
Defendant Trump treats our classified documents like he treats his underwear, and he treats his underwear like he treats his ex-wives; he rips them up and tosses them on the floor when he’s done with them.