Of Applauses and Military Parades

Posted by historymaniacmegan on February 7, 2018

On Tuesday, January 30, 2018, Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address in front of both houses of Congress. Of course, like the last time he addressed Congress, the media lauded at how he seemed to act presidential by reciting words off a teleprompter which you wouldn’t see in his Twitter feed. But that doesn’t change the fact he’s the hollow showman who’d rather pick fights than offer any remotely plausible solutions to any real problems. And that he shows absolutely no interest in governing or uniting the country. Nor does it change the fact he’s a narcissistic sociopath who’d sell out America and undermine established democratic norms in order to enrich himself, his Republican allies, and his 1% friends. Or how he has no respect for America, democratic principles, or the rule of law.

But what scares me most about Donald Trump is his authoritarian impulses. He sees himself above scrutiny and criticism. He sees himself entitled to countless praises from everyone without doing anything to deserve them. And as president, he thinks that anyone working in the federal government should be personally loyal to him above all else. In his mind, anyone who thinks less of him as this wonderful president who’d make America great again is an Un-American conspirator out to get him who should be crushed. Trump has called reporters who write unflattering articles about him as, “enemies of the people” and the media outlets they work for as “fake news.” He has called athletes who kneel during the national anthem to peacefully protest police brutality and racism as unpatriotic and disrespectful to the American flag. He has questioned the authority of federal judges who ruled against his policies. He has declared war on law enforcement officials and agencies investigating him whom he’s alleged as agents in some Democratic deep state conspiracy to bring him down. Despite that the key decisionmakers in the Russian inquiry are all Republicans, including his own hand-picked deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein.

On Monday, February 5, Donald Trump addressed a crowd in Cincinnati in which he decried how congressional Democrats didn’t stand and applaud for him during last week’s State of the Union. “They were like death and un-American,” he said. “Un-American. Somebody said, ‘treasonous.’ I mean, Yeah, I guess why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn’t seem to love our country that much.” Trump loyalist may dismiss this incendiary sentiment as nothing but a joke. After all, he didn’t say refusing to give him a standing ovation was treasonous. He just merely agreed with people who said it was. And like many things Trump says in his tweets, there’s a tendency to shrug it off.

But Donald Trump’s casual allegation of calling the Democrats’ behavior “treasonous” should be taken very seriously. Merriam Webster defines treason as “The offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family.” In Article III Constitution: “Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.” Of course, treason can be punished by life in prison or death. Joining an enemy army because you didn’t get the promotion you deserved is treason. Splitting off from your country so you can subjugate black people to forced labor is treason. Giving out secrets to the Russians after World War II is treason. Refusing to stand or applaud the State of the Union when a president thinks you should is neither treasonous nor Un-American. If it was, then you can easily say that congressional Republicans were treasonous whenever they sat on their hands while Barack Obama touted his accomplishments in office to the Democrats’ cheers. Same when it came to every president before him.

Nevertheless, when Donald Trump links a refusal for a standing ovation to a president during a State of the Union address as “treasonous,” he’s implying a far more unsettling message. What Trump really meant in Cincinnati is that dissent was traitorous and/or un-American. That if these non-clappers really loved their country, they’d be applauding when he touted how low black unemployment had dipped under his presidency. Despite that his touting of historically low black unemployment was a cherry-picked fact based off a single month’s economic report which totally lost relevance when the black unemployment numbers trickled up in January. Besides, even if he did reduce black unemployment to historic lows, that wouldn’t make any difference to the Democrats. Because Trump has pissed plenty of Democrats off through his divisive and incendiary rhetoric. Not to mention, his pandering to white supremacists as well as his assaults on healthcare, education, the environment, civil rights, workers, and the poor. Then there’s his disregard for democratic norms and the rule of law as well as his attacks on American institutions like law enforcement and the press.

Still, even the mere suggestion of criminalizing dissent should trouble any fan of democracy. The right to dissent without fear of retribution is at the heart of what differentiates the United States from authoritarian countries around the world. In fact, it’s even protected by the First Amendment of our constitution. As US Senator Tammy Duckworth tweeted, “We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath—in the military and in the Senate—to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.” When a president floats the notion of no applause when it was appropriate, it sends a very powerful message to the nation about how we do (and should) deal with those disagreeing with us. Doesn’t matter if Donald Trump was joking or not. And whether you agree with President Pussygrabber or not, it sends a very terrible message. What the Democrats did during Trump’s State of the Union wasn’t unprecedented and was well within their rights. To say otherwise, is un-American and destructive.

Then there’s a recent report from the Washington Post, in which an anonymous military official claimed that Donald Trump requested that the Pentagon begin planning a military parade this year along the inaugural route between the US Capitol to the White House. According to the paper, Trump was inspired by a 2017 to France for Bastille Day which traditionally features one. “The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” the official said. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.” Excuse me, but doesn’t there seem to be something a bit despotic about this? Because save for winning wars, holding military parades is what armed forces in dictatorships to show they’re not to be messed with like in Russia, China, and North Korea. Still, this isn’t a new interest of Trump’s since he wanted military equipment and a flyover for his 2017 inaugural parade. Of course, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the event in the works, “President Trump is incredibly supportive of America’s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.” Oh, what a load of shit. Trump is a man who dodged the draft thanks to his rich daddy, called POWs cowards, had disabled veterans chased off of Trump Tower, promised to donate $6 million to vets but didn’t, set up a fake veterans hotline, attacked a Gold Star family for being Muslim, and told a grieving serviceman’s widow that her husband, “knew what he signed up for.” They say that Trump wants a military parade to show honor America’s service members is ludicrous. He doesn’t give a shit about the brave men and women who’ve served this country other than as props in his displays of patriotic pageantry. But Trump is a president who’s openly praised a number of totalitarian leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He’s openly questioned his own Justice Department and FBI, suggesting there was a conspiracy at the highest levels wanting to weaken him. He’s worked tirelessly to disqualify the idea of an objective news media. He constantly says things that aren’t true and has an administration coining the term, “alternative facts.” Not to mention, he has a tremendous ego and perhaps to top the kind of military parade he saw in France. Because to him, might makes right and he with the biggest toys wins.

However, when the toys are tanks and missiles, no one’s really sure what “winning” looks like as the stakes go up. Donald Trump is either unaware or dismisses this concept. He also doesn’t seem to care about the kind of message a parade of tanks, guns, and other military playthings through the Washington D.C. streets sends to the rest of the world which will watch. Meaning we’ll probably get a military parade in Washington because Tiny Hands gets what he wants whether or not it’s good for the country. Our soldiers and weapons aren’t toys for Trump to parade around to compensate his fragile ego. Still, if there’s anything un-American it’s an unpopular president holding a military parade because other countries get to do it.

Nonetheless, if there’s anyone who’s betraying the nation, consider the guy who’d deliberately and systematically wreck the institutions guaranteeing the separation of powers and accountability of the Executive and Legislative branches. Think of the guy who’d subvert the rule of law to protect himself, his family, and his cronies from justice. If you’re looking for a man who’d betray the Founders’ glorious vision and our Constitution, look no further than the clown who heads this White House circus. I mean the very man who swore to uphold the Constitution and obey the laws of the land, but ignores them and attacks those who’d carry them out. Sure, there have been presidents who’ve failed, strayed, and fell to weakness. And we can remember presidents from both parties who no one could even imagine betraying the nation to a hostile foreign power. Not this man. And we don’t have to imagine it either. We can see it. Trump’s unashamed schmoozing with Vladimir Putin speaks for itself as he allows Russia attack our democracy, our Republic, and our institutions. Only Trump and his sycophants question Putin’s implacable hostility, aggression, and desire to divide and disrupt this country. That Putin wants to weaken our standing, diminish our power, and harm our interest in the world is stated Russian policy. When Congress sent Trump veto-proof legislation demanding he impose sanctions on Russia, he waited until the last second to impose, well, nothing. When Putin arrested campaign opponent Alexey Navalny on fake charges, His Hind-Ass remained silent. For some reason, Trump is determined to show he’d do anything, at any time, to please this Russian authoritarian. He’ll even tear down the United States government around him to hide from accountability, wreak alliances, compromise intelligence sources, and endanger our troops to please Putin. Let us strip away all the excuses and rationalizations and just call Trump’s actions on Russia, what they are: treason.

The Madness of the Snowflake King

Posted by historymaniacmegan on January 9, 2018

In this winter of our discontent, there is a term flying around conservative circles called “snowflake” used to describe liberal extremists who get offended by every statement and/or belief that doesn’t exactly match their own. To them, these individuals think they’re just unique as “snowflakes” when they really just have fragile feelings. To be fair, I do believe there are some liberal snowflakes who do exist. But when it comes to fragile feelings and offense by every statement and/or belief not aligning theirs, I think the “snowflake” label describes conservatives much more. For one, conservatives have an entire media ecosystem to insulate them from uncomfortable mainstream truths and assure them their views are perfectly reasonable. I mean when other networks air rather damning stuff on Donald Trump, Fox News runs stupid shit and peddles conspiracy theories. Secondly, conservatives go absolutely apeshit over race related issues such as Black Lives Matter calling attention to police brutality, NFL players taking a knee, and removing Confederate monuments. Third, those so-called “snowflakes” conservatives refer to have had to deal with all kinds of offenses and systematic injustices against them for perhaps their whole lives.

But in the United States, there is no bigger snowflake in the country than Snowflake King Donald Trump. Even before he ran for president and disastrously ended up in the White House, we all know that this guy has a massively inflated ego and self-delusions of grandeur. He sees himself as a successful and brilliant businessman despite being an outright fraud who’s shamelessly engaged in unethical practices and corruption that have ruined hundreds of people’s lives. His presidency will become legend for his incompetence, his Twitter tantrums, his lack of regard for the law, democratic principles, and norms, and his corrupt administration that’s loaded with sycophants. Still, Trump is known to burst over the slightest insult that he’s referred the mainstream media as “fake news” whenever they run a negative story about him. For a president, to discredit the media over the negative stuff about him whether it be his unethical business practices, his flagrant disregard for democratic norms, his lack of respect of democratic values, openly racist tirades, his Twitter tantrums, his incompetence and mental instability, and pathological dishonesty. Even before he became president, Trump was known to at least threatening to sue those who dare challenge him or at least said stuff about him he didn’t like. Sometimes this has resulted in real life consequences. In 1990, he threatened to sue Janney Montgomery Scott unless they fired their securities analyst Mark Roffman. His crime? Issuing a negative forecast for Trump Taj Mahal which was later proved correct. Nevertheless, Roffman lost his job and spent the next few years in a living hell. A year later, Trump threatened to sue any broadcaster or distributor who’d show an 80 minute documentary about him called Trump: What’s the Deal?, which powerfully and disturbingly portrayed him as the fraud he actually is. His effort to suppress the film proved successful.

Recently, a book has been recently published called Fire and Fury: Inside the White House which has been dominating the political cycle this January. Written by longtime New York columnist Michael Wolff, media outlets have run excerpts from it which has resulted in a furious response from Donald Trump. In fact, his lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to the book’s publisher, demanding to stop publication. Not surprisingly, it has become a bestseller as copies fly off the shelves. Still, while Fire and Fury isn’t the most factually accurate account of Trump in the White House, it nonetheless confirms a lot of the dysfunction and disorganization that has characterized the administration. Specifically, Wolff’s book depicts a deeply unprepared, incurious president surrounded by toadying advisers concerned about his ability to do his job. Knowing how willfully ignorant Trump is about how government works during the 2016 Election campaign, this isn’t surprising at all. His lack of knowledge of the US political system was a source of constant criticism. One big instance of that on display was when he promised to pick a Supreme Court Justice who’d “look very seriously” at Hillary Clinton’s e-mails. However, the Supreme Court tries laws, not people. In a primary debate in Houston, Trump referred to federal judges “signing bills” a task the president does in a federal system. As Wolff recalled in his book on how some of Trump’s closest aides spoke of him behind closed doors: “This—insulting Donald Trump’s intelligence—was both the thing you could not do and the thing—drawing there-but-for-the-grace-of-God guffaws across the senior staff—that everybody was guilty of. Everyone, in his or her own way, struggled to express the baldly obvious fact that the president did not know enough, did not know what he didn’t know, did not particularly care, and, to boot, was confident if not serene in his unquestioned certitudes. There was now a fair amount of back-of-the-classroom giggling about who had called Trump what. For Steve Mnuchin and Reince Priebus, he was an “idiot.” For Gary Cohn, he was “dumb as shit.” For H. R. McMaster he was a “dope.” The list went on.”

Now we all know that Donald Trump doesn’t like to read which is a very terrible sign. Because on any given day, a president is expected to read about as much as a college student cramming for a big exam. Thus, as Cracked reports, intelligence agencies have to keep their reports 25% shorter than Obama’s and allow no space for dissenting opinions. Policy papers are trimmed from 3-6 pages down to a single page with lots of graphics and maps. The National Security Council has taken things a step further by “strategically” including Trump’s name as often as possible since he usually keeps reading if he sees it mentioned. But a bigger problem than these oversimplified briefings is that Trump apparently doesn’t even bother to read them. This can lead Lord Cheetohead to embarrass himself in talks with foreign leaders, drafting woefully inept executive orders, or signing off on documents he doesn’t even understand. As Wolff recalls: “Here was, arguably, the central issue of the Trump presidency, informing every aspect of Trumpian policy and leadership: he didn’t process information in any conventional sense — or, in a way, he didn’t process it at all. Trump didn’t read. He didn’t really even skim. If it was print, it might as well not exist. Some believed that for all practical purposes he was no more than semiliterate.” He even quotes Gary Cohn stating, “It’s worse than you can imagine. An idiot surrounded by clowns. Trump won’t read anything — not one-page memos, not the brief policy papers; nothing. He gets up halfway through meetings with world leaders because he is bored.”

Furthermore, Wolff notes how Donald Trump doesn’t seem to understand the kind of responsibility being a president entails. Most Americans are familiar with the idea as of the president as a political and institutional concept, with an emphasis on ritual and propriety. Well, Trump isn’t most Americans since he’s prone to his ongoing Twitter tantrums over stuff that pisses him off. As Wolff writes, “Here was another peculiar Trump attribute: an inability to see his actions the way most others saw them. Or to fully appreciate how people expected him to behave. The notion of the presidency as an institutional and political concept, with an emphasis on ritual and propriety and semiotic messaging — statesmanship — was quite beyond him.”

Wolff also describes him as anti-intellectual as he noted, “For anything that smacked of a classroom or of being lectured to — “professor” was one of his bad words, and he was proud of never going to class, never buying a textbook, never taking a note — he got up and left the room. This was a problem in multiple respects — indeed, in almost all the prescribed functions of the presidency.” Such conduct is very unbecoming of a vast array of occupations, especially if they require a college degree. But if you’re the President of the United States, it’s incredibly unforgivable. Though we know that Trump’s brand contains a very anti-intellectual streak, eschews the advice of experts, doesn’t sponsor any cultural events, and doesn’t express any form of curiosity in anything. He sees no value in science, history, or education. And his campaign might be responsible for why more Republicans might have more negative opinions about colleges and professors they see as liberal elites in their ivory tower. If Trump should call himself a “stable genius” then he’d probably buckle up in the Oval Office, listen to criticism, and take notes. Despite that academics might seem to be in their own little worlds at times, a politician advocating anti-intellectualism is a very terrible thing since it encourages willful ignorance and disinterest in learning and education. And Trump’s willful ignorance and disinterest in anything but his own vanity and enrichment is rooted into his own narcissism and sociopathy since he worships no god by himself and he has no faith than in the almighty dollar.

Nor does Donald Trump seem to have the proper temperament or understand his role to lead a nation. As Wolff recalls, “What was, to many of the people who knew Trump well, much more confounding was that he had managed to win this election, and arrive at this ultimate accomplishment, wholly lacking what in some obvious sense must be the main requirement of the job, what neuroscientists would call executive function. He had somehow won the race for president, but his brain seemed incapable of performing what would be essential tasks in his new job. He had no ability to plan and organize and pay attention and switch focus; he had never been able to tailor his behavior to what the goals at hand reasonably required. On the most basic level, he simply could not link cause and effect.” Cracked has reported that American agencies are withholding an unusual amount of information from Trump. Though Trump has expressed scorn for the intelligence community (particularly when it comes to Russia). However, a bigger concern for them might be his habit of casually announcing classified information to rival governments. In May 2017, during a meeting with Russian officials, Trump reportedly boasted about the quality of intelligence he received every day. He also revealed details of a terrorist plot he’d recently been informed of. The problem with that is that revealing you know something can let someone guess fairly quickly how much you know it which can compromise the original intelligence source who may not have wanted the Russians to know about it. Though America doesn’t need to be hostile with Russia anymore, we know it has very different goals and ambitions than we do. Meaning that we need to exercise a degree of caution when dealing with them. But Trump’s carelessness with intelligence can be more than a one-time problem since in the wake of this story, an unnamed European country warned that they may stop sharing intelligence with the United States because they don’t like Trump compromising sources while trying to impress people.

Nevertheless, Donald Trump’s bizarre behavior has often compelled about his mental state long before Fire and Fury. Just last week, he unleashed a series of tweets which culminated in a nuclear threat of nuclear war with North Korea. On January 2, 2018, he tweeted, “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” In fact, the book’s very title came from a Trump speech back in 2017 over North Korea when he said, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” This at an event that was supposed to focus on opioids. Such statement terrified North Korean experts who worried about Trump provoking a war with another nuclear-armed power. Yet, Wolff noted such words also scared the bejesus out of Trump’s staff as they spent the next week trying to get him to stop talking about it. As Wolff wrote, “North Korea, a situation the president had consistently been advised to downplay, now became the central subject of the rest of the week — with most senior staff occupied not so much by the topic itself but by how to respond to the president, who was threatening to ‘blow’ again. Charlottesville was a mere distraction, and indeed, the staff’s goal was to keep him off North Korea.” To use Charlottesville to distract Trump from North Korea just makes me cringe. This is one of many examples illustrating that Trump is incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions. When Trump does something like fire James Comey, bomb Syria, or threaten North Korea, he does so without any sense of how human beings might be affected. As Wolff writes, “One of Trump’s deficiencies — a constant in the campaign and, so far, in the presidency — was his uncertain grasp of cause and effect. Everyone [in the White House], in his or own way, struggled to express the baldly obvious fact that the president did not know enough, did not know what he didn’t know, did not particularly care and, to boot, was confident if not serene in his unquestioned certitudes.”

But while the White House tries to write off Fire and Fury as “trashy tabloid fiction,” its fallout suggests otherwise. Already, Donald Trump has treated its revelations as gospel truth has launched a blood feud with his former strategist and campaign CEO Steve Bannon. Because on January 3, 2018, the Guardian posted excerpts from Wolff’s quoting Bannon saying some remarkable things about the Trump family. In these excerpts, Bannon called Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower “treasonous,” speculated that Trump might’ve been involved as well, and asserts that Jared Kushner is involved in some “greasy” business that could expose him to money laundering charges. These revelations not only cut into Trump’s denial of wrongdoing in the Russian scandal but also insulted his family members as well. Neither of which will put you in Trump’s good graces. Interestingly, Bannon’s Brietbart website reproduced some quotes sometime later without disputing them, giving a seeming impression of accuracy. Furious at the Bannon revelations, Trump released an infuriating statement reading, “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve doesn’t represent my base — he’s only in it for himself.” Except that Bannon’s Brietbart website is called “the platform of the Alt-Right” who mostly comprise of white supremacists which number among Trump’s most ardent supporters. Anyway, Trump goes on to minimize Bannon’s role in his 2016 victory and complain that he helped cost Republicans a Senate seat in Alabama by endorsing Roy Moore. Look, we all know that Bannon played a pivotal role in the Trump campaign or otherwise the alt-right wouldn’t be a thing. Furthermore, he also accused Bannon of constantly, leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was” since it “is the only thing he does well.” Now Bannon is even out at Brietbart over the Trump book controversy over his comments.

It’s not hard to imagine that Donald Trump’s staff never thought he should be president. Nor is it difficult to think that Trump never wanted to be president in the first place. As Wolff frames it, “The Trump campaign had, perhaps less than inadvertently, replicated the scheme from Mel Brooks’s The Producers. In that classic, Brooks’s larcenous and dopey heroes, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, set out to sell more than 100 percent of the ownership stakes in the Broadway show they are producing. Since they will be found out only if the show is a hit, everything about the show is premised on its being a flop. Accordingly, they create a show so outlandish that it actually succeeds, thus dooming our heroes.” Though at least Bialystock and Bloom ended up in prison and didn’t doom a whole country. Still, Wolff believes that the Trump administration’s problems currently lie at the concept that even his staff didn’t think he’d win. Why release your tax returns if he’s going to lose? What’s the harm in sucking up to Russia’s government if he’s likelier to build a hotel in Moscow than occupy the White House? Why bother with educating the candidate on major policy issues or build a real platform when he’ll never govern? Or why worry about conflicts of interests or business entanglements if they’re never going to matter? This might explain so much. Yet, even if he was just running for president, those things will still matter.

Still, Fire and Fury paints a picture of Donald Trump through his own tweets, speeches, comments, and actions as well as the constant on- and off-the record statements from his staff. It’s similar to what reporters have heard from top staff at the White House. And similar to what I and much of the American public have long suspected. Trump is not cognitively up to the job of the presidency. He’s not just someone who doesn’t know much about policy or foreign affairs. It’s that he’s someone who doesn’t want to know about policy or foreign affairs. And he dislikes the methods by which you actually could learn about policy and foreign affairs. Thus, Trump’s ignorance isn’t an absence of knowledge. It’s closer to a personality trait and possibly even an ideology, which is even worse.

Naturally, when a man so unqualified for the presidency that his campaign wants him to lose unexpectedly wins the White House, chaos ensues. Suppose you work for Donald Trump at the White House. How would you please, placate, manage, constrain and inform a raging child king? Though the answer is embarrassing. But it’s one Trump’s staff and any foreign government wanting America’s favor know all too well: flattery and sycophancy. Trump’s staff tries to keep their boss from social media with constant praise and putting lots of media in front of him. Also, his staff worry about leaving him alone for hours at a time because he watches too much TV, gets annoyed with what he sees, and throws a Twitter tantrum. Other techniques for keeping Trump happy include hanging a map displaying his electoral victory in the West Wing, planting supporters and planting supporters in crowds as he gives a speech. One instance of the latter had him being passionately cheered while he gave a speech at the CIA headquarters by non-CIA supporters in the front rows for that specific purpose. This pissed off the CIA who consider themselves apolitical and don’t appreciate being herded into a meeting to listen to someone complain about how hard or unfair their job is. He thinks that no politician has been treated more unfairly than him despite that the TV news media has treated him much better than he deserves to be.

And how do you harness the remarkable opportunity you’ve been given to actually build something of value? The central struggle of Trump’s early months was between chief strategist Steve Bannon, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and chief son-in-law Jared Kushner. All of them in their proximity to power, saw the potential to build a presidency they could be proud of or at least less disgraced by. As Wolff recalled: “Each man saw the president as something of a blank page — or a scrambled one. And each, Walsh came to appreciate with increasing incredulity, had a radically different idea of how to fill or remake that page. Bannon was the alt-right militant. Kushner was the New York Democrat. And Priebus was the establishment Republican. “Steve wants to force a million people out of the country and repeal the nation’s health law and lay on a bunch of tariffs that will completely decimate how we trade, and Jared wants to deal with human trafficking and protecting Planned Parenthood.” And Priebus wanted Donald Trump to be another kind of Republican altogether … As Walsh saw it, Steve Bannon was running the Steve Bannon White House, Jared Kushner was running the Michael Bloomberg White House, and Reince Priebus was running the Paul Ryan White House.” This struggle was hardly a civil conflict ideal as Wolff records the tree factions’ endless squabbles comprising of leaks, schemes, backbiting, and the outside heavies brought in to change Trump’s mind at the last minute. But the conflict was so immense because Trump is incapable of and uninterested in resolving. Trump never gave a damn about Trumpism since he’s not sufficiently interested in policy, ideology, or ideas to direct his own presidency’s course. Thus, the course will be directed by the most firmly established interests around him like his family the congressional GOP.

Nonetheless, Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury contains a mystery it never resolves. As he wrote, “It was obvious to everyone that if [Trump] had a north star, it was just to be liked. He was ever uncomprehending about why everyone did not like him, or why it should be so difficult to get everyone to like him.” However, it would be easy enough for Donald Trump to run a presidency that left him better-liked. He could work with the Democrats, ease up the culture war, and give some gentler speeches. There has never been a president for whom the bar is lower than for Trump. It would be so easy to clear it and he’d have people around him happily acting as guides and cheerleaders. But he didn’t do any of that and Wolff’s book doesn’t provide a satisfying answer since it’s a portrait of a man undone by the very forces he unleashed. Because Donald Trump doesn’t care about policy, politics, ideology, or coalitions. All he cares about is Trump. He wanted to put his name on buildings and in tabloids. Now he has his name on the most important building on the planet and on the front page of most every newspaper in the world. Yet, outside a few conservative outlets, the coverage he receives is horrible, the worst of any president in memory. He can’t perform his job well enough to be liked or respected. But he only wanted the job in the first place because it would force the whole world to like or respect him (except it people still don’t like or respect him, including me). And he’s driven to rage and paranoia by the resulting dissonance, disappointment, and hurt. Mostly because he doesn’t understand that running for the most powerful office in the land will not get people to like and respect you. You have to do something to earn that adoration and respect. Sure he might be a rich businessman, but his career and life have been marked by unethical business practices, baffling corruption, inflammatory statements, and other dubious deeds. Trump wants the adoration and respect for doing nothing besides being a rich businessman and TV star.

This wasn’t what Donald Trump wanted and it’s not clear whether it’s something he can bear. A more capable, competent, and stable person would by now, have either changed their behavior to receive more of the response they crave or just given up on getting that kind of attention. Yet, Trump exists in an unhappy middle ground, starting his day with morning rage tweets, spending weekends retreating to one of his golf clubs, searching for validation he craves in his Twitter feed and on Fox and Friends but never getting it from the elite taskmasters he’s always sought to impress. The pressures of the presidency are enough to break almost anyone but Trump is less suited for the work and backlash than most. The strain’s already showing as his workday’s reportedly shrunk to 11am to 6pm. Yet, the bulk of his first term remains to the detriment of us all and it can include his financial secrets being revealed to the world, his family being indicted, and a crisis he mishandles exploding into a catastrophe (like that didn’t happen already in Puerto Rico). The question now is whether Trump’s staff can keep governing around him and whether a dysfunctional president can have a semi-functional White House. And so far, I don’t really know if that’s possible with a narcissistic sociopath like Donald Trump. Because he’s a man who cares nothing about America, has no respect for democratic values, and doesn’t think the rule of law applies to him. A man like him only inspires more chaos and internal stripe which won’t end until he’s out.

The Racist History of Donald Trump

Posted by historymaniacmegan on September 26, 2017

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Early this month, ESPN co-anchor, Jemele Hill tweeted that Donald Trump is “a white supremacist whose surrounded himself with other white supremacists.” The White House cried foul and demanded that Hill be fired. But is Hill right? Trump has repeatedly claimed he’s “the least racist person you’ve encountered.” Anyone who’s heard his incendiary comments and has any idea about his policies knows that’s a pile of shit. We’ve all seen how he’s made explicitly racist and otherwise bigoted comments on the campaign trail. Memorable moments include referring Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists, proposing a Muslim ban, suggesting a Mexican American judge should recuse himself due to his heritage, and attacking a Muslim Gold Star family. Now that trend has continued into his presidency and shows no sign of his racist antics anytime soon. After all, he’s stereotyped a black reporter, appointed white supremacists to official positions, issued a Muslim ban, and pandered to white supremacists after they held a violent rally in Charlottesville. However, many of you may not know that the very first time Trump appeared in the New York Times was because the US Department of Justice had sued him and his dad for housing discrimination. He’s repeatedly inspired similar controversies since. Nevertheless, this history is important. It’s one thing if Trump misspoke once or twice. But take his actions and comments together, there’s a clear pattern suggesting that his bigotry isn’t just mere political opportunism, but a very real element on his personality, character and career.

Blacks:
1973: Alongside his father Fred, was sued by the Department of Justice during the Nixon Administration for violating the Fair Housing Act. Federal officials uncovered evidence that Trump refused to rent to black tenants and lied to black applicants whether apartments were available, among other accusations. Trump claimed that the federal government tried getting him to rent to welfare recipients. Though he and his father signed an agreement not to discriminate against non-white renters in 1975, they never admitted guilt.
1978: Alongside his father Fred, was sued by the Department of Justice again for failing to live up to that agreement. Even that didn’t change anything either. As Salon’s Justin Elliot reports, “in 1983, a fair-housing activist cited statistics that two Trump Village developments had white majorities of at least 95 percent.”
1980s: Former Trump Castle employee Kip Brown accuses one of his businesses of discrimination. According to him, “When Donald and Ivana came to the casino, the bosses would order all the black people off the floor. It was the eighties, I was a teenager, but I remember it: They put us all in the back.”
1989: Told Brian Gumbel in an interview, “A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market…if I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really do believe they have the actual advantage today.” All the serious studies refuted that. But his statement serves as a kind of shout-out to those ignorant about US racial dynamics.
1996: Is sued by 20 African Americans in Indiana for failing to honor a promise to hire mostly minority workers for a riverboat casino on Lake Michigan.
2004: During The Apprentice’s second season, fired black contestant Kevin Allen for being overeducated. Trump said on the show, “You’re an unbelievably talented guy in terms of education, and you haven’t done anything. At some point you have to say, ‘That’s enough.’”
2005: Publicly pitched what was essentially The Apprentice: White People vs. Black People. He claimed he “wasn’t particularly happy” with his show’s most recent season so he considered “an idea that is fairly controversial — creating a team of successful African Americans versus a team of successful whites. Whether people like that idea or not, it is somewhat reflective of our very vicious world.”
2010s-present: Has directed accusations of racism against blacks on Twitter 3 times as often as he’s done so against whites. Yet, his use of “racist” and “racism” is best understood in the context of the conservative movement that has come to believe that whites face more discrimination than blacks, despite absolutely no evidence.
2011: Played a big role pushing false rumors that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Even sent investigators to Hawaii to look into Obama’s birth certificate, which the president released calling Trump a “carnival barker.”
2011: Also argued that Obama wasn’t a good enough student to get into Columbia or Harvard Law School and demanded he released his university transcripts. Trump claimed, “I heard he was a terrible student. Terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?”
2011: Told Albany’s Talk 1300, “I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.”
2011: Tweeted: “What a convenient mistake: @BarackObama issued a statement for Kwanza (sic) but failed to issue one for Christmas.”
2012-2013: Had a long Twitter feud with MSNBC host Toure whom he accused of being racist no fewer than 10 times. One tweet reads, “Not only is @Toure a racist (and boring), he’s a really dumb guy!” However, the feud was more evidently sparked by Toure’s tweets about Trump’s bankruptcies.
2013: Sent 6 tweets accusing HBO “Real Sports” host Bryant Gumbel of racism. One tweet reads, “In that @TimeWarner has @HBO with really dumb racist Bryant Gumbel (and I mean dumb), and no CBS (which fired Bryant), I am switching bldgs.” However, the accusations may have been linked to Gumbel’s comments on Trump’s golf courses.
2014: Tweeted: “Sadly, because president Obama has done such a poor job as president, you won’t see another black president for generations!” I’m sorry just because race relations are poor, doesn’t mean President Barack Obama was a bad president (which he wasn’t).
2015: Tweeted: “Our great African-American president hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore.” As Men’s Trait noted, “Seriously, just shut up at this point. That’s like holding Jimmy Carter accountable for all the crap white people did while he was in the Oval Office.”
2015: Tweeted: “And if you look at black and African American youth, to a point where they’ve never done more poorly. There’s no spirit.”
2015: Called President Barack Obama, “the founder of ISIS.”
2015: Said during a Florida press conference, “I think President Obama has been the most ignorant president in our history. His views of the world as he says don’t jibe and the world is a mess. President Obama — when he became president, he didn’t know anything. This guy didn’t know a thing. And honestly, today he knows less. Today, he knows less. He has done a terrible job.” He later said, “He has been a disaster as a president. He will go down as one of the worst presidents in the history of our country. It is a mess.”
2015: In September, tweeted an image of a masked black man holding a handgun in a threatening manner alongside false statistics attempting to show that blacks kill more people of all other races. One “fact” stated that blacks killed 81% of white homicide victims that year. According to the FBI, the number is closer to 15%.
2015: Condoned the beating of a Black Lives Matter protester his supporters attacked during a campaign rally in Alabama. “Get him the hell out of here, will you, please?” he told the cheering crowd. “Get him out of here. Throw him out!” Video of the incident shows the assailants kicking the man after he had fallen to the ground. The next day, Trump implied that the attackers were justified noting, “Maybe [the protester] should have been roughed up. It was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.” His dismissive attitude toward the protester is part of a larger, troubling pattern of instigating violence toward protesters at campaign events, where people of color have attracted especially violent hostility. Trump also believes that the entire Black Lives Matter movement lacks legitimate policy grievances. And he’s alluded to these views in an New York Times Magazine interview where he described Ferguson, Missouri as one of the most dangerous places in America. In reality, the small St. Louis suburb doesn’t even make it to the top 20 highest-crime municipalities in the country. But it’s notorious for its police corruption which has a long record harassing its black community for funds.
2016: Said during a June rally, “Look at my African American over here!”
2016-present: At the Republican National Convention, officially seized the mantle of the “law and order” candidate, an obvious dog whistle playing to white fears of black crime despite that US crime being at a historic low. Trump’s speeches, comments, and executive actions after he took office have continued this line of messaging.
2016: Said in a pitch to black voters, “You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump’s remarks show he has no appreciation for black culture or achievement but instead utters one ugly cliché after another. As Hillary Clinton noted, “In just the past week, under the guise of ‘outreach’ to African Americans, Trump has stood up in front of largely white audiences and described black communities in such insulting and ignorant terms. ‘Poverty. Rejection. Horrible education. No housing. No homes. No ownership. Crime at levels nobody has seen.’ ‘Right now,’ he said, ‘you walk down the street and get shot.’ Those are his words.” Actual Trump rallies consisted of this on a regular basis.
2016: African American Apprentice winner Randal Pinkett tells Hollywood Reporter that Trump asked him if he’d share his title with the runner up- a white woman.
2016: During a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said that black voters came through for him, arguing that those who stayed home did it to help him. Except that blacks thoroughly loathe him and most black voters came out for Hillary Clinton.
2017: Stereotyped a black reporter at a February press conference. When April Ryan asked if he planned to meet and work with the Congressional Black Caucus, he repeatedly asked her to set up a meeting despite her insistence that she’s “just a reporter.”
2017: In the wake of Charlottesville over the controversy of Confederate monuments, tweeted: “Sad to see the history and culture being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.” Know that Trump was born and raised in Queens and has lived in Manhattan for most of his life. Thus, his cultural roots are far removed from those who erected those monuments. Nor has he ever shown any affinity for what’s especially popular in the South like NASCAR, church, college football, hunting, fishing, country music, barbecue, and what have you. It’s pretty clear his defense of Confederate monuments is rooted in racism.
2017: Tweeted: “ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!” This in reaction to ESPN anchor Jemele Hill tweeting, “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Hill’s comment a “fireable offense.”

Native Americans:
1993: Tried to open a casino in Bridgeport, Connecticut that would compete with one owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Nation, a local Native American tribe. During a House subcommittee on Native American Affairs hearing, claimed that the Pequots, “don’t look like Indians to me… They don’t look like Indians to Indians.” He then elaborated on those remarks alleging that the mafia had infiltrated Native American casinos which the FBI had immediately denied.
2000: Opposing a casino proposed by the St. Regis Mohawk tribe, which he saw as a threat to his Atlantic City casinos, secretly ran a series of ads suggesting the tribe had a “record of criminal activity [that] is well documented.”
2012-present: Has repeatedly referred to Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” since she said she had Cherokee ancestors and received criticism over lack of evidence to substantiate her claim. But Warren said at the time, “These are my family stories.”

Hispanics:
2015: Launched his presidential campaign calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” who are “bringing crime” and “bringing drugs” to the US. His campaign is largely built on building a wall to keep them out of the US. He even accused Latin American governments of actively sending undocumented immigrants across the border.
2015: Said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body. The fact that I want a strong border and the fact that I don’t want illegal immigrants pouring into this country, that doesn’t make me a racist, it means I love this country and I want to save this country.”
2015: Tweeted: “Jeb Bush has to like the Mexican Illegals because of his wife.”
2015: Said on NBC News: “The Mexican government forces many bad people into our country. Because they’re smart. They’re smarter than our leaders.” During that same interview, he told NBC, “I’ll win the Latino vote because I’ll create jobs. I’ll create jobs and the Latinos will have jobs they didn’t have.”
2015: Said during a rally in Birch Run, Michigan: “Jeb Bush will not be able to negotiate against Mexico. Jeb Bush with Mexico said, ‘People, come in,’ they come in, it’s an act of love, OK?” Also remarked, “I’m leading in the Hispanic vote, and I’m going to win the Hispanic vote. I’m also leading in the regular vote.”
2015: Referred to two supporters beating up a homeless Latino man in Boston as “passionate.” They cited Trump’s anti-immigrant message when explaining why they did it. One of the men told police officers, “Donald Trump was right ― all these illegals need to be deported.” Trump suggested that the men were well intentioned and had simply gotten carried away. “I will say that people who are following me are very passionate,” he said. “They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate.”
2015: Addressing news of a coalition of Hispanic organizations protesting his SNL appearance, told Fox & Friends in October, “I’m leading in the polls with the Hispanics. I mean, you look at Nevada, I’m leading in the polls with the Hispanics because I produce jobs, and they know it. I have thousands of Hispanics that work for me, my relationships to Hispanics is better than those groups. Those groups are looking to fundraise; I know all about those groups.”
2015: Asked about his wall policy during an Iowa press conference by Univision’s Jorge Ramos, shouted down and had security forcibly remove the reporter. As Ramos waited to get back inside the press conference so he could do his job, a member of Trump’s entourage told him to “get out of my country.” Ramos is a US citizen.
2015: During a November GOP debate, compared his plan to deport undocumented immigrants to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s infamous “Operation Wetback,” which deported more than 1 million Mexicans in the 1950s, resulting in many deaths.
2016: Alleged that the Rev. Rafael Cruz was involved in the Kennedy assassination, which his son Senator Ted Cruz took to great offense. “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being – you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it.”
2016: For Cinco de Mayo, tweeted a picture of himself eating a taco bowl with the tweet “Sadly, because president Obama has done such a poor job as president, you won’t see another black president for generations!”
2016: Argued that Judge Gonzalo Curiel should recuse himself from the Trump University lawsuit he was overseeing because of his Mexican heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association. House Speaker Paul Ryan called such comments, “the textbook definition of racism.” Curiel is the son of Mexican immigrants who was born in Indiana.
2016: During an October debate with Hillary Clinton: “We have some bad hombres here, and we’re going to get them out.”
2017: Pardoned notorious ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio who for willfully violating a federal court order while sheriff by allowing racial profiling round ups of suspected undocumented immigrants. During his reign in Maricopa County, Latinos suffered widespread systemic abuse and discrimination. They were 4-9 times more likely to be pulled over for traffic stops, often for no good reason. A federal judge found Arpaio guilty of violating Hispanics’ constitutional rights and ordered him to stop detaining people based on their ethnicity. The former sheriff refused so another judge found him on criminal contempt. Nevertheless, Trump has called Arpaio “a great American patriot” as well as praised his self-styled toughness on undocumented immigration.
2017: Ordered the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that’s designed to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the country by their parents from deportation.

Muslims:
2010: Publicly opposed a proposal to build a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan during the huge national controversy over the “Ground Zero Mosque.” Trump called the project, “insensitive” and offered to buy out one of its investors. On David Letterman, he later argued, referring to Muslims, “Well, somebody’s blowing us up. Somebody’s blowing up buildings, and somebody’s doing lots of bad stuff.”
2015: When asked at a Republican debate whether he meant all 1.6 billion Muslims hate the us, responded, “I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them.”
2015: Called for a national database to track all Muslims and surveillance of mosques. Commented there should be many systems “beyond databases” and he’d get Muslims registered by using “good management.” When asked whether there’s a difference between requiring Muslims to register and Jews in Nazi Germany, Trump replied, “You tell me.”
2015: Alleged that thousands of American Muslims in New Jersey were cheering the 9/11 attacks.
2015-present: Called for a ban on all Muslims entering the US and later expanded it to include those from specific countries, consisting of possibly France and Germany. Once he took office, Trump issued his “Muslim ban” executive order, which banned anyone from 7 Muslim-majority countries from coming into the US for 90 days and banned nearly all refugees for 120 days.
2016: Said during a rally in March, “I think Islam hates us. There’s something there — there’s a tremendous hatred there. There’s a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There is an unbelievable hatred of us.”
2016: During a South Carolina rally, told supporters about US occupation of the Philippines in the early 20th century and what General John Pershing used to fight Muslim insurgents there. He said, “They were having terrorism problems, just like we do. And he caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage and killed many people. And he took the 50 terrorists, and he took 50 men and he dipped 50 bullets in pigs’ blood — you heard that, right? He took 50 bullets, and he dipped them in pigs’ blood. And he had his men load his rifles, and he lined up the 50 people, and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said: You go back to your people, and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years, there wasn’t a problem. OK? Twenty-five years, there wasn’t a problem.” This story is mostly apocryphal but Trump has repeated the story several times since.
2016: Tweeted on the Orlando nightclub massacre: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”
2016: Retaliated against Muslim parents of a US Army officer who sacrificed his own life for his fellow soldiers while serving in the Iraq War. During the Democratic National Convention, Khizir Khan spoke out against Trump’s bigoted rhetoric and his disregard for civil liberties. “Let me ask you, have you even read the U.S. Constitution?” he asked before pulling a copy of the document from his jacket and holding it up. “I will gladly lend you my copy.” His headscarfed wife Ghazala stood at his side but didn’t speak. Trump seized on her silence to imply she was forbidden from speaking due to the Gold Star couple’s Islamic faith. He told ABC News, “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.” Mrs. Khan responded writing a Washington Post op-ed explaining that she couldn’t speak because of her grief. “Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?” she wrote.
2016: Appointed retired Lt. General Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. Notorious for his claims about Islam and his tendency to disseminate fake news on social media such as a linking to a tweet claiming Hillary Clinton was “wearing hijab in solidarity with Islamic terrorists.” Also used social media to condemn the entire religion of Islam, calling it a “malignant cancer.” Once tweeting, “Arab and Persian world ‘leaders'” should “step up to the plate and declare their Islamic ideology sick.” Falsely claimed Sharia Law “is spreading in the United States,” demonstrating what the New York Times called “a loose relationship with facts.”

Asians:
1988: Spent much of his commencement speech at Lehigh University accusing countries like Japan of “stripping the United States of economic dignity.” This matches much of his current rhetoric on China.
1989: When asked to give an estimate of his total wealth, he responded, “Who the f knows? I mean, really, who knows how much the Japs will pay for Manhattan property these days?”
2012: Tweeted: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
2015: During an August Iowa speech while boasting his ability to negotiate, especially in dealing with the Chinese, used broken English to impersonate Asian negotiators. He said, “When these people walk into the room, they don’t say, ‘Oh hello, how’s the weather? It’s so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing? They’re doing wonderful, that’s great.’ They say, ‘We want deal!’”

Jews:
2013: Got in a Twitter fit over Jon Stewart referring him as “Fuckface von Clownstick.” One of the tweets reads, “If Jon Stewart is so above it all & legit, why did he change his name from Jonathan Leibowitz. He should be proud of his heritage!” Another read, “Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow is a total phony-he should cherish his past-not run from it.” The Daily Show replied, “Can’t an overrated Jew have a complicated relationship with his dad without being accused of hiding his heritage? #FuckFaceVonClownstick.”
2015: During a December address to the Republican Jewish Coalition, he tried to relate to the crowd by invoking the stereotype of Jews as talented and cunning businesspeople. Touting his 1987 book, Trump: the Art of the Deal, he said, “I’m a negotiator, like you folks. Is there anyone who doesn’t renegotiate deals in this room? Perhaps more than any room I’ve spoken to.” He later implied that he had little chance of earning the Jewish Republican group’s support because his fealty couldn’t be bought with campaign donations (actually it can, but that’s beside the point). “You’re not going to support me, because I don’t want your money,” he told them (in an obvious lie). “You want to control your own politician.”
2016: Brands his nationalist foreign policy as “America First.” If you’re not familiar with American history, before Trump, the phrase of “America First” was notoriously associated with the isolationist group the America First Committee, which opposed US entry into WWII. Though it originated with a bunch of Ivy League college kids that included future President Gerald Ford, its membership soon extended to xenophobes, Anti-Semites, and even Nazi sympathizers. Charles Lindbergh’s infamous Anti-Semitic laden 1941 Des Moines speech to the America First Committee is the reason why that phrase hasn’t been echoed in decades. Even today, the phrase “America First” carries Anti-Semitic undertones.
2016: Tweeted and later deleted an image showing Hillary Clinton in front of a pile of money and by a Jewish Star of David stating, “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” The tweet had some very obvious anti-Semitic imagery, but Trump insisted that the star was a sheriff’s badge and said his campaign shouldn’t have deleted it. Mic later discovered that the image was actually created by white supremacists that appeared on a Neo-Nazi forum for more than a week before Trump shared it. In addition, the image’s watermark led to a Twitter account that regularly tweeted racist and sexist memes.
2017: Doesn’t mention Jews in his speech on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Written statement calls for remembering “victims, survivors, heroes” but omits mentioning Jews who were the largest ethnic group affected. Politico later reported that the State Department had drafted a version that did mention Jews but the White House blocked it.
2017: Says in news conference to a young Jewish reporter asking about an increase in anti-Semitic acts, “I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen.”

General:
1970s-present: Has been sued 10 times for racial discrimination and has won none of those lawsuits.
1989: During the early days of the Central Park Five case, immediately runs an full page ad in 4 local papers demanding, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” Referring to the alleged Central Park attackers and violent criminals, he wrote “They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes.” The Central Park Five case was very controversial one that’s been characterized as a modern-day lynching involving four black teenagers and one Latino adolescent accused of raping a New York City jogger. Due to New York City struggling with high crime at the time, public outrage over the rape let to these teens’ wrongful convictions, which were later vacated after they spent 7-13 years in prison and the city paid a $42 million settlement. Today their case is considered a cautionary tale about a politicized criminal justice process. But despite DNA evidence proving the contrary, Trump still believe these boys are guilty and deserve to die.
1991: Criticism on black accountant quoted in a book by former Trump Plaza president John O’Donnell. According to him, Trump said, “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.” Trump initially denied the remarks but later said in a 1997 Playboy interview, “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true. The guy’s a f—-g loser. A f—-g loser. I brought the guy in to work for me; it turns out he didn’t know that much about what he was doing. I think I met the guy two or three times total. And this guy goes off and writes a book about me, like he knows me!”
1992: His Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino had to pay a $200,000 fine over transferring black and women dealers to accommodate a big-time gambler’s prejudices.
2013: During the ramp up to the George Zimmerman trial, tweeted that “the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our cities is committed by blacks and Hispanics.”
2015-present: Has been repeatedly slow to condemn white supremacists who’ve endorsed him and has regularly retweeted messages from white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
2015: Tweeted: “According to Bill O’Reilly, 80% of all the shootings in New York City are blacks — if you add Hispanics, that figure goes to 98%, 1% white.”
2015: Tweeted in June, “Sadly, the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our major cities is committed by blacks and Hispanics – a tough subject – must be discussed.”
2016: Refuses to directly denounce former KKK leader David Duke’s endorsement, claiming he knew nothing about him and contradicting years of his own statements.
2016: During a debate with Hillary Clinton, says, “African Americans and Hispanics are living in hell. You walk down the street and you get shot.”
2016: Appoints former Breitbart chief, Steve Bannon as White House Chief Strategist. His history at Breitbart published sexist, racist, and inflammatory stories. According to former editor Ben Shapiro, “under Bannon’s Leadership, Breitbart openly embraced the white supremacist alt-right … with [Breitbart editor Milo] Yiannopoulos pushing white ethno-nationalism as a legitimate response to political correctness, and the comment section turning into a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.” In his personal life, Bannon has been accused of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks behind closed doors. His ex-wife testified during their divorce that he didn’t want their kids attending school “with Jews” because they were “whiny brats.” Another former colleague stated he “occasionally talked about the genetic superiority of some people” and suggested limiting the number of black voters by restricting voting to property owners might not be “such a bad thing.”
2016: Nominated Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary. A former executive of Goldman Sachs, Mnuchin once co-founded a bank called OneWest in 2008 which he led until 2015. As of 2016, OneWest is being sued for discriminating against black and Latino customers. According to a complaint by two fair housing agencies the bank, “kept bank branches out of nonwhite neighborhoods.” And as Fortune wrote, gave nonwhite customers disproportionately fewer mortgages. Between 2012 and 2013, the California bank gave zero loans to black customers in Los Angeles.
2016: Nominated then US Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General who was rejected from a federal judge appointment in the 1980s after people who worked for him testified that he made racially charged remarks. Has said he thought the KKK was okay until he learned they smoked pot. Once told a black lawyer, to “be careful how you talk to white folks.” Referred to the NAACP as “Un-American.” Called a black prosecutor, “boy.” And once called a white civil rights lawyer, “a traitor to his race.” Even his own friends thought he was too racist to serve as a federal judge. Coretta Scott King wrote a letter telling the US Senate not to confirm him.
2017: Started a commission to perpetuate the myth of rampant voter fraud that’s part of a conservative scheme do deny black people and others their right to vote. Heading that commission is Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach who’s often called, “most racist politician in America” and the “king of voter suppression.”
2017: Repealed federal regulations against pay discrimination.
2017: Issued a law enforcement protection executive order.
2017: Created a commission to investigate affirmative action lawsuits.
2017: Gave an ugly speech to a group of police officers during which he described gang violence in a creepy, almost loving detail in an attempt to smear immigrants as violent criminals.
2017: In the week after the white supremacist riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, has repeatedly suggested that “many sides” and “both sides” were responsible for the violence. Or to put it this way, Trump painted white supremacists as morally equivalent to the counter protesters standing against them. This seemed like a dog whistle to white supremacists and many of them took it as one with white nationalist Richard Spencer praising him for “defending the truth.”

2017: Said at a rally in Alabama that NFL owners should fire players who don’t stand for the national anthem. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘get that son of a bitch off the field?’” Trump asked the roaring crowd. He went on to claim that if owners fire a player for protesting the anthem, they’d become, the most popular person in the country. Because that is a total disrespect of our heritage.” Because to him, these players are “ruining the game.” Sure, conservatives might see players taking a knee as disrespect on the American flag and for our troops. However, these players take a knee to protest police brutality and systematic racism. Thus, Trump’s rants over the NFL are just racism disguised as patriotism.

A Speech for Our Times

Posted by historymaniacmegan on February 24, 2017

elesson-the-great-dictator-grab

The 1940 film The Great Dictator is a historically significant political satire where Charlie Chaplin condemns Hitler, Mussolini, the Nazis, and Anti-Semitism. At the end of the movie, Chaplin as the barber is mistaken for the titular despot and gives a speech denouncing totalitarian regimes like Nazi Germany and rallying the soldiers along with the audience to fight for free liberal democracy. 76 years later with the rise of right-wing populist authoritarianism, Chaplin’s 5-minute climatic speech resonates as much as ever. These regimes may not be like the militarist nationalist regimes of the 1930s, but they can be just as much a threat to democracy, civil liberties, state institutions, human rights, and even the civic moral fiber. Many of these regimes came into power on platforms promoting racism and xenophobia. And many of the movements have demagogue leaders who have abused their power for their own enrichment, discredited and intimidated anyone who’s challenged or criticized them, and have little respect for the laws, values, and traditions in the very country they’re supposed to lead. Furthermore, their elections have emboldened extremists within their own nations into committing acts against vulnerable people with little or no consequence. But unlike some dictators of the 1930s, authoritarian leaders are much more likely to erode their constitutionally democratically elected regimes through legitimate means from within, which can even be scarier as well as just as disturbing. We must stand firm against authoritarian regimes that may not just compromise people’s liberties and rights, but can also rot a nation’s soul through corruption, misinformation, manipulation, and incompetence. Today we need to hear the words of Chaplin’s climatic speech more than ever to be reminded of our common humanity and how authoritarian leaders threaten our way of being. And since I doubt it’ll be heard at the Oscars this weekend, I have it on my blog.

Chaplin’s Final Speech from The Great Dictator:

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone – if possible – Jew, Gentile – black man – white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness – not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost….

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men – cries out for universal brotherhood – for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world – millions of despairing men, women, and little children – victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

To those who can hear me, I say – do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed – the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. …..

Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes – men who despise you – enslave you – who regiment your lives – tell you what to do – what to think and what to feel! Who drill you – diet you – treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men – machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate – the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!

In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” – not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power – the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then – in the name of democracy – let us use that power – let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world – a decent world that will give men a chance to work – that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!

Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world – to do away with national barriers – to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Why You Should Never Ever Vote for Donald Trump

Posted by historymaniacmegan on November 6, 2016

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With the election a few days away, most Americans have already decided to vote either for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as their new president. Of course, while I think every American has a right to vote their own conscience if they want to, I think the choice for the highest elected office in the land is obvious. And yes, I strongly urge my readers, my friends, and my family to vote to exercise their civic responsibility and for the love of God, cast a vote for Hillary Clinton. Sure she may be a liberal who goes against everything you stand for. Sure she may have a ton of baggage like her e-mails, her marriage to Bill, and what not. Sure she may be pro-choice and think what a woman does with her body is her business. But for God’s sake, she’s running against a fucking sociopath with no political experience who undermines our American ideals, people! Seriously, I don’t care where you stand on the issues or what your beliefs are. I don’t care what you think about Hillary either or whether you can trust her. This election isn’t about the issues but whether we’ll elect the first woman president or a fucking embarrassment who may put this country on the road to ruin as we know it. Say what you want about her, but at least Hillary is a normal politician who will lead this nation within the framework of the constitutional laws. At least Hillary is qualified for president as well as shown herself to be a serious candidate for the job. At least Hillary is an acceptable role model for your children to aspire to. And if Hillary is elected president, at least I’ll be assured the American experiment set by our Founding Fathers will still exist within the next four to eight years. The same can’t be said about her opponent. Trump, on the other hand, should’ve been shut down in the Republican primaries months ago. If you think Trump is more trustworthy than Hillary, then you must be an idiot. If you think Trump can change, you must be a fool. If you think Trump could “make America great again,” like you hope he would, you must be insane. Trump is a volatile con artist who’s abused his power whenever he’s been in a position of leadership. Look, I may be a practicing social justice Catholic who believes in advancing the common good in all else which is why I’m a strong progressive Democrat. But in this election, I’m not saying that Donald Trump shouldn’t be president not because I disagree with my politics which is true. I’m saying that Trump shouldn’t be president because he’s a man not to be trusted with power or leadership of any kind. Because all he cares about is himself. Seriously, there’s never been a candidate so evil in this country as Donald Trump. And here I list 50 reasons why you shouldn’t vote for him.

Even Trump supporters don’t think Donald Trump is qualified. That should send a red flag. Seriously, why wasn’t he defeated in the primaries already? Why the hell did he have to be the Republican nominee?

He’s Not Qualified or Fit for the Presidency– While Hillary Clinton was a lawyer and advocate by trade as well as First Lady of both US and Arkansas, US Senator from New York, and Secretary of State, Trump has held no political office or has held any government job whatsoever. Yes, we’ve had presidents who never held elected office. Yet, many have had some public service for the US Government. For instance, Ulysses S. Grant, Zachary Taylor, and Dwight D. Eisenhower were generals. Herbert Hoover was a Secretary of Commerce as well as head of the FDA during WWI and organizer for humanitarian relief efforts in Belgium and the Soviet Union. William Howard Taft served as a governor of the Philippines at one point in his life and in Theodore Roosevelt’s cabinet. He doesn’t even have that kind of political experience either. Besides, running a business is very different than running a country as Hoover learned the hard way. There’s also no evidence suggesting that he knows anything about foreign policy, balancing government budgets, education, diplomacy, or the Supreme Court. But more importantly, Trump has the temperament mentality of a spoiled, impulsive, and ill-behaved brat who’d probably not make it out alive in Willy Wonka’s candy factory of horrors. He’s made a lot of terrible decisions over his life that make me seriously question his judgement as well as said things that might not indicate he’s all there or even has interest in what the presidency entails. He also has serious moral character flaws that just can’t be ignored.

As they often say, the trouble with jokes is that so many get elected. Well, at least nominated as in Donald Trump’s case. However, once he started winning GOP primaries he stopped being funny. Now he’s downright scary.

2. He’s Not a Serious Political Figure Who Commands Respect– When Donald Trump first ran for president in 2015, I wasn’t nearly as upset as I should’ve been since for a long time Trump was basically seen as a joke. And a bad one at that. You know an extremely egocentric rich guy with a hideous haircut who hosted a reality show, built crappy hotels and ugly golf courses, as well as did very ridiculous things for the sake of publicity. Before his run for president, Trump’s been an international punchline as well as the honorary punching bag at a celebrity roast. To be honest, I thought Trump wouldn’t last long in the primaries since I didn’t think people would take him seriously enough to vote for him. Yet, the joke quickly stopped being funny for me when people started attending his rallies in droves and Republicans eventually voted him as their nominee. Now less than a week before the election and what I once perceived as a joke is now downright scary that I was extremely tempted to vandalize Trump signs from my neighbors’ properties. Electing Trump as president makes America look like a joke to the world, which should scare the living shit out of you.

Donald Trump is a perfect definition of a sociopath as you see in this picture. Trump only does what he can to get what he wants and doesn’t care who gets hurt. He uses people to his own ends and screws them over with no second thought. He never takes responsibility and never feels truly sorry for his actions. And he has very thin skin.

3. He Has No Conscience or Moral Values– Now when it comes to politician’s moral character, I mostly don’t care about what they do in their private lives since I know people are flawed creatures. However, we all know that Trump was never a nice guy to begin with and was never ashamed about being a shameless absolute jerk. But the more you know about Trump as a human being, the more you realize that he’s way more despicable than you could ever imagine. After considerable research into his scandals, even I can’t think of a single instance Trump has ever done anything unconditionally nice, shown any compassion or concern for other people, tried to hold himself accountable. And there are thousands of times from the last several decades when he has done the exact opposite. Trump is willing risk ruining people’s lives to get what he wants with no second thought. He just doesn’t seem to care about anything but himself. His sins aren’t just shocking but also appalling. He’s a narcissist at best and a sociopath at worst. Hell, even his The Art of the Deal co-author Tony Schwartz said if he was writing the book today, he would’ve made it a very different book with a very different title: The Sociopath. He’d later write, “I put lipstick on a pig. I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is. I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.” Schwartz found Trump to be such a horrible person that he continues to feel a sense of shame for his time as The Art of the Deal ghostwriter. Glenn Beck has also called him a sociopath asking Charlie Rose, “Have you seen him during the last year and a half truly feel for someone that couldn’t help him? Truly connect on a human level?” He went on saying how alarming and frightening how little empathy Trump shows adding, “A sociopath is somebody who doesn’t really see the human experience in somebody else, and I haven’t seen that in him. I haven’t seen him deeply affected by the human condition in an individual.” Let’s just say while Glenn Beck may have outlandish theories, his idea of Trump being a sociopath is very believable and can be thoroughly supported by biographers, people who knew him, and reporters.

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Those who think Hillary Clinton isn’t trustworthy may have a probable cause. However, those who think Donald Trump is more trustworthy than Hillary are nothing but morons. Seriously, Trump has made a career of swindling people of their money that Wall Street no longer wants to do business with him. Also, his Trump University was a major scam and he’s due to go on trial for fraud later this month.

4. He’s Not Trustworthy– Say what you want on Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and her other activities, but if you’re voting for Trump because you can’t trust her, I strongly think you should reconsider. Yes, I know that so many people are willing to trust him over Hillary with running the country, but that rationale is absolutely insane. Trump’s long record of corruption since the 1970s is well documented as well as been recorded in legal proceedings and court cases. His flamboyant corruption runs to the very core of his identity. Trump has been a defendant in literally thousands of lawsuits brought by service providers and vendors whom he failed/refused to pay for services rendered to him and his business organizations. It’s abundantly clear that wage theft is part of Trump’s business model. Even Trump’s lawyers allege he didn’t pay their legal fees. What kind of businessman would do this? He’s also failed to pay his debts on his failing casinos that he later had less control of them with each bankruptcy. Not to mention, several major financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have flatly refused to do business with him for these and other reasons. In fact, Trump’s reputation in business is as a scam artist or as Mitt Romney put it a “con man” and “snake oil salesman.” You can also look into the allegations involved in the Trump University scandals to support Romney’s conclusions and why he won’t support him. Sure Wall Street may not be the most trustworthy when it comes with handling other people’s money. And yes, I know these banksters have campaigned against political candidates like Elizabeth Warren because of policy disagreements. But what Wall Street bankers and Warren can agree on is Trump. What Wall Street has against Trump is that they know he’s a swindler and a cheat who will take their hard earned money they’ll never see again. In fact, many there probably have done business with Trump themselves or know someone who has. So much so that they now deem Trump a high financial risk potential investors should avoid at all times. If Wall Street bankers can’t trust a Republican presidential candidate, especially one who claims to be a successful businessman, you can’t trust him with running the country.

Hillary Clinton may lie. But whenever Trump opens his mouth, it’s easier to know whether he’s lying than whether he’s telling the truth. That’s why Politifact named him 2015 Liar of the Year. The competition wasn’t even close.

5. He’s a Pathological Liar– Trump’s dishonesty is so well known that Politifact named him the winner of its annual “Lie of the Year” Award in 2015, a competition which the fact-checker said “was not even close” unquestionably in reference to the fact that it rated 72% of Trump’s public remarks on factual circumstances as false. Politico states he lies every 5 minutes. There’s even a website called Trumplies which is a vast compendium of misstatements, inaccuracies and outright falsehoods. Greatest hits include his RNC acceptance speech, defamation of Ted Cruz’s father in his first post-convention news conference, and his recent statement to the New York Times about NATO which was reported the next day and which he categorically denied. Seriously, the guy blatantly lies in public like there’s no tomorrow. As a businessman, he’s constantly lied to people in order to give him what he wants then making excuses why he didn’t fulfill his promises. Now cheating rich investors may be understandable to some extent since many forgave him for not paying him back. Yet, the fact he promised to pay his workers before refusing to pay them later is just beyond the pale. He’s also constantly lied to cover his own ass. You can re-watch any of the debates to prove my point. Seriously, whenever I see him on TV, I usually assume he’s lying because he’s lied so much. He even doubles down on his lies. Sorry, but Trump never tells it like it is. In fact, he tells what his supporters want to hear which isn’t.

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Donald Trump has a habit of not paying his bills on time, in full, or ever. He says he pays his workers based on whether they do a good job or not. Though it’s abundantly clear that he’s been subject to hundreds of wage theft allegations by people who worked for him he stiffed. Yeah, you’re better off not working for his projects.

6. He’s a Boss from Hell and No Friend to Working People– Trump may boast that he creates thousands of jobs over his business career. However, he has proven to be a man you don’t want to work for at all. For one, Trump has long been subject to hundreds of wage theft allegations over the past few decades from workers ranging from contractors, casino employees, and even his lawyers. Small businesses worked for him have either failed or struggled to continue because Trump didn’t pay their bills. One Republican consultant even tweeted how Trump stiffed his own dad in the 1980s. Trump has used various excuses like shoddy workmanship. Secondly, Trump also has a history of hiring undocumented workers many of whom worked under terrible conditions. During the demolition of the Bonwit Teller Building in order to make room for Trump Tower, Trump’s companies hired over 200 undocumented Polish workers who did backbreaking work for $5 an hour without hard hats and often slept on site. Also, workers complaining about back pay were threatened with deportation. He’s also been subject to allegations from former models at Trump Model Management who lived in squalid conditions while earning almost nothing and not having proper work permits. Not to mention, he’s hired foreign guest workers at his resorts even when Americans applied for the same positions. Third, he’s been sued by unions as well as tried to prevent workers from unionizing at his Las Vegas hotels. Fourth, he forced production employees from The Apprentice to work for him after Hurricane Sandy despite New York City being in a state of emergency and effectively shut down. Many of these employees endured dangerous conditions during commutes to Trump Tower. Fifth, his companies have been subject to complaints for disrespecting women and discriminating against minorities. Sixth, former employees have testified that Trump was prone to micromanagement as well as takes little interest in the diversity of his executives or the welfare of lower-level staff. Many said that Trump lacks the temperament deal with setbacks and becomes instantly impatient with those who don’t support or agree with him while remaining resolutely loyal to those who do. Others said he was a workaholic with very few true friends who felt sometimes awkward with company outside the workplace. Some said he doesn’t get the best people around and hates when someone else gets credit. Not to mention, he’s made many of his employees sign non-disclosure agreements. All these incidents and more should tell you that Trump is a horrible boss and is no friend to working Americans.

Sure Trump may be subject to a Celebrity Roast on Comedy Central, host SNL, and appear on late night TV from time to time. But a lot of comedians don’t like working with him because he’s very particular on how they make fun of him. This is a huge problem because a president is joked about 24/7 and doesn’t have control which jokes get aired. This is why Trump bombed on SNL. If Trump can’t take a joke, he can’t be president.

7. He’s Dangerously Petty and Vindictive– There’s overwhelming evidence that Trump can’t take any form of criticism no matter how slight and that he’s vindictive to the extreme. Dare to challenge, mock, criticize him, or stand in his way, and he’ll either take to Twitter or threaten to file a lawsuit against you (which might be substantiated). You might remember his confrontations with reporters and news organizations during the primaries, his weeks long attack on Megyn Kelly, as well as his shameful and despicable attacks on Khizr Khan and his wife. Yet, you can even look at his record before that. Trump sued a New York Times reporter for libel over saying he was worth less than a $1 billion as well as threatened to sue a MSNBC newscaster for saying the same thing. He’s sued Bill Maher for making fun of his involvement in the Birther movement. He lashed out at Jon Stewart on Twitter for calling him “Fuckface von Clownstick.” He’s threatened to sue a rapper for writing a song about him. He’s threatened to sue an activist who campaigned to get Macy’s to dump him as the store’s spokesman and remove his branded products from their stores. He’s sued a New York attorney general for bringing suit against Trump University and the Trump Institute or as I call it, “doing his job.” He’s smeared Alicia Muchado whenever Hillary Clinton talked about him fat shaming her. He’s even bashed SNL for Alec Baldwin’s impression of him. We should all know that Trump turns to Twitter and lawsuits to intimidate and suppress. Yet, there are time in which led to victims suffering real life consequences. In 1990, he threatened to sue Janney Montgomery Scott unless they fired gaming securities analyst Mark Roffman who correctly issued a negative forecast for Trump Taj Mahal. The firm caved and Roffman lost his job as well as spent the next few years in a living hell. The next year, Trump would successfully suppress an 80 minute documentary called Trump: What’s the Deal? by threatening litigation to broadcasters and distributors. Why? Because the documentary powerfully and disturbingly portrayed Trump as fraud which is very well supported. There’s even a persistent rumor that Trump is running for president just to get revenge for his treatment at the White House Correspondents Dinner, which has substantial merit. Say what you want about Hillary Clinton, but this woman has endured vicious and false attacks by her enemies for decades, some in powerful positions. But has Hillary ever resorted to Twitter wars and threatening litigation against people who’ve criticized her, challenged her, mocked her, or stand in her way? No. Because whenever someone goes after Hillary, she does what she has to do and moves on. Sure she might get occasionally angry, but she gets over it. She doesn’t take political attacks and jokes personally because that’s what she has to deal with as a politician running for president. She can take even the most damaging accusations that’s thrown at her. Whereas Trump retaliates viciously over mere jokes about him which makes him very dangerous if he’s ever elected president. This is especially when you consider that the offices would allow him to have access to the nuclear codes. Doesn’t help that he’s threatened to drop nukes. If Trump can’t take Alec Baldwin impersonating him on SNL, then he poses a serious national security risk in the White House.

Out of all the things he’s said, the one thing I can count on Donald Trump being honest about is his greed. Sure he’s been greedy and grabbed all the money he could however way he can. But it came at a very terrible cost to people who’ve invested their dough and never got it back as well as people who worked for him and never received the money. And he’s not a good businessman either.

8. His Candidacy Normalizes Greed and Exploitation– We all know that Trump is greedy and that he’s not at all ashamed of it. Since he began his presidential campaign, he’s encouraged voters in his Nevada primary victory speech, “to get greedy for the United States … to grab and grab and grab … to bring in so much money and so much everything.” Sure people might take it as: I’m rich and successful. Vote for me and you’ll be rich and successful, too. Come with me and grab as much as you can to make America great again. While Trump may not be wholly responsible for normalized greed in this country since it’s been prevalent for the last several decades as part of the conservative and libertarian gospel. Yet, normalized greed often leads to so many social and economic problems in our nation throughout its history like labor exploitation, income inequality, for-profit health insurance, environmental devastation, subprime loans, lack of Wall Street accountability, cuts to social programs, climate change denial, privatization, large-scale wage theft, union busting, poor shaming, Citizens United, policing for profit, and more. Not to mention, normalized greed has proven very destructive Americans’ souls so much that social justice issues are now seen as liberal talking points. I staunchly want to put an end to this normalized greed not only as a liberal Democrat but also as a practicing Catholic who deeply believes in fulfilling the common good. Donald Trump not only is a staunch adherent to normalized greed, but he even resorts to measures that will even make Wall Street bankers blush such as refusing to pay his workers, not making good on his investors, using his foundation as an all-purpose slush fund, running his Trump University scam, using intimidation tactics to shoo out tenants, and more. But no matter how you look at it, Trump has lived his whole life enriching himself at the expense of others and unashamedly so, which we should never accept in a presidential candidate.

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Here are some things that Donald Trump says about women. Of course, these poster came out before the “grab ’em by the pussy” audio bit came out. And these quotes are rather tame compared to his other sexist comments.

9. His Candidacy Normalizes Sexism and Sexual Abuse– It’s well known that Trump is notoriously sexist and has objectified women all his life. And yes, he’s a walking and talking example of toxic masculinity in our culture as well as a great contributor to misogyny and rape culture. He’s also rated women by their looks from a scale of 1 to 10 as well as criticized them for being fat and ugly. His sexist comments on women are utterly repulsive and his history of sexually humiliating beauty queens who won’t tow the line is well known. He’s even used Bill Clinton’s infidelity to attack Hilary on the campaign trail. Oh, and he’s even talked about banging his own daughter. So it should surprise no one that women have come out alleging Trump of sexual assault once his “grab ‘em by the pussy” rhetoric leaked. Not to mention, the former beauty pageant contestants who stated that Trump went into their dressing rooms while they were changing. Yet, even before that, he’s been accused of sexual misconduct by his ex-wife for rape, makeup artist Jill Harth for sexual assault, and an anonymous woman for child rape in the 1990s. Trump has denied many of these allegations and has threatened to sue them as always. Yet, the fact people still support Trump despite these allegations against him is very disturbing. Meanwhile, so many women have gotten sexually assaulted and raped that many don’t report their abusers out fear they won’t be believed for what happened to them. Some don’t even receive the support they need. And some victims have seen their rapists receive an all too generous sentence. Now none of us is perfect when it comes to addressing sexual assault. But when you support a candidate like Trump whose sexism is unparalleled in our times, you’re basically making a statement by saying that this sort of behavior is okay which shouldn’t be acceptable.

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During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump has shown a shocking ignorance of how the federal government works. Just look at Stephen Colbert’s face in this bit.

10. He’s Ignorant About Government– Now I have to admit, Trump isn’t too ignorant about how government works. Or at least when it comes to political contributions to candidates. Or hiring the most savvy lawyers and accountants. But as far as I know, that’s just as far as it goes. Trump has been constantly criticized for his lack of knowledge about the US political system. Of course, you can’t expect him to know more about government than his more politically experienced opponents. We do however, expect a presidential candidate to know at least about as much about government as anyone who’s taken a high school or college civics course. Surely that’s not too much to ask a presidential candidate to know about American federalism, the basic function of federal courts, as well as the grants of and limits of federal power. We’re not sure if Trump even knows even that much. During the primaries, Trump said he’d pick Supreme Court Justices who’d “look very seriously” at Hillary Clinton’s e-mails. It’s like he doesn’t know what the Supreme Court does even in the most elementary sense. No, SCOTUS doesn’t initiate criminal prosecutions, doesn’t investigate crimes, doesn’t try criminal cases, and doesn’t serve as a fact-finder in criminal prosecutions. The Supreme Court only reviews cases on appeal whether they’re criminal or not. And they’re usually concerned whether laws pertaining to the case were constitutional. Yet, from what Trump says, he seems as if he’s suggesting that Supreme Court Justices could prevent Hillary from “getting away with it,” such as investigating her or demanding that she be tried and convicted of a crime. In a primary debate in Houston, Trump referred to federal judges as “signing bills.” Even an eighth grade civics course can tell you that federal judges don’t sign bills. That’s what the president does in the federal system. Sure many Americans don’t understand how the Supreme Court and federal judiciary system works. But if you’re a major party nominee for president and there’s an open seat on the Supreme Court, you absolutely must have some basic understanding that Trump clearly doesn’t. Yet, the fact his supporters don’t seem to mind really sends a red flag. Having a major party presidential candidate with such astounding ignorance about how the political system work may seem like he doesn’t care about the government its supporters want him to lead.

11. He’s Extremely Inconsistent– Now I know that many political candidates are guilty of flip-flopping to some extent in order to pander to their base and make themselves look electable. But it’s well-known that Donald Trump has changed his positions on issues as often as he changed his socks even during this campaign season. Trump changes his mind so frequently and so dramatically that a compilation of his current policies wouldn’t tell the whole story nor would be up to date for very long. I mean this is a guy who once offered up 3 different views on abortion within an 8 hour timespan. So if you’re only voting for Trump for his pro-life position, you might want to seriously reconsider as well as rethink what actually constitutes a “pro-life” candidacy in this election. He also tends to mix facts with exaggerations and outright falsehoods while simultaneously refusing to offer any specifics. He even insists that unpredictability is an advantage he’ll use to cut better deals. Now Trump and the Republican Party are now putting forward the most elusive platform in modern history. So much so that NBC News has compiled a list featuring no less than 138 distinct shifts on 23 major issues. And that’s just his stated views since he announced his candidacy in June of 2015. But if Trump becomes president, his views are going to matter. And the fact he lacks core ideological convictions on many of these issues is huge a problem as well as posts another reason why people shouldn’t trust him. I mean if you don’t stand for nothing, what do you fall for?

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This quote sums up on how much of an egomaniac is Donald Trump. Sure he thinks he’s a smart guy who went to one of the best schools in the country. Mostly because his daddy could send him there as a legacy.

12. He’s a Dangerous Self-Delusional Egomaniac Who Doesn’t Listen to Anyone Else– We all know that Trump is a raging narcissist with a very high sense of self that he can’t tolerate any ill word against him. We know this from his own interviews, interviews with people who’ve known him, employees, and you name it. Yet, he has such an inflated sense of self that he’s very hostile to people who call him out on his mistakes, disagree with him, make him look bad, challenge him, or what have you. Because according to him, Donald Trump’s the most wonderful, terrific, and brilliant person on the planet who’s a rich and successful businessman able to solve any problem as well as can do no wrong. And if anything bad happens to him isn’t his fault. A guy with an “I alone can fix it” mentality is a man not to be trusted because he’s not going to listen to anyone else. Trump’s career as a businessman shows this repeatedly over the years with his gigantic ego leading to many of his business failures. For instance, Trump would’ve had more success with Trump Airlines if he just merely kept it the no frills Eastern Air Shuttle he bought exactly how it was and focused on the customers’ real needs. But no, he wanted to revamp it into Trump Airlines to suit his own image of gaudy luxury that the company ended up accumulating a lot of debt it couldn’t pay. Another instance pertained to Rank Group offering to invest in Trump’s Castle with a deal that would’ve helped reversed declining fortunes for Trump Hotels and Casinos. All Trump had to do was let Rank rebrand Trump’s Castle as Hard Rock. But Trump backed out at the last minute because he wanted his name to stay on the property. A savvier person in his place would’ve taken the deal because rebranding is a small price to pay. Then there’s the time when he threatened to sue a brokerage firm unless they fired a guy for accurately predicting that Trump Taj Mahal was going to fail. And the time when he tried to evict tenants from a building he owned in order to build a luxury condo complex, which would’ve failed if the residents didn’t successfully sue to keep their homes. Now what makes one a good businessperson may not make one a good president. However, if someone is lousy in business due to their humongous ego, then they’ll certainly be a terrible president, if not then dangerous. This is certainly the case with Trump.

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Here’s a stock slip from Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. from the 1990s. Of course, this company would end up bankrupt in 2004 and 2009. Sure Trump may say he’s a good businessman, but his record of failures that include 4 bankruptcies related to his casinos shows that he’s not. Besides, Wall Street bankers no longer want to lend him money anymore.

13. He’s a Horrible Businessman– Trump likes to sell himself on the idea that he’s a rich and successful businessman whose wealth and business acumen as evidence he’ll make a great president. The reality has shown that he’s nothing of the sort. For one, he was born to wealth and privilege thanks to his dad’s success as a real estate developer during the Great Depression. If it weren’t for his daddy’s wealth or close ties to politicians, then Trump would’ve most likely became nothing more than a sleazy used car salesman at best. I apologize to the sleazy used car salesmen. Has he had success? Of course, he has such as the renovating the Commodore into the Grand Hyatt Hotel and his dad chipped in on that one. But most of his ventures have been disasters. Some have been outright scams that defrauded hundreds of people like Trump University. In fact, it’s been said that if Trump didn’t have his dad to repeatedly bail him out, he would’ve declared personal bankruptcy before he was 35. Because his tax returns during the late 1970s and early 1980s shows that his personal finances were a disaster. By the time Trump came up with his Atlantic City casino scheme, his finances were falling apart. A lot of times, it’s been his own fault like using junk bonds to finance Trump Taj Mahal that it was already losing in its first year and would eventually go bankrupt. His inability to manage his debts at his Atlantic City casinos would later lead to 3 more bankruptcies as well as reduced control each time. According to Kurt Eichenwald of Newsweek, “Lost contracts, bankruptcies, defaults, deceptions and indifference to investors—Trump’s business career is a long, long list of such troubles, according to regulatory, corporate and court records, as well as sworn testimony and government investigative reports. Call it the art of the bad deal, one created by the arrogance and recklessness of a businessman whose main talent is self-promotion.” Trump’s net worth is almost unknowable given the loose standards and numerous outright misrepresentations he’s made over the years that many don’t even think he’s a billionaire. He also tends to claim success even when it’s not there which in the business world is called lying. Not only that, but he’s gained a reputation as a scam artist on Wall Street that major banks now refuse to do business with him. Let’s just say, you don’t want to do business with this guy, let alone allow him to run the country.

While Donald Trump may call Hillary crooked, he’s way more corrupt than her. The amount of corruption cases is mindboggling. This chart shows what he did with some of his campaign cash for personal use.

14. He’s Corrupt as Hell– As I said before, Trump has a long and documented history of corruption since the 1970s which run to the very core of his identity. Many of his scandals have been recorded in court cases and legal proceedings. He’s so corrupt that I’ve had to continuously update my list of his corruption scandals on a regular basis and the sheer amount is mind-boggling, thanks to reporters unearthing many of these alarming stories. These range from unfair business practices, connections with mafia figures and known criminals, his ties to dictators, scams that defrauded hundreds of people of their hard-earned money, bankruptcies that left investors holding the bag while he made off with their cash, refusing to pay workers, history of being charged with housing discrimination, funneling money through a charity for his personal use, his history of exploiting undocumented immigrants, anti-trust violations, campaign financial abuse, and so much more. Whenever Trump has been in positions of power and authority, he’s demonstrated a pattern of trying to enrich himself while abusing the trust they placed in him whether it’s creditors, contractors, charitable givers, Trump University students, regulators, or campaign donors. Sometimes his abuses of trust are within legal bounds or entail breaking the law. Yet, the common thread shows that Trump screws people over to benefit himself. And despite the plethora of excellent reporting, too many voters either are unware of his troubling history and may view him as a successful businessman who says offensive things or don’t care. The fact so many voters think Trump is more honest and straightforward than Hillary is very troubling. Trump’s record makes it crystal clear that he’s more interested in rapaciously extracting what money he can and doing what he wants with little regard to laws, rules, or other people. Not to mention, he’s repeatedly proven willing to violate norms about what sort of behavior is acceptable and ethical. If you look what he’s done with power in the past, his corruption becomes the most troubling of his many unsavory qualities. There are many, many reasons to be concerned about a Trump administration’s ethics and potential to abuse power.

15. He’s a Perpetual Backstabber with No Respect for Loyalty– When it comes to relationships, Trump is as likely to build them, exploit them, and toss them for his own ends. Never mind if they were long time business partners who stuck by him through failure and success. Never mind if it’s the wives #1 or #2 who get tossed aside by a hotter and younger successor. Never mind if it’s the investors who gave money to him whose debts went repaid. Never mind if it’s the workers who poured their heart into his buildings for a set pay that they’d never receive. Whenever he’s in power he’s abused people’s trust. If he is ever elected president, he will certainly abuse the trust of the American people, honor no loyalties and commitments, and betray the office and government he’s sworn to uphold. Put your trust in Donald Trump and you’ll live to regret it. Because he will let you down and let you down hard.

Here’s Donald Trump tweeting about a woman being murdered in Chicago. First one just has condolences. The second one has him trying to make it all about him. Yes, it’s insensitive.

16. He’s Exploited Tragedies and Disasters– Whenever something bad happens in this country, Trump gleefully steps into the national spotlight and tries to benefit from it whether it pertains to money or stumping some speech. He has done this on several occasions throughout his life and in the worst way possible. In 1989, he faked a near death experience to get front page headlines when 3 of his company executives were killed in a helicopter crash, claiming he was supposed to be there but changed his mind at the last minute. In the 2000s, he took $150,000 from the Empire State Development Corporation which was designed to help small businesses after 9/11 when many of them were destroyed or went under that led furious local politicians issuing an open letter that Trump return the money. In 2005, he received $17 million in insurance for hurricane damage at his Mar-a-Lago club while repairs were only totaled at $3,000. During his campaign, Trump has claimed that the mass shootings at the Orlando night club and San Bernardino as well as terrorist attacks in France vindicated his claims on Islamic terrorism in America. Now that has to be very insensitive. When it comes to national tragedy and there have been many, a president must be able to give a condolence speech in remembrance to the victims. Not try to capitalize on it as Trump does, which is just so insensitive and so unbecoming.

Donald Trump racism isn’t just limited to his presidential campaign since he’s been sued for discrimination before. Yet, his ad calling for the deaths of the Central Park Five is perhaps one of his worst moments. I mean these were teenage boys for God sake! Never mind that they were railroaded by the system until the authorities caught the real rapist with DNA evidence. Yet, Trump still thinks these guys are guilty to this day.

17. His Candidacy Normalizes Racism, Discrimination, and Xenophobia– Contrary to what some experts might say, what made him so popular that people voted for him was his offensive remarks that reeks cultural hatred, which is scary enough. Yet, Trump has a long and documented history of racism. Back in the 1970s the Department of Justice sued him and his father for violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent to black tenants and lying about whether apartments were available. Trump claimed that the federal government was trying to get him to rent to welfare recipients. The case dragged for two years where he signed an agreement in 1975 agreeing not to discriminate to renters of color without admitting to discriminating before. He’d later break that promise by the way. There have been reports of black employees being discriminated against at his casinos over the decades. In 2000, Trump secretly ran a series of ads in opposition to a casino proposed by the St. Regis Mohawk, which he saw as a financial threat to his casinos. In them, he suggested the tribe had, “record of criminal activity [that] is well documented.” In 2010, he opposed the construction of a proposed Muslim community center in lower Manhattan two miles from Ground Zero which he called “insensitive” and offered to buy out one of the investors in the project. On Letterman, Trump argued referring Muslims, “Well, somebody’s blowing us up. Somebody’s blowing up buildings, and somebody’s doing lots of bad stuff.” The next year, he played a big role in pushing rumors that Obama wasn’t born in the US and urged the president to release his birth certificate which he did. But Trump still didn’t believe him. He also argued that Obama wasn’t a good enough student to get into Columbia and Harvard Law and demanded he release his University transcripts. However, one of his most infamous racist tirades was when he ran an ad in the local papers in the wake of the Central Park Five where 5 black and Latino teenagers were accused of attacking and raping a jogger near Central Park. In these ads Trump demanded, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” Below that, he wrote: “I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.” The teens’ convictions were later vacated after spending 13 years in prison in a great miscarriage of justice and the city paid a $41 million settlement. Trump still believes they’re guilty to this day despite that the real culprit turned himself in and DNA evidence to the contrary. During his campaign, Trump called Mexicans rapists who were bringing crime and drugs, called for a ban on Muslims, argued that a judge should recuse himself from the Trump University case over his Mexican heritage, tweeted an image of Hillary in front of a pile of money and a Star of David, attacked a Muslim Gold Star family, and made a pitch to black voters saying, “You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?” Furthermore, he’s been endorsed by white supremacist groups like the KKK and the American Nazi Party whom he has yet to denounce. Trump’s blatant racism on the campaign trail is a serious problem since it gives even the most ardent white supremacists some level of legitimacy as well as put racial minorities in danger. And like I said, supporting a racist like Trump for president basically gives license that whatever he say is acceptable no matter how much it has threatened people’s lives.

Donald Trump often talks about how he’ll fight the terrorists. Yet, he’s never denounced the terrorists who endorsed him like the Klu Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups. Let’s just say if Hillary loses these terrorists win.

18. He’s Endorsed by Extremists and Terrorists– And if his candidacy legitimizing racism isn’t the worst thing about Trump’s campaign, well, it gets worse. Trump’s virulently racist rhetoric has attracted a lot of enthusiastic endorsements by white supremacists and anti-government extremists who think he’s the candidate they’ve been looking for. These people are domestic terrorists and who’ve posed a growing threat to our nation’s security in recent years. While lack of media attention on radical right wing terrorist attacks emboldens these people to attack minorities and other potential victims in their neighborhood, Trump’s failure to denounce their ringing endorsements of him encourage them even more. This further compromises public safety for vulnerable populations such as minorities particularly blacks, Latinos, and Muslims. There have been reports of these Trump supporters resorted to acts of violence and not just at rallies. These include a Moroccan taxi driver shot in Pennsylvania, a black church vandalized and burned in Mississippi, a black family being assaulted by a hospital volunteer in North Carolina, a Muslim woman being thrown an “unknown liquid” in her face in Virginia, a Hispanic couple’s truck being vandalized in California, and the list goes on. Trump’s campaign also has connections to the Alt-Right which is a set of far-right ideologies, groups, or individuals whose core belief is that “white identity” is under attack by multicultural forces using “political correctness” and “social justice” to undermine white people and their civilization. They’re usually characterized by their heavy use of social media and online memes, eschewing “establishment” conservatism, skew young, and embrace white-ethno nationalism as a fundamental value. Trump is a hero to these people while one of his campaign managers works for Breitbart magazine, an alt-right publication. These are the real deplorables among Trump supporters and if Trump can’t denounce these dangerous people, then he doesn’t deserve your vote.

Donald Trump hasn’t just praised dictators on the campaign trail, he’s done business with some of them. While on a visit to the UN in 2009, Trump rented Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi his house in Winchester, New York. Qaddafi would set up his tent on Trump’s estate but he never slept there. Mainly because the locals voted to kick him out their town. Of course, who could blame them because Qaddafi sponsored terrorism that killed many Americans. At least Hillary and Obama got rid of the bastard.

19. He’s Linked to US Enemies and Dictators- It’s well known that Trump has openly praised Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, calling him, “a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.” In reality, Putin is far from respected. In fact, he’s highly feared having left a trail of dead journalists and invaded countries like Ukraine. Trump has numerous ties to Russia since he’s financed projects from its banks and it’s well known that the Russian government is behind hacks at Wikileaks and the DNC. His campaign manager Paul Manafort has offered his services to pro-Russian Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych that paid him $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments. Manafort has also worked for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, the Saudi royal family, a Bahamian president accused of drug trafficking, and a former Angolan leader accused of torture. Before his campaign, Trump went into business with an Azerbaijani billionaire playboy with familial connections to its kleptocratic and dictatorial government, did business with the Cuban government during the Embargo in the 1990s, rented New York office space to a state-owned Iranian bank that’s been linked to the country’s nuclear program and terror groups, and tried to rent his opulent Winchester estate to none other than Moammar el-Qaddafi. Yes, that Qaddafi who’s notorious sponsorship of terror that’s killed scores of Americans. During his campaign, Trump has praised Kim Jong Un saying, “How many young guys — he was, like, 26 or 25 when his father died — take over these tough generals, and all of a sudden … he goes in, he takes over, and he’s the boss. It’s incredible. He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. I mean, this guy doesn’t play games. And we can’t play games with him.” No, it’s not. That’s scary since North Korea is an autocratic dictatorship that’s a US enemy and tests nuclear weapons. He’s lauded Syria’s Bashir al-Assad and told ABC that the US shouldn’t trust some of the groups rebelling against the repressive regime. “Assad’s a bad guy, but they’re all bad guys. We’re supporting rebels. You know they talk about the Syria Free Rebels. We’re supporting rebels. We don’t even know who they are,” he said. And during a North Carolina rally, he said, “We shouldn’t have been there. We shouldn’t have destabilized Saddam Hussein, right. He was a bad guy, really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn’t read them the rights. They didn’t talk. They were terrorists. Over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq. It’s like Harvard, OK? So sad, so sad.” Saddam Hussein’s best known for committing genocide against the Iraqi Kurds with chemical weapons. Trump’s history and praise for dictators from US enemy nations should really scare the shit out of you. This is not what I’d want in a president.

Here’s Donald Trump tweeting on how Scotland took its country back by voting for Brexit. However, Scotland voted IN. Yeah, not very informed in international affairs.

20. He Alienates Our International Allies– As I said before, Trump doesn’t value loyalty and commitments to his business allies, employees, investors, and even wives, Trump is likely not to value the support of our allies either. He’s also has had precarious relationships with world leaders, many of whom express fear in a Trump presidency. Some US allies have used words like “stupid” to describe his ideas. And the fact Trump has business dealings with reviled tyrants known to commit human rights abuses as well as praised known US enemies only makes it worse. Please, for the sake of our world, don’t vote for Donald Trump.

21. He Has No Broader Interest in the World– It’s well known that Trump has some interest in the world, when it pertains to his business interests. But when it comes to making the world a better place, then he just doesn’t give a damn. Even in America, his whole life revolves around making the world his personal playground he could build stuff on and profit from. He has no interest in making the world a better place or sacrificing for the greater good. He never has. He doesn’t care who gets hurt or screwed. He doesn’t care if his business deals put entire countries and people in danger. Nor does he take any interest in other cultures or honoring national commitments to other nations which should be essential for a president. For instance, Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, her Clinton Foundation, and time as First Lady show that she really has an interest in global affairs, which will help our image abroad. During his presidency Barack Obama often played tourist while in a foreign country which improves our diplomatic relationships. Foreign countries like it when our leaders show an interest in them. I don’t see Trump doing this. A world of ruthless competitors guided by nothing but blind ambition and profit is hardly a pleasant place, especially with someone like Trump in political office.

Even Trump supporters know that Trump sets a a very bad example for children. Yet, Trump supporting parents are really not helping their case when they endorse a candidate they don’t want their kids to emulate. Hillary has taken advantage of this.

22. He Sets a Terrible Example for Children– What sickens me more about Trump’s supporters the most is that many of them have children who attend school or younger. When a parent supports a political candidate, they’re implicitly telling their children that whatever this candidate does is acceptable behavior. If not, then it’s giving one’s children license to look upon that candidate as a respectable role model to emulate and admire. It doesn’t take much to see that Trump is a terrible role model for children and even parents who support him don’t want their kids to act like him. After all, he spews profanity, insults women, mocked a disabled reporter, demeaned a prisoner of war, made racist comments, incited violence at his rallies, is on his third wife, threatens to sue people on a regular basis, and calls anyone disagreeing with him a “loser.” I mean the guy is a total bully with no consideration for other people. You may say he’s a role model for children of what not to be when they grow up. Sure Trump’s own grown children may have turned out all right. But we have to concede that he was barely involved in their childhoods unlike their mothers, nannies, and even their grandparents. So they’re not really a reflection on him per se. Still, teachers have become increasingly worried about Trump’s candidacy leading to a rise in school bullying. This is especially the case when it’s white children harassing minority students. And it doesn’t help that some minority kids might be among the few nonwhite children in their schools. Now there are kids who fully understand that Trump is a bully and a terrible role model. But there are kids who may not see Trump that way and take his offensive words to heart and think that being a bully is a winning strategy. How parents feel about politics is one thing but what we teach our children is another. I know that all parents want to teach their children the right things. But for parents who support Trump need to understand that they may unintentionally be teaching their children the wrong lessons. I know most wouldn’t actually teach that Trump’s behavior is okay. But that may not be what their kids would take from it. At least I can respect Glenn Beck opposing Trump on this since he said, “I don’t want my children to look at that man and say, ‘Yeah, he’s my President.’ I won’t have that. I will not endorse it, I will not tolerate it.”

Donald Trump has often claimed that not being sorry for anything is a sign of strength. However, he’s too dumb to realize that not taking responsibility for his actions and never apologizing for anything just makes one an asshole.

23. He Never Takes Responsibility and Never Apologizes– While we all make mistakes once in a while, we’re taught to take responsibility for our actions as well as apologize. Holding oneself accountable for one’s sins isn’t easy but it’s an act of true moral courage and strength. This is especially true when it pertains to a public figure running for the highest elected office in the land. It’s well known that Trump has refused to take ownership for the outrageous things he’s said and done not just during his campaign but also over the course of his life. He never apologizes for any missteps or intemperate attacks. He’s demonstrated a remarkable lack of empathy for people whom he’s attacked, injured, or harmed. When Trump is caught he usually does one or more of the following: deny involvement, deny it ever happened, blame someone else for it, say they deserved it, spin it into something positive or trivial, threaten litigation, or resort to legal action. But he will never see it his fault and never see himself wrong. He will avoid apologizing as well as taking responsibility unless he’s pressured to do so. DOJ suing him and his dad housing discrimination in the 1970s? Say the federal government was forcing him to rent to welfare recipients. Refusing to pay hundreds of contractors? Tie them up in court and other negotiations to financially overpower and outlast them in order to drain their resources. Also, claim that their work was shoddy. Caught cheating on Ivana with Marla? Blame Ivana for losing her attractiveness after having kids and wanting to do more with the business. Gaming securities analyst forecasts trouble at Trump Taj Mahal? Threaten to sue his employer to get him fired. Call for the deaths 5 minority teenagers who were later found innocent? Assert they’re guilty as sin to this day. Caught taking advantage of a federal loophole to avoid taxes? Say that makes him smart. Caught declaring bankruptcy to avoid taxes? Claim he takes advantage of the laws when running a company. Humiliate a beauty queen for her weight gain? Say she wasn’t honoring her contract and that she starred in a porn. Cheer for the housing crisis? Say it’s called business. Trump University consumers suing for fraud? Blame them for being suckers. Call the state attorney general investigating a liberal stooge for Obama or Hillary. Use family charity as personal piggy bank? Call the state attorney general investigating a liberal stooge for Obama or Hillary. Publicly advocate birtherism even after Obama shows his Hawaiian birth certificate? Claim Hillary started the controversy in 2008. Claim opponent’s dad conspired to kill Kennedy? Deny it. Claim global warming is a hoax by the Chinese? Deny it. Caught saying, “grab the pussy” on tape? Say it’s locker room talk. Multiple women come forward with sexual assault allegations? Deny it, claim some of them ugly, and threaten to sue. No matter how you look at it, Trump always tries to cover his own ass and take considerable action not to be held accountable. And whenever he does say he’s sorry, the apologies are nothing but hollow. This is not what you want in a leader or anybody.

This is Donald Trump’s tweet after the Pulse Nightclub shooting where he just had to pat himself on the back for being right on Islamic terrorism. For God’s sake, nobody should be tweeting this shit.

24. He’s a Selfish, Shameless, and Sleazy Opportunist– Whenever Trump is in a position of power, he uses it to empower and enrich himself by abusing those who placed their trust in him. If he wins, expect the presidency to be no different. Many Trump supporters would claim that they like him because he’s not afraid to “tell it like it is”, “be politically incorrect,” and intends to “make America great again.” Some say he’s an “outsider” who “can’t be bought.” But even before he ran for president, I knew Trump was a sleazy opportunist and self-promoting con man willing to do anything to get what he wants and doesn’t care who gets hurt. I saw him do it before whenever he promoted his projects and latched on to political causes for the sake of wealth, power, and fame. While many supporters swear he, “tells it like it is,” he’s actually lying on multiple levels. He’s conning people into voting for him by telling them what they want to hear and what would entertain them. He’s playing for an audience by appealing to voters’ frustrations, insensitivities, and unsavory emotions. His candidacy is nothing but a reality show satiating a bloodlust and structured insanity. And while supporters may swear that Trump will make America great again by moving our system through sheer force of un-bought will, it’s really just part of his Big Lie. He’s telling folks never mind the policy details, never mind the separation of powers, and never mind profound partisan disagreement. Everything will be easy and terrific. But in the end, we should all understand that all who Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. Win or lose, he will let his supporters down and they will regret it. Like he has let down so many other people throughout the years. He’s let down Wall Street investors by breaking his promises to pay them back as well as making off with their money when things go south. He’s let down his employees by refusing to pay for their work despite promising otherwise. He’s let down his customers with his scams. He’s let down veterans after promising to donate millions to a charity for them when he didn’t. And what’s worse is that Trump doesn’t care who suffers.

Donald Trump’s campaign is one of the biggest train wrecks we’ve seen since June if 2015. Here we have Trump with a notorious anti-Hillary ad with a Star of David. It was changed into a circle to tone down the anti-Semitic imagery.

25. He Can’t Run a Decent Presidential Campaign– Since he announced his candidacy in June 2015, Trump’s presidential campaign is just a horrific train wreck that really should’ve gone away during the Republican primary season. The only reason why Trump managed to outlast his primary opponents was the fact his celebrity and penchant for controversy gave him free campaign publicity. But even then, you could sense critical flaws. For one, Trump’s candidacy was all spectacle but no substance as well as relied on his offensive statements and antics in order to hog the camera. There were no detailed policies but campaign promises consisting of simplistic bullishit by a guy who seems completely unconcerned about the implications in order to accomplish them. I mean Trump promised to build a wall between the US and Mexican border as well as promised that Mexico will pay for it. How do you expect to accomplish that? Second, Republicans working to elect Trump described his campaign debilitated by infighting, a lack of staff to carry out basic functions, minimal coordination with allies, and a message that’s prisoner to their guy’s momentary wins. According to NBC News, veteran operatives were shocked by the Trump campaign’s failure to fill key roles. In June, there was no communication team to deal with hundreds of media outlets covering the race, no response director to quickly rebut attacks and launch new ones, and a limited cast of surrogates lacking a cohesive message. It’s also said that staff appeared unprepared to address scandals and controversies like Trump University or whatever comes out of Trump’s mouth. Third, the Trump campaign was far from clean and has been prone to scandals ranging from shady campaign managers, allegations of malpractice, and the list goes on. Fourth, Trump has repeatedly violated political norms of acceptable behavior in this election. Let’s just say if one can’t run a decent campaign, they can’t run the country.

Melania Trump has promised to fight cyberbullying as First Lady if her husband is elected president (and God, please don’t let this happen). However, it’s ironic that she’s married to one and could do her part by taking away his phone.

26. He’s an Unrepentant Bully– It’s not hard to see that Trump is a bully whenever you turn on the news as he always has been all his life. But I’m not saying this because he insults whole demographics and people he doesn’t like or thinks treated him unfairly. Yet, while Trump may seem to have all the characteristics you might associate with a narcissistic school yard bully, he’s much worse. Sure he may attack immediately when someone criticizes them even for the slightest insults. You may notice that Trump frequently talks about “winners” and “losers.” Of course, “losers” to him include opponents or anyone who disagrees with him. To him, “losers” are people who “deserve to lose” which clearly reveals his indifference to, and rationalization for, injuring or humiliating others. Yet, he also does far more damaging things than that like flaunting a rival’s dirty laundry, spreading unsubstantiated claims to the masses, throwing temper tantrums, and taking an active efforts at character assassination. And if things go wrong for him, then he’ll say that the whole system is rigged against him. It’s very clear that Trump uses intimidation tactics not only to defeat, but also to demean and destroy his rivals. And that’s just on the campaign trail. Trump has also threatened and filed lawsuits against those who merely said negative things about him or joked about him. He’s threatened and took litigation against anyone daring to hold him accountable for his actions or challenging his perceived image as a skilled businessman. He’s humiliated people for not wanting to do things his way and even afterwards like with Chris Christie and Ted Cruz. Let’s just say that Trump intimidates not just to win and get his way, but also to escape the consequences of his actions. And he does it in an attempt to destroy people with no second thought. Nobody should find this acceptable behavior in a president.

27. He Associates with Horrible People– While Trump always claims that he associates and hires the best people throughout his life, this is far from the reality. You may know he has shady ties to dictators like Putin, Qaddafi, and the Castro brothers. Yet, he’s been linked to the mafia many times for many years over varying degrees of closeness. Of course, it wasn’t unusual for construction magnates like him to have mob connections during the 1970s and 1980s. Trump often portrayed himself as an unwilling participant but that’s probably bullshit. Trump’s reputed to have a close relationship with Gotti associate Robert LiButti whom he worked very hard to keep happy like not letting black and women card dealers at his table whenever he gambled at his Atlantic City Casinos, gifting 9 luxury cars in exchange for $1.65 million in cash, inviting him on his yacht and helicopters, and other instances. In the 1970s, he and his father were represented by a lawyer named Roy Cohn while sued for housing discrimination under the DOJ. Cohn also represented Genovese crime family boss Tony Salerno and worked for disgraced US Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Cohn would later get disbarred for fraud and other wrongdoing. But Trump didn’t just limit doing business with mobsters and despots. In 1992, Trump Taj Mahal foreign marketing vice president Danny Leung and 3 other Trump casino employees were named an associates of the Hong Kong-based organized crime group 14K Triad. Additionally, Leung was said to give complimentary tickets for hotel rooms and Asian shows to numerous Asian organized crime associates and members. And according to the New York Times, Leung, “flew in 16 Italian crime figures from Canada who stole more than $1 million from the casino in a credit scam. The incident was never reported because Trump never filed charges.” His casino and junket licenses were later removed. Another criminal Trump was associated with is Felix Sater in a questionable condo hotel scheme who had a 1998 racketeering conviction for a $40 million Mafia-linked stock fraud scheme and who had then become an informant against the mafia. Another associate in that scheme was Bayrock Group’s Tevfik Arif who was detained in Turkey for running a high priced prostitution ring consisting of him setting up trysts between wealthy businessmen and Eastern European models, some underage aboard a $60 million yacht once used by the nation’s founder Ataturk. Then we have a couple of con artists named Mike and Irene Milin who ran Trump Institute in the mid-2000s and were known were known serial operators of get-rich-quick schemes. And let’s not forget his campaign mangers Corey Lewandowski who arrested for battery of a Breitbart reporter, Paul Manafort who lobbied for despots along with campaign adviser Roger Ailes best known for sexually harassing women as CEO of Fox News and surrogate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who’s under investigation for causing a traffic jam in political revenge against a mayor. You don’t want to see a guy with these connections in the White House. Then you have Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner whose dad spent 2 years in prison on campaign finance charges as well as used his New York Observer to punish real estate Mogul Richard Mack for refusing a write-down on a loan. Let’s just say Trump does not have nice friends.

Here is Donald Trump tweeting about New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman whom he thinks is going after his Trump University because he’s a liberal stooge for the Obama administration. My theory: I think Schneiderman is after Trump for the Trump University scam because he’s doing his fucking job!

28. He Promotes Conspiracy Theories– One of my criticism in my Fox News article was how the network had a tendency to promote unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. Even before his campaign, Trump has spent years pushing conspiracy theories to his supporters’ delight and his enemies’ disdain. And he pushes these theories mostly to make his foes look bad. I’m not sure if he really believes them or not. His advocacy of birtherism is utterly shameful as well as his inflammatory claims about Obama. So was his claim that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the Kennedy assassination or his and Rubio’s questionable eligibility for the presidency (Cruz was born to an American mother in Canada while Rubio was born in Miami). Or anything about Muslims like 9/11 hijackers having girlfriends who fled to Saudi Arabia, Muslim Americans celebrating in New Jersey on 9/11, mosques preaching hate, or Syrian refugees billing ISIS for their phones. He’s even pushed theories like fake racist crime statistics, immigrants mostly being rapists and criminals, Mexico deliberately sending criminals to the US, people coming into the country with Ebola, vaccines causing autism, global warming being a hoax by the Chinese, and rampant voter fraud. As for the Clintons, well, Trump is eager to get those out like alleging their involvement in Vince Foster’s murder (which was actually a suicide), Hillary wanting to take guns, Hillary lying about Benghazi, the Clintons’ involvement in Whitewater, and more. By the way, he kept talking about Hillary’s involvement in Benghazi even after the late Chris Stevens’ mother told him to shut up about it. Recently 370 economists signed a letter to the Wall Street Journal as citing Trump’s promoting of conspiracy theories that mislead the public saying: “He misinforms the electorate, degrades trust in public institutions with conspiracy theories, and promotes willful delusion over engagement with reality. If elected, he poses a unique danger to the functioning of democratic and economic institutions, and to the prosperity of the country.”

When Donald Trump tried to make a deal of how he made so many sacrifice after attacking a Gold Star family, there was a Twitter campaign called #TrumpSacrifices. Many of these were parodies of how little Trump sacrificed in his life.

29. He’s Made No Sacrifices for Anybody or Anything– One of the most powerful speakers at the DNC in July was when Khizr Khan addressed Trump to, “Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.” This comes from a Muslim Gold Star father of a decorated war hero calling Trump out on his bigotry and selfishness. Trump cruelly and viciously attack Khan and his wife in true Islamophobic fashion. But when asked by George Stephanopoulos whether he made any sacrifices to his country, Trump replied, “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve had tremendous success. I think I’ve done a lot.” Really? Well, from what I’ve heard, Trump skipped out of Vietnam while 58,000 men in his generation died there, bragged about cheating on his wives, neglecting his children, refusing to pay workers, failing to pay back investors, deliberately avoided paying taxes while taking government money, constantly breaking promises, uses his charity as a personal piggy bank, as well as conning customers in his scams. Not to mention, suing people in order to avoid the consequences of his actions. Let’s just say when it comes to sacrifices, it’s the party Trump deals with who ends up making them. Apparently, Trump’s idea of sacrifice is all about making wealth or you know greed which is the exact opposite. So much so that there’s a Twitter hashtag called #TrumpSacrifices as a joke. Seriously, this is a guy who’s never made any sacrifices whether it be for his country, in his relationships, or for anything else. If he becomes president, he will throw the American people under the bus.

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Despite that Donald Trump having a penchant for patriotic displays during his presidential campaign, his record shows that his patriotism is a sham. I mean the guy used government money for his projects and doesn’t pay taxes. Also, skipped out on Vietnam.

30. He Has No Respect for America, Its Values, or Its People– I’m very aware that Trump always likes to show himself as a flag-waving American patriot who loves his country. In truth, he’s more likely to say he loves his country in order to exploit it for his own gain while he couldn’t care less about our nation. He’s used his wealth and privilege to get out of Vietnam, avoid taxes, use taxpayer funds for his little projects, and filing lawsuits against people who’ve criticized him or want to hold him accountable. Hell, he even brags about paying as little as possible in taxes as he can get away with. Not to mention, he won’t release his tax returns. What about creating American jobs? Well, Trump has but a lot them came with imaginary paychecks that never materialized as well as jobs that pay below minimum wage. Some of them are even done by undocumented immigrants who could be easily told to shut up with deportation threats. Oh, and a lot of his goods were made in foreign countries like China, Mexico, Turkey, Slovenia, or anywhere in Southeast Asia. What about praising repressive dictatorships who hate America and have a rap sheet of human rights violations? I mean he did business with Cuba during the Embargo, rented out his Winchester house to Qaddafi, rented out New York office space to state-owned Iranian bank, is chummy with Russia’s Vladimir Putin whose country is hacking Democrats’ e-mails on his behalf, and praised despots on the campaign trail. What about spreading damaging but unsubstantiated claims about the President? What about calling a Vietnam War POW a loser for getting captured? What about renigging his promise to donate money to veterans? What about advocating torture? What about hostility to minorities and immigrants? What about his RNC speech about America being a pitch black country soaked in blood a la Hunger Games dystopia? A presidential candidate who has done these things deserves to have his patriotism questioned. Sorry, but I think Trump seems to salute himself and not any flag. And certainly not the American flag. To Trump, patriotism is just a convenient cloak to play to the masses.

If Donald Trump had any respect for democratic values, then tell me why he feels the need to issue legal threats and file lawsuits to anyone who’s challenged or criticized him. Of course, the New York Times knew how to respond to this threat.

31. He Has No Respect for Democracy– Now the United States was built on the idea of democracy which Americans cherish as a government that’s conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal. Now let’s see how Trump does with democratic values. American melting pot of cultures? Build a wall to keep Mexicans out and ban Muslims. Free speech? Sues people who challenge or criticize him. Also, hates when people joke about him. Freedom of the Press? Bashed the media for liberal bias despite airing almost every word he’s said and sued a reporter for challenging his billionaire status. Freedom of Religion? Ban Muslims and attack the Pope. Freedom of assembly? Stop a bunch of workers from unionizing at his Las Vegas hotel. Right to petition? Threaten to sue a guy who wants you dropped from Macy’s. What about election results? If he loses, then it must be rigged by minorities committing voter fraud. Equal rights? Believes that women should be fired for being pregnant, ugly, or fat. Also, blacks need to be stopped and frisked, Muslims banned, and Mexicans deported. That and along with a disturbing affinity for tyrannical dictators, Trump doesn’t have much respect for democracy.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump has often said he’ll bring back American jobs and how he’s created so many jobs fore this country. Excuse me, but can you tell me where this was made?

32. He’s a Notorious Hypocrite– While Trump likes to relish in dishing out Hillary Clinton’s baggage such as calling her a liar and a crook who’s put our country in danger. However, records show that Trump is a much bigger liar and crook who praises and does business with dictators. He’s savaged people for not paying taxes as well as companies for moving overseas for tax and business advantages. Meanwhile, Trump hasn’t paid federal income taxes in over 20 years and has no problem using the American tax code to suit himself. Besides, many products with his name on them aren’t American made. Trump has attacked Bill Clinton for his affairs while he tried to get his wife to pose for Playboy, bragged about his affairs, and has been married 3 times. He’s blasted Hillary’s use of foreign donors for the Clinton Foundation pay for play scheme. At the same time, he’s been using his charity as a personal piggy bank with other people’s money for over two decades. He complains about undocumented immigrants being criminals while exploiting them as cheap labor he could threaten to deport. While he constantly slams Hillary for her e-mails on private server during her time as Secretary of State, court records show that his company has yearly erased e-mails since at least the late 1990s.

33. He’s a Trigger Happy Coward– We all know that Trump tends to be quite aggressive in his rhetoric. And he’s been seen by many as crazy and unstable. Doesn’t help he lacks total self-control on a podium. He has to attack everyone who opposes him even after he’s defeated them. He has to be hostile on Twitter as well as threaten or file lawsuits at anyone who’s challenged him or wants to hold him accountable. Even when it’s a Muslim Gold Star family stating how he has never made any sacrifices. His menacing, angry convention speech can only be seen as delusional and demented as if it’s spoken by a raving lunatic. He’s promised to bomb the shit out of ISIS and lock Hillary up in prison. Sure he may talk tough to trigger happy proportions. Yet as David Atkins states in Washington Monthly states, “Ultimately, however, Donald Trump is a coward. Not just for serving himself at the expense of others even as millions of Americans devoted their lives to causes greater than themselves on the battlefield, in the classroom, at the laboratory table and in the civic engagement hall. He is a coward because he cannot face the reality of what he has done with his life before an audience not prepared to idolize him.” And in many ways, he usually takes a coward’s way out in order to cover his own ass whether it be denial, blame, lawsuits, threats, or what have you. Because if Trump was truly brave, he’d take responsibility for his actions and apologize. Democrats have a word for crazy men like him known as “chickenhawk.”

Though Donald Trump brags about being a successful businessman, the truth is that he inherited his money from his father Fred. Fred also bailed him out a number of times until his death in 1999.

34. He Constantly Appeals to His Privilege– Note I’m not talking about white or male privilege here. But privilege Trump enjoys as a lifetime member of the 1% which allows him to be the entitled rich man he’s always been. All his life, Trump has constantly appealed to his status of as being born a white man of wealth and privilege to do whatever he wants and get away with it. His inherited status has allowed him to get out of serving Vietnam when thousands of other drafted young men were killed. When his personal finances were a disaster, his dad bailed him out. He’s used his status to get government funding for his projects, avoid paying taxes, and avoid responsibility for his actions while leaving his workers, investors, customers, and others screwed. And it’s his affluence and privilege as being part of the 1% that Trump can rise to positions of power and get away with breaking laws. Any normal person who’s committed a fraction of his crimes would’ve been stopped years ago. In fact, it’s because he’s so rich and powerful that he’s able to use lawsuits as a technique for retaliation, intimidation, and damage control. And he’s not shy about it at all. Yet, it’s because of his privilege as the rich white man Trump is that he’s been able to sell his image as the successful businessman for years despite it only being a façade as slews of renowned reporters have pointed out.

35. He Constantly Appeals to Secrecy– Trump has often harangued Hillary for being secretive as each batch of her e-mails is being discovered by the FBI and the Russians as well as made public by WikiLeaks. However, Hillary has released both her medical records and tax returns while Trump hasn’t. In fact, Trump is far more secretive than Hillary. Transparency is just simply not his style. His platform doesn’t have clear cut policies and no clear details on how to accomplish them. And even before his presidential campaign, Trump has a penchant of secrecy such as having employees sign non-disclosure agreements, erasing e-mails from company computers each year, destroying and withholding testimony and evidence, not disclosing charity records, and more. We don’t know how much Trump actually earns since he won’t release his tax returns. Neither does Wall Street know what Trump did to the money he stole from them. The fact Trump has resorted to secrecy so much over the years matters, especially when he’s a candidate of a major party for president. If he wins, his administration will be one of secrecy which won’t be good for the country.

While politicians are used to mudslinging each other during campaigns, Donald Trump attacks his opponents unusually viciously. Here he is saying how Ted Cruz’s wife is ugly.

36. His Campaign Strategy Mainly Revolves Around Bringing Down His Foes– Trump’s campaign is particularly noteworthy since it’s more or less on appealing to people’s prejudices and anxieties while viciously attacking his opponents in any way he could in order to get media attention. He won the Republican primary this way as he attacked and defeated his toughest opponents one by one. And it’s clear that Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush got the worst of it. Whether its calling Hillary a criminal who should be in jail or promoting conspiracy theories, Trump’s campaign has set a very hostile precedent for this election. In fact, if you watch his debates, Trump devotes more time to attacking Hillary than discussing actual policy. Even during the town hall which Trump devoted to interrupting her and talking about Bill Clinton’s sex scandals and even spent some time following her on the stage. And if he thinks he’s losing, he claims that the whole thing is rigged by voter fraud and that people need to be vigilant poll watchers in order to intimidate minorities at polling places. In years of ugly elections, Trump’s persistent bullying on the campaign trail makes it so apparent that he should be the candidate to lose.

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Here’s Donald Trump giving his daughter Ivanka a friendly hug during the RNC. Yes, I know there’s a real Manchurian candidate vibe here. It’s disturbing. Yeah, that’s just creepy.

37. He’s Terrible to His Family– Yes, I know that Trump’s family is extremely loyal to him despite that he’s completely despicable. Of course, his father was the same way which is why the two got along so well. But this didn’t help his brother Freddy whose fatal flaw was being a normal guy born to an affluent family of sociopaths. He also liked to fly planes which his father and brother Donald constantly thought was at the same level of a bus driver. Freddy died an unhappy alcoholic at 43 in 1981. Yet, it was reported that Trump helped draft his father’s last will that cut Freddy’s kids out of their grandfather’s inheritance when the old man died in 1999. According to the New York Times, “Freddy’s children sued, claiming that an earlier version of the will had entitled them to their father’s share of the estate, but that Donald and his siblings had used ‘undue influence’ over their grandfather, who had dementia, to cut them out.” It gets worse as the Times adds, “A week later, Mr. Trump retaliated by withdrawing the medical benefits critical to his nephew’s infant child.” We should take note that his nephew’s son had cerebral palsy. And you thought his mocking a disabled reporter was bad. He’s also very shitty husband who bragged about cheating on them as well as groped other women. His marriage with first wife Ivana ended after Trump’s affair with Marla Maples went public and their nasty divorce with Ivana claiming Trump raped her. His second marriage with Maples also ended in a nasty divorce with her taking their daughter Tiffany to California. As with third wife Melania, well, there’s rumors that she may not have been legal when she came to this country. But you probably know what she has to deal with. Then we have his children for whom he wasn’t really around much when they were growing up. But how he treats his daughters is pretty telling. I mean Trump once told reporters that he’d date Ivanka she wasn’t his daughter. And then he touched her ass at the RNC. Yeah, that totally seems too much like Mrs. Iselin and Raymond Shaw in reverse. Let’s just say if Jared Kushner’s New York Observer isn’t endorsing Trump right now, this is probably the reason. As for Tiffany Trump, well, he doesn’t really take much notice of her as her RNC speech makes her seem like she’s begging for his attention. And he didn’t even watch her. Yet, when she was born Trump already seemed to reduce her to body parts saying that she had her mom Marla’s legs but wasn’t sure whether she’ll have her breasts yet. Oh, and there’s a chance he may not have wanted her in the first place. His sons Donald Jr. and Eric have turned out to be pricks who hunt endangered animals on African safari. And according to one of Donald Jr.’s classmates, Trump once slapped him across the face in college and that Jr. despised his father, was habitually drunk, and hated the attention his last name afforded him. Yet, he and Eric also inherited their dad’s racism and sexism, too. Yeah, Trump isn’t really very nice to his family is he?

38. His Campaign Is Tampering with the Political Process– The reason why Trump managed to get this far in the 2016 election is that his train wreck go so much press attention during the Republican primary that the news networks basically gave him free publicity that basically put his competition out of commission. And he did the same thing during the general election with constant allusions to the Clintons’ scandals as well as Hillary’s e-mails. It doesn’t help that he’s had help by Putin’s Russian government and WikiLeaks who both have beefs with Hillary and the Obama Administration. We know the DNC hacks were by the Russians. Not to mention, Trump has called for his supporters to poll watch for in person voter fraud at the polling places particularly where minorities vote. There are even allegations of voter suppression in states like North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania. And we know who’s targeted in these states. You know minority voters who support Hillary. That doesn’t get me started by how Republican dominated states have resorted to gerrymandering. Let’s just say if Trump is losing, it’s not because the election’s rigged against him as he believes. Quite the contrary.

Donald Trump rallies have been known for their moments of violence. And Trump is said to encourage the spectacle. Here is a fight in Tucson, Arizona.

39. His Campaign Rhetoric Is Inflammatory and Incites Violence– All through the campaign season, Trump’s rhetoric is very inflammatory with racist and sexist comments that have caused supporters glee and opponents cringing in fear. And some of them have a good reason to be concerned, especially if they’re minorities since Trump’s endorsed by white supremacists. Yet, Trump also has a history of calling for violent acts against those who protest at his events that goes back until at least August of last year. He’s encouraged supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies, particularly if they’re people of color. He’s even suggested violence against Hillary alleging she’d get rid of the Second Amendment. Yet, what’s even more disturbing is how he talks about it so casually. But violent rhetoric can get too out of hand, particularly since some of his supporters are known terrorists.

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Here’s what Donald Trump said about appointing Supreme Court Justices. What he says indicates he doesn’t know what the Supreme Court does at all. This is a problem.

40. His Campaign Has No Substantive Policies– While Trump’s campaign contains enough spectacle to take over the airwaves, but there’s no substance to it unlike those of his opponents. He’s never been transparent on anything especially when it comes to his medical records and tax returns. We don’t know how he’ll build his wall on the US-Mexican border or how he’ll force Mexico to pay for it. He doesn’t have details on his healthcare plan he intends to replace Obamacare with (and probably has none). Most of his campaign promises tend to have vague assertions and broad rhetoric. There’s little on what Trump plans to spend, how he plans to pay for it, and what he thinks his programs will look like. In his rhetoric, Trump doesn’t seem to have much knowledge on public policy details even stumbling on basic American governance and frequently demonstrating his ignorance of key challenges and issues in policymaking. For instance, Trump accused President Obama for keeping interest rates low which is the Federal Reserve’s job. If he’s elected president, we won’t know what he’s going to do which is very troubling.

Protestors hold up a sign towards the crowd at a rally for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma

While the media has tried to make Trump support about economics, support is mostly based on racism, xenophobia, and authoritarianism. This banner makes it clear.

41. His Political Appeal Is Based on Cultural Hatred and Authoritarianism– I know many Trump supporters probably don’t have much faith in government and are going through tough economic times. I know many Trump supporters are working class whites with no college degrees. Yet, according to Nate Silver, Trump supporters are on average wealthier and more educated than their peers. So the white working class isn’t a monolithic group. For instance, there were a lot of white working class voters who supported Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary. Besides, a lot of these white working class voters tend to be very suspicious of government as well as continually complain about paying taxes for welfare recipients. So it’s more likely that Trump support has more to do with race and xenophobia since it’s Trump’s spewing of cultural hatred that has made him so popular like building a wall, stop and frisk, and banning Muslims. The fact he’s been endorsed by white supremacists and terrorists that he hasn’t denounced shows this. Besides, if you’ve heard “Make America Great Again,” it evokes some kind of warped nostalgia as if he sets to make it the way it was. Even though that imagined past didn’t really exist or wasn’t anything like that they thought it was. We should also take into account how white society in the South has long been structured to view whiteness as a mark of higher status whether during slavery or segregation. Not only that we should also account how Southern whites learn their history within the nostalgically racist “Lost Cause” mythology when it pertains to the American Civil War. And how Barack Obama’s presidency challenged that and many didn’t like it. Let’s just say, the cultural hatred angle for Trump support makes a lot more sense for me.

This list shows who’s been suing Donald Trump for stealing their money over the decades. What he’s done by cheating these people really shows how Trump doesn’t have much respect for the law. Not to mention, he uses the court and his money to get away with

42. He Has No Respect for the Rule of Law– If reading Trump’s history tells me anything about him, it’s that he often believes that the rules don’t apply to him. Or at least when the penalty doesn’t consist of jail time. But whatever the case, he tends to treat rules and laws as inconveniences as well as exploits legal loopholes. He ignores conflicts of interest as well as takes what he wants regardless who gets hurt. He’s been repeatedly caught for discriminating against blacks whether in housing or in the casino business. For years, he’s been repeatedly fined for breaking rules relating to operating his casinos including an incident in 1990 when his father Fred bought 700 chips at Trump Taj Mahal for $3.5 million. He’s also went to great lengths to avoid being accountable for paying back investors along with wage theft. Yet, what shows Trump’s disrespect for the law the most is his Trump Foundation charity in which he used other people’s money for his own purposes. With his Trump Foundation, Trump has used the money to pay for lawsuits, bribe public officials, buy stuff like portraits of himself and a helmet signed by Tim Tebow, and funneling money in them that would’ve been counted as taxable income otherwise. He’s even said to use Trump Foundation money to fund his campaign. All these are known as self-dealing which is illegal for a charity to do under the IRS. But Trump gets away with this. Even more telling is how many times Trump has used lawsuits to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. Furthermore, Trump’s campaign has been plagued with money shenanigans. Another can be him expressing no regret calling for the Central Park Five to be executed despite the fact they were exonerated due to DNA evidence. But Trump still believes they’re guilty to this day. Even legal experts across the political spectrum are scared of a Trump presidency since he doesn’t seem to have respect for the rule of law in this country nor has any respect for American constitutional traditions. As Adam Gopnik wrote for the New Yorker, “The American Republic stands threatened by the first overtly anti-democratic leader of a large party in its modern history—an authoritarian with no grasp of history, no impulse control, and no apparent barriers on his will to power. The right thing to do, for everyone who believes in liberal democracy, is to gather around and work to defeat him on Election Day.” He later goes on to say, “If Trump came to power, there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over. This is not a hyperbolic prediction; it is not a hysterical prediction; it is simply a candid reading of what history tells us happens in countries with leaders like Trump. Countries don’t really recover from being taken over by unstable authoritarian nationalists of any political bent, left or right—not by Peróns or Castros or Putins or Francos or Lenins or fill in the blanks. The nation may survive, but the wound to hope and order will never fully heal. Ask Argentinians or Chileans or Venezuelans or Russians or Italians—or Germans. The national psyche never gets over learning that its institutions are that fragile and their ability to resist a dictator that weak. If he can rout the Republican Party in a week by having effectively secured the nomination, ask yourself what Trump could do with the American government if he had a mandate.” In the US, it’s well established that nobody, not even the President is above the law. Unfortunately Trump always thought he’s above the law because he’s rich. And there’s a strong chance he won’t uphold the constitution if he ever becomes president.

Here’s Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago portrait that the Trump Foundation paid for at $20,000. It’s at his Florida Resort. Of course, how Trump got it is an act of self-dealing which is illegal under the IRS.

43. He Constantly Breaks His Promises– All his life Trump has made promises to people in order to give him what he wants. Yet, once he has it, he often doesn’t fulfil his word and always making excuses why. A June article from the USA Today alleges that Trump has refused to pay workers for decades when he said he would. As of 2016, Trump has at least 60 lawsuits involving employees and contractors alleging he didn’t pay them. He’s settled with 48 servers at his Miami golf resort in a lawsuit about failing to pay overtime for a special event. There were at least 253 subcontractors who weren’t paid in full and/or on time for work on Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s very clear that Trump promised to pay these people or they wouldn’t have agreed to work for him. And yet, he refused to pay them in the end. He’s also failed to pay back investors who’ve lent money to him and now Wall Street no longer trusts him. Not only that, but Trump has promised to donate money to charity over the years and never makes good on them. Well, unless he’s called out on it. It’s not that Trump constantly breaks his promises. It’s just that Trump constantly makes promises that he has no intention to fulfill. It’s part of how he works. You can’t have a president like that.

44. Even Republicans Hate Him– We should understand that Trump was never the favorite to win the Republican primary in the 2016 election. The Republican establishment wasn’t happy when he was ahead in the polls or when he won primary after primary. And when the many of these Republicans finally caved to Trump in the general election, it was mostly because they feared for their jobs and possibly the good of the party. Yet, many Republicans still won’t support Trump such as Mitt Romney, the Bushes, Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, Glenn Beck, Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Tom Ridge, Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Reagan Education Secretary Bill Bennett, the National Review, Wall Street bankers, the Weekly Standard, and many conservative newspapers. George Will even left the Republican Party for his opposition to Trump. Nebraska Senator Bob Sasse wrote a long Facebook post explaining why he won’t vote for Trump. Right wing radio host, Eric Erickson explained his reason because he’d, “put my country before my party and decline to help the voters in this country commit national suicide.” At the RNC, it’s very apparent that the Republicans weren’t warmly behind their candidate. In fact, many prominent Republicans like John McCain refused to attend. Those who did, didn’t give an enthusiastic endorsement and don’t seem to like him much. For instance, I know that Paul Ryan doesn’t like Trump and has even called him out on it. Yet, he ended up endorsing the guy anyway, because he’s Speaker of the House and was in a tough primary fight with a Trump supporting opponent. And even in his convention speech, he barely mentioned the guy. Then there’s Texas Senator Ted Cruz who declined to endorse Trump at the RNC in his speech after the latter viciously attacked him at the primary for calling his wife ugly and insulting his father. Yet, Cruz would eventually cave to endorse Trump anyway when he discovered he was up for reelection in two years. You also have Chris Christie who’s only been supporting Trump to get on a ticket or at least a cabinet position, whom Stephen Colbert likened to “a best man at a wedding he doesn’t believe in.” Any way you look at it, the Republican establishment more or less supports him as if they feel that they have to since he’s their party’s nominee.

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Donald Trump has received very few major newspaper endorsements during this election than most candidates. Perhaps it’s because Trump is no fan of freedom of the press. And that he’s a morally bankrupt individual to begin with.

45. Newspapers and Experts Have Warned People Not to Vote for Him– While experts and newspapers usually have their own political biases, what’s unusual about this election is how many have refused to endorse the Republican nominee. In fact, there are many who are coming out to encourage Americans not to vote for Trump. For one, Hillary has received way more newspaper endorsements than what’s usual for any presidential party nominee. Even more telling is that many of these publications usually endorse Republican candidates with some not endorsing a Democratic presidential nominee in decades. Major publications that didn’t endorse Hillary usually went with no endorsement, Gary Johnson, or not Donald Trump. Nevertheless, Hillary’s high newspaper endorsement count doesn’t indicate an acceptance of her politics that many of these papers disagree with. In fact, it’s indicative that the newspaper industry doesn’t want Trump to be president for good reason. After all, Trump is no fan of First Amendment rights since he sued a reporter for challenging his billionaire status. Experts who oppose Trump include 370 economists, 50 GOP national security officials, legal experts across the political spectrum, and more. Even 600 historians have spoken against Trump. David McCullough said the prospect of a Trump presidency distressed him that he felt he could no longer remain publicly attached saying, “When you think of how far we have come, and at what cost, and with what faith, to just turn it all over to this monstrous clown with a monstrous ego, with no experience, never served his country in any way — it’s just crazy. We can’t stand by and let it happen. The Republican Party shouldn’t stand by and let it happen.” Filmmaker Ken Burns voiced opposition against Trump in his commencement address at Stanford University, where he said that despite 40 years of avoiding advocacy in his work, he no longer had, “the luxury of neutrality or ‘balance’ or even of bemused disdain.” It should be a red flag that a Trump presidency poses nothing but trouble.

46. He Brings Out the Worst of America– Watching the Republican primaries take its course this election was especially distressing for me. Whenever Trump would do something outrageous that would get normal presidential candidates out of the race, he didn’t suffer any fall in his popularity. It’s like his supporters kept excusing his behavior on the stage even when he was encouraging them to beat up protestors at his rallies. There are even people comparing Trump rallies to 1930s Germany which led to the rise of Adolf Hitler. And we know what happened there. Yet, such comparisons do have merit since Trump’s campaign revolves around a cult of personality like he would make everything okay. And these supporters think he would because look how successful Trump is. Look how strong and fearless he is. And to prove how much America needs him, Trump reminds voters that America is in deep, deep trouble. Yet at same time, Trump’s campaign has no substantive policies on how he’ll get things done. Nevertheless, a candidate who says he’ll fix it but doesn’t offer any plans spells trouble. But it seems that his supporters don’t seem to care what he does and seem to take him at every word. This is bad.

Donald Trump likes to use “America First” in his presidential proposals, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. This term was used by Charles Lindbergh’s anti-war group called the America First Committee known for its isolationism as well as virulent Anti-Semitism. Lindbergh’s “America First” speech was filled with Anti-Semitic language and cost him his reputation.

47. He Has Little Knowledge of History or the Lessons Learned from It– Trump has never cared about the consequences of his actions and his candidacy certainly shows this. It’s very clear the Trump isn’t just ignorant on matters of basic civics, he has no sense of the American past and doesn’t understand the achievements in this country. Sure he’d want to “make America great again,” but he doesn’t understand what already makes America great in the first place. According to the New Republic, he’s never read a presidential biography and that his knowledge of presidential history is almost entirely self-serving. It doesn’t help that people in the media have compared aspects of Trump’s campaign to parts of America’s past and none of them are good. One example would be Trump’s foreign policy outline which he refers to as “Restore Fortress America” or “America First” which to him means disconnecting from other countries, more barriers to trade, tougher negotiations with long standing NATO allies, and a more restrictive immigration policy with a wall and Muslim ban. It also shares similarities to the America First Committee before US entry into WWII while Nazi Germany was taking power across Europe. Now the American First Committee was an isolationist group who opposed US involvement in the war, which originated with college students. Yet, it soon became a group that included conservatives who wanted to stick it to a liberal president as well as virulent Anti-Semites and Nazi sympathizers. Things got worse when famed aviator Charles Lindbergh became their public spokesman and gave a highly Anti-Semitic speech in 1941 that was universally condemned, which combined with being too nice to Nazi Germany led him to suffer an epic fall from grace. The phrase “America First” has become taboo ever since as well as an Anti-Semitic byword. But when Trump was asked about this group in July, he claimed that “America First” was a brand-new modern term and that he never related it to the past and not what Lindbergh had in mind. It’s very clear that Trump doesn’t know about the shameful American First Committee nor does he even care. Nor does he care about the parallels that suggest how the old isolationist movement is relevant to his campaign. Because he kept using “America First” as a slogan not just to his foreign policies but his other ones, too. It’s like he’s using this phrase because he thinks it sounds good for his campaign. Another term is the “silent majority” which seem eerily reminiscent of the radical right John Birch Society of the 1960s, which played an active role in the Red Scare. It was also used in the Nixon campaign of 1968. Yet, what Trump doesn’t know is that the past doesn’t always stay in the past and those who don’t know much about history are doomed to repeat it.

48. He Gives Little to No Thought to His Responses to Questions or Challenges– Trump’s campaign has been characterized as all spectacle without any substance. Trump doesn’t seem to think that policy matters much, details don’t matter at all, and that positions are negotiable. All that matters for Trump is running on attitude and charisma, strength and success, that goo-goo elites make America a loser, and that he’s the superhero who can make it win again. However, this campaign style is extremely done. Presidential elections aren’t about mere policy face offs, they’re also about competence, leadership, values, vision, records, and which face voters want to see their TV the next 4 years. Sure like Trump, Obama ran as a political outsider which worked out well for him. However, Obama had a detailed policy agenda and much of it has become the law in the land. We’re not sure what would become law under Trump or how he’d face challenges. Even worse, Trump has given little or no thought in his responses to questions or challenges as we’ve seen from his debate performances. But when we’re choosing a president, then we need to know what they’re going to do if elected. And if Trump can’t give a good response to a policy question, then he shouldn’t be elected.

While Donald Trump’s campaign has many veteran supporters, this doesn’t mean he’s nice to them. In fact, quite the opposite. Here is his fake veterans hotline voicemail.

49. He’s Shown Disrespect to People Who’ve Supported Him– Trump has been unusually vicious to people who opposed him and not just on his campaign either. Yet, he could also be quite awful when it comes to people who support him. First, Trump has had a long record of bashing veterans including times when he’s had disabled vet vendors chased off Trump Tower, calling a decorated war hero and POW a loser for getting captured, organizing fake veterans fundraisers, accepting a Purple Heart from a supporter and saying how he always wanted one, ignoring a mother’s demands not to politicize her son’s death in Benghazi, setting up a fake veterans hotline, calling his sexual escapades during the 1970s his “Vietnam,” attacking a dead soldier’s parents, claiming to know more about ISIS than the generals, and more. Let’s just say Trump really has no respect for those who served our country in uniform and kept our country safe in a time of war. Yet, veterans rank among some of his most loyal supporters despite all that. Second, while Trump claims he’s pro-life and has considerable support in the pro-life crowd, his record isn’t, even on the campaign trail. He’s taken 5 different positions on abortion in 3 days, called pregnancy an “inconvenience” for a business” (before he denied it), had a woman fired for getting pregnant, tried to replace a pregnant employee who refused to sleep with him, may not provide maternity leave to his employees, mocked a disabled reporter, rejected his first wife after she popped out 3 kids for him, bragged about sexual assault, rates women based on their bodies, cut medical benefits to his nephew’s son with cerebral palsy, praised his future current wife for taking birth control every day on the radio, may have paid and urged mistresses to have abortions (since he answered, “such an interesting question” when asked this), and once told future second wife “Uh, excuse me? What are we going to do about this?” after finding out about an accidental pregnancy (despite that Marla Maples had already made up her mind to go through with it). Sorry, pro-lifers, but Trump is not your man. I mean calling pregnancy an “inconvenience for a business” is even less pro-life than calling abortion “a women’s right to choose” especially since the former statement has killed far more innocent unborn children than the latter. And I think Trump’s belief in pregnancy as an inconvenience for business basically sums up his stance on reproductive rights. In other words, he believes a business’s needs are more important than an unborn child’s or even the mother’s. Besides, whenever he speaks on the matter, he seems like he has to go the extra mile to prove he’s pro-life. Yet, while the pro-life movement backs Trump in droves, it’s very apparent that these people are being played for major fools. Third, are women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and minorities who are supporting him but that goes without saying. Fourth, this can go on.

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Of course, this is very true when it comes to Trump supporters. It seems that these people treat Donald Trump like he’s a bad boyfriend thinking he’ll change. But let’s just say his employees, investors, and ex-wives thought the same thing. Seriously, if you support Trump, I guarantee he’ll let you down. So I hope Trump let’s you down by losing the race. Because if he wins, we could be in trouble.

50. He Brings Out the Worst in His Supporters– I know that a lot of Trump supporters aren’t bad people. I know that a lot of Trump supporters are well-educated and not stupid. Yet, whenever I see or hear people I know support Trump, I feel utterly appalled. Now Trump isn’t a guy these people would want in their neighborhood or someone they’d want their children to emulate. Of course I know many of these people support Trump because they’re racist, Islamophobic, and xenophobic even if it doesn’t define them. Some people who support Trump are violent like some of the Second Amendment fanatics who like to carry their guns in full view as well as right wing terrorists and extremists. But this is a man who’s violated the norms of ethical behavior even the most ardent Trump fans wouldn’t accept in someone in their lives, let alone in a presidential candidate. And yet, these same people continually excuse Trump and his campaign no matter what happens like they have little to no standards for what a presidential candidate should be. Look, I know many people are supporting Trump because they’re pro-life, Republican, or don’t like Hillary Clinton. But come on, to support Trump for these reasons just makes you look pathetic. Because there are plenty of people who are in all these camps but are still voting for Hillary Clinton anyway because they have standards for what to expect in a president. Hell, even some of Hillary’s enemies are supporting her like Michael Chertoff. Yet, what’s worse is that plenty of Trump supporters don’t seem to care if their man is a raging sociopath with no political experience who’s lying them into a gigantic con. They don’t seem to question his morals. They don’t seem to question his policies or lack of them. They don’t question whether he’s fit for the presidency. They don’t question whether the veracity of his statements or whether he’s lying to them. They don’t question his sordid past that debunks his claim as a successful businessman. All they care about is whatever Trump says and how he’ll make America great again. And the fact so many Americans are willing to vote for a guy like Trump, including people I know such as friends and family just scares the living shit out of me.

Yes, here we have robber baron Trump sitting in his gaudy gold oval office ushering a new autocratic gilded age for America. For the love of God, America, please don’t let this happen. Jesus, please, don’t. I don’t want to see a Trump presidency.

The Many Corruption Scandals of Donald Trump (You’re Welcome, Hillary)

Posted by historymaniacmegan on September 18, 2016

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Okay, I was actually not going to post this article. But since my parents found Trump presidential campaign ad on one of my articles, I feel that I have no choice but to do this. During the 2016 campaign season, the media tends to cast Donald Trump as the crazy/racist one while portraying Hillary Clinton as the politically corrupt one. However, while I don’t contest that Hillary hasn’t been a saint for the last few decades, but to say that she’s more corrupt, untrustworthy, and dishonest than Trump, well, that’s just completely wrong. I’m well aware that the news media tends to cover Hillary’s political and personal baggage on the airwaves down to the last detail while sending legions of journalists in their midst whenever she’s implicated in a government investigation. But all of what’s turned out of those findings about Hillary is just that she happens to be a flawed but normal politician. The only thing that’s abnormal about her is that she’s a former First Lady. That’s it. Yes, she has baggage but a lot of her and Bill’s cases involve suspicion and shadowy links. But all that just adds fuel for the conspiracy theorists at Fox News. Still, though I don’t have any objections to the press covering Hillary this way, especially in a presidential election year, they don’t seem to do the same to Trump. Because when Trump is implicated in anything, the media just glosses it over briefly and moves on. This is not how candidate scandals should be covered, especially if we’re talking about the scandals surrounding Trump which I think are well worth revisiting and discussing. Compared to Hillary, Trump has a long and documented history of corruption since the 1970s and his flamboyant corruption run to the very core of his identity and prospective governing choices. Hell, many of his scandals have been recorded in court cases and legal proceedings. Sure he may have a complete lack of public office experience, but his resume is far from clean unlike most novice candidates. A lot of the stuff he’s done is downright appalling as well as shown that he’s willing to risk ruining people’s lives in order to get what he wants with no second thought. So if you’re a person who disdains corruption, then your rationale for voting for Trump to elect him is nothing short of idiotic. Yes, the Clintons may be corrupt practitioners of Washington’s cash-for-access culture as well as careless and susceptible to greed. But their corruption only pertains to normal, political things. Sure that doesn’t excuse their behavior, but their deeds aren’t unprecedented. Trump on the other hand, is corrupt on a historic scale and the fact people are willing to trust him over Hillary to run the country is insane. Here I have a rough cheat sheet of Trump scandals you might want to see for yourself. Consider this a highlight reel except that the highlights tend to show Trump as awful person he is. These are not in chronological order. It’s also a long post and viewer discretion is advised.

Business Failures:

1980s: Used junk bonds to build Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City (despite claiming he wouldn’t) and was unable to keep up with interest payments once the casino was built. So Trump declared bankruptcy in 1991 which led him to sell his yacht, his airline, and half of his ownership in the casino.

1983-1985: Bought the USFL New Jersey Generals for $9 million but the league lost $30 million for obvious reasons regardless of how the team was doing. Lobbied to move the USFL games to the fall to compete with the NFL which commanded the TV networks. So Trump’s lawyers and the league filed a $1.69 billion antitrust and monopoly lawsuit against the NFL. Jury awarded the USFL $3 million in damages and the league later folded.

1989-1993: Acquired 17 Boeings Eastern Air Shuttle and 17 Boeing 727 that formed Trump Airlines which he aimed to make it more Trumpy luxurious for $380 million on 22 small bank loans. Customers used to Eastern Air Shuttle’s no frills service could no longer afford it and it never turned a profit. It didn’t help that Trump was more interested in revamping this airline to suit his image instead of focusing on his customers’ real needs. Not to mention, the high price of jet fuel due to the Gulf War in 1991. As Time explains, “The high debt forced Trump to default on his loans, and ownership of the company was turned over to creditors. The Trump Shuttle ceased to exist in 1992 when it was merged into a new corporation, Shuttle Inc. No word on whether the gold-plated faucets survived the merger.”

1989: Launched Trump: The Game which was a Monopoly themed board game with a lot of illegal stuff in it that failed within a year. A 2005 attempt at reviving the game via The Apprentice also failed.

1992: Declared bankruptcy when Trump Plaza went bust after losing more than $550 million. Though he gave up his stake, Trump insulated himself from personal losses and managed to keep his CEO title. However, he surrendered any salary or role in day-to-day operations. By the time all was said and done, he was $900 million in personal debt.

1995-2004: Declared bankruptcy when Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts was $1.8 billion in debt before later emerging as Trump Entertainment Resorts. Though Trump was chairman of the new company, he no longer had a controlling stake in it. Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts had lost money every year while Trump ran it as CEO which later lost its shareholders and 90% of their money. And at the start, the company already had a $494 million in long term debt but its borrowings ballooned to $1.7 billion by the end of the next year. In the Trump Hotels and Casinos transaction to buy Trump Taj Mahal for $898 million, the company would take $817 million in junk bonds at 11.25% interest. Trump Taj Mahal was already losing money from the start because its big interest burden due to Trump financing its construction with junk bonds in the 1980s. In 1996, Trump Hotels would by Trump’s Castle for $520 million with the announced price at a staggering 18 times cash flow. It’s not even clear whether the Castle was worth its over $350 million debt load. By 2002, Trump Hotels’ debt was $2.1 billion and its leverage ratio expanded to 27, approaching levels that sank Lehman Brothers during the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile Trump paid himself $32 million. It was the worst performing publicly trading gaming company at the time, especially from 1995-2000 when the sector itself was going gangbusters.

1995: Lost $916 million according to his tax returns from that year.

2004: Licensed his name to Trump Signature Collection clothing line which is manufactured in China and Mexico. After accusing Mexico of sending its rapists in to the US, Macy’s dropped the line. Now the company Phillips-Van Heusen which manufactures his line said after losing its main retail outlet at Macy’s, plans to dump Trump in 2018. Not to mention, Trump has ironically threatened Apple, Carrier, and Ford to strongarm them into bringing their outsourced workers back to the US. Hell, in 2005, he even expressed support for outsourcing.

2006: Launched Trump Vodka which aspired to make “Trump and Tonic” the most ordered drink in America. Folded in 2011.

2006: Launched Trump Mortgage just when the housing bubble was reaching its bursting point and dismissed talk about it on CNBC by saying, “Who knows more about financing than me?” Apparently anyone who thinks starting a mortgage company at the time was a very bad idea. Company folded 18 months later to nobody’s surprise.

2006: Launched travel site Go.Trump which focused on luxury hotels. Failed within a year.

2007: Launched Trump Magazine which targeted affluent readers and covered luxury living. Failed within 2 years.

2007: Launched Trump Steaks which bought meat from the Sysco-owned Buckhead Beef which used the name and sold them through a New York City technology store called The Sharper Image. Company folded within a year for obvious reasons. Seriously, who the hell sells steaks at a technology store?

2009: Declared bankruptcy when Trump Entertainment Resorts fell again which led him to resign from the board though the company retained its name. In 2014, he successfully sued to take his name off the company and its casinos, one of which had already closed and the other being near closing. The Trump Plaza Casino and Hotel has closed permanently. Over the 15 years Trump served as chairman of both Trump Hotels and Resorts and Trump Entertainment Resorts, both companies posted net losses with profits being decimated by gigantic interest costs at $1.7 billion, excluding extraordinary items.

Screwing Workers:

1970s-present: As of 2016, he and his companies have been sued 20 times for mistreating female employees. These include a woman in Miami fired for getting pregnant, two women fired for complaining about co-worker sexual harassment, a female supervisor who Trump pulled aside to complain about hiring, another supervisor being threatened with punishment for not firing a female employee for being fat, a married waitress Trump subjected to unwanted flirtations, and a number of women testifying Trump repeatedly instructing managers to hire younger and prettier workers at his LA golf club.

1980: Demolished the Bonwit Teller store and its architecturally beloved Art Deco edifice (though he promised not to) in order to build Trump Tower. In order to accomplish this, the managers hired 200 undocumented Polish workers to tear it down, paying $5 an hour for backbreaking work when they were paid at all. Workers didn’t wear hard hats and often slept on site. Workers who complained about back pay were threatened with deportation. Trump claimed he was unaware that undocumented immigrants were working at the site (while testimony under oath shown by Massimo Calabresi proves that Trump was aware of undocumented workers being employed there). In 1991, a federal judge found Trump and the defendants guilty of conspiring to avoid paying Local 95 construction workers’ union pension and welfare contributions. The decision was appealed, with partial victories on both sides, and settled in 1999. Marco Rubio used this story in a debate to accuse Trump of hypocrisy in his illegal immigration stance and rightfully so.

1980s-present: Has been subject to various complaints and lawsuits by contractors, waiters, dishwashers, and plumbers who have worked on his projects and claimed that his company has stiffed them for work as well as refused to pay for their services. USA Today did a lengthy review of this, finding that some of these contracts were for hundreds and thousands of dollars, many owed to small businesses that failed or struggled to continue because of unpaid bills. Not to mention that Trump was found to have improperly withheld compensation for undocumented Polish immigrant workers. In regards to these wage theft allegations, Trump has offered various excuses like shoddy workmanship. However the scale of the problem that includes hundreds of allegations makes it hard to credit. In some cases, even lawyers Trump has hired to defend him have sued him for failing to pay their fees. One Trump employee admitted in court that a painter was stiffed on account that managers had determined they had “already paid enough.” These cases are particularly damaging since they show Trump not driving a hard bargain with other businesses as well as harming ordinary, hard-working Americans. Not only that, but he’s now being sued by little girls who performed during his campaign. And it’s because he’s running for president and is subject to such scrutiny that I decided to do a blog post on wage theft. Trump’s record on stiffing workers out of their hard earned money should get long-term media attention because it shows us the kind of sociopath he is.

1980s-present: Despite his immigration stance, has hired foreign guest workers at his resorts which involves a claim that he can’t find Americans to do the work. This even when Americans applied for the same positions. Guess foreign guest workers are easier to exploit and are less likely to complain about wage theft.

1999-?: Has been subject to claims by former models at Trump Model Management that they and others worked for the agency in the US despite not having proper permits. Some worked on tourist visas, either never getting the correct permits or getting them only after working in the US illegally for months. Some models also received H-1B visas which a special type of permit for workers in specialized industries, a program Trump has criticized. In true Trump fashion, the models were kept under squalid conditions while earning almost nothing for the work they did. It’s even embarrassing that Trump has argued for much more enforced immigration laws as well as building a wall and making Mexico pay for it. There’s even scrutiny over his current wife Melania’s immigration status at the time as well.

2000s: Spent half a million dollars to a law firm in order to keep service employees from his Las Vegas hotels and resorts from unionizing. According to a 2015 lawsuit by the Culinary Workers Union, Trump Hotel Las Vegas “violated the federally protected rights of workers to participate in union activities” and engaged in “incidents of alleged physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats by management.” That October, the owners sued the Culinary Workers Union and another, alleging they had knowingly distributed flyers falsely stating that Trump had stayed at a rival unionized hotel instead of his non-unionized establishment. Today, it’s said that the average worker at Trump’s Las Vegas hotels earns $3.33 an hour, well below the minimum wage.

2012: According to the Daily Beast, forced production employees from The Apprentice to work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy despite New York City being effectively shut down and in a state of dire emergency. Employees had to brave dangerous commuting conditions to get to Trump Tower. One ex-employee remembered, “We were in his building, and we fought with [a] manager, who said, ‘It’s not from me, it’s from [Donald Trump] himself.’ Ivanka [Trump] did very nicely [come down] and thank us for coming in. She really was very nice but we were all [thinking], ‘Well, it was easy for you Trumps to simply come downstairs, why are we here?’” Trump would go on to use the hurricane as a PR coup and promote birtherism.

Unfair Business Practices:

1980s-2000s: Has been repeatedly fined for breaking rules related to his operation of his casinos. In 1990, his father Fred strolled in the already troubled Taj Mahal and bought 700 chips worth $3.5 million. Though this purchase helped the casino pay its debt due at the time, Fred Trump had no plans to gamble which led to New Jersey’s gaming commission ruling it a loan violating operating rules and fined Trump $30,000. Of course, Taj Mahal went bankrupt the following year. As noted above, New Jersey also fined Trump $200,000 for arranging to keeping black employees away from Mafioso Robert LiButti’s gambling table. And in 1991, the Casino Control Commission fined Trump’s company $450,000 for buying LiButti 9 luxury cars. In 2000, Trump was fined $250,000 for violating New York state law in lobbying to prevent an Indian casino from opening in the Catskills, fearing that it would compete against his Atlantic City casinos. Trump would admit no wrongdoing in the New York case but he’s now out of the casino business.

1986: With aims to expand his casino empire in Atlantic City, mounted a hostile takeover of Holiday and Bally by buying up stock in the companies in order to gain control. But Bally found what he was doing and sued Trump for anti-trust violations arguing, “Trump hopes to wrest control of Bally from its public shareholders without paying them the control premium they otherwise could command had they been adequately informed of Trump’s intentions.” Trump gave up in 1987 but was fined $750,000 by the Federal Trade Commission for failing to disclose his purchases of stock in the two companies, which exceeded minimum disclosure levels.

1990s: Along with his demolition contractor, was sued by Vera Coking for damage to her home during the construction of Trump Plaza and Casino. In 1997, she dropped the suit against Trump and settled with the contractor for $90,000. She refused to sell her home to Trump and won a 1998 Supreme Court decision that prevented Atlantic City from using eminent domain to condemn her property.

1990s-2000s: Had a campaign denigrating Native Americans and their casinos which led to a testimony before Congress. “If [Indian gaming] continues as a threat, it is my opinion that it will blow. It will blow sky high. It will be the biggest scandal ever or one of the biggest scandals since Al Capone. That an Indian chief is going to tell [mobster] Joey Killer to please get off his reservation is almost unbelievable to me.” His words were so incendiary that lawmakers challenged him to release information to the FBI. One said it was the most irresponsible testimony he’d ever heard. At the same time, he pursued deals with Indian casinos and even struck an arrangement with one of them. As Newsweek reported, “And in his purposeless, false and inflammatory statements before Congress, Trump alienated politicians from around the country, including some who had the power to influence construction contracts—problems that could have been avoided if he had simply read his prepared speech rather than ad-libbing.”

1994: Tried to cash in through dumping 24 million gallons of raw sewage in the Hudson River.

1994-2000s: Escaped a crippling debt load by selling the Riverside South development to a group from Hong Kong who let him keep a 30% stake in the partnership. Trump would later oversee construction of several Trump branded apartment towers and had plans for his logo to be spread over a big stretch of western Manhattan. However, in 2005, his Hong Kong partners who had a controlling stake decided to sell and use the proceeds to buy two skyscrapers without the Trump name: 1290 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan and 555 California Street in San Francisco. Trump hated the deal and sued his partners to block it, arguing that the development bearing the Trump name was worth about $1 billion more than the price his partners had agreed on. Yet he ended up massively profiting from the transaction when Vornado Trust bought out his partners at a price valuing the two buildings at $2.6 billion. Trump remained in the partnership and saw his stake soar.

1993-1996: Opened his 290-foot Trump Princess Indiana riverboat casino in Gary, Indiana with the promise to donate 7.5% of its proceeds to charity before dumping his local minority investors. The jilted investors sued for breach of contract but he settled with 6 of them a year later for a total of more than $2.2 million. But no foundation was ever created and two investors refused to settle. Though the jury didn’t find Trump guilty of fraud (though his company liable), they awarded the remaining two investors $1.33 million. This led Trump to avoid making a charitable contribution that would’ve been worth $4.5 million to $30 million. He also cut a deal with the mayor before dumping the investors for a different foundation which Trump would run himself and wouldn’t receive any benefit from the riverboat. Trump would later win this suit against the two remaining investors on appeal. In 2005, Trump sold the Indiana riverboat for a quarter of a billion to Barden.

2004-2015: Hosted The Apprentice and later Celebrity Apprentice on NBC which made him a star. But not without controversy. There were instances Trump systematically demeaning women and discussing which ones he’d like to have sex with as well as getting input from the men. There was also a time when he made them work after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. However, while winners have been named “executive vice presidents” as well as given an “owner’s representative” title, they were actually employed as publicity spokespeople for the Trump Organization. Second season winner Kelly Perdew claimed on his first day working for Trump, he was introduced to Florida developers working on a Trump-based condo, the Trump Tower, in Tampa. He was later told he’d appear at promotional events to help encourage sales.

2005: Received $17 million in insurance for hurricane damage to his Mar-a-Lago club. The Associated Press found little evidence of such large scale damage which wasn’t backed up by club members and even Trump supporters in the Palm Beach area. One of them even talked about how Trump threw a wedding at Mar-a-Lago for his son Donald Jr. two weeks after Hurricane Wilma, which had 370 guests. And claimed that while the celebration had to be moved from the front lawn due to storm damage, the rest of the place was fine. Palm Beach County building department shows no records for construction on that scale during the storms save a $3,000 permit for repairs to storm-damaged outdoor lighting and the vacuuming of sand from the property’s beachfront pool. Trump later transferred some of the $17 million into his personal accounts. It’s likely that this is a classic case of insurance fraud.

Screwing Clients, Customers, and Tenants:

1981-1986: Bought a building in Central Park South with aspirations to build luxury condos despite that the current tenants at the time were understandably unwilling to let go of their rent-controlled apartments. Trump used every trick in the book to get them out, even trying to reverse exceptions that the previous landlord had given him such as knocking down walls and threatening eviction. Tenants complaints range from cutting off heat and hot water as well as having building management refuse to make repairs or take action on any pest infestations (leading to two swearing in court that mushrooms grew on their carpet from a leak). Trump would later place newspaper ads offering to house homeless New Yorkers in empty units since he didn’t intend to fill the units with permanent residents anyway. City officials turned him down over the idea seeming inappropriate. Trump also sued tenants for $150 million when they complained. However, Trump gave in, settling the tenants and agreeing to monitoring. The building still stands today with his son Eric owning a unit on the top floor.

2013: Is sued by members of the Trump National Golf Club of Jupiter, Florida for breach of contract. In this class action lawsuit, the members allege that after Trump bought the resort from Marriot, he unilaterally changed membership terms in ways that converted their refundable deposits ranging from $55,000-$221,000 into nonrefundable deposits. Trump and his team deny any wrongdoing and the trial was set a week before the RNC.

Discrimination:

1973-1975: The Department of Justice filed suit against him and his father for housing discrimination at 39 sites around New York on grounds that Trump Management had refused to rent or negotiate rentals to racial minorities. The DOJ also charged them requiring different rental terms and conditions due to race as well as lied to blacks that apartments were unavailable. Trump called such accusations, “absolutely ridiculous.” He even denied the charges and insisted that the government was trying to force his company to rent to welfare recipients. The Trumps would later hire former Joe McCarthy defender Roy Cohn and sue the DOJ for $100 million. In the end, they settled with the government, promised not to discriminate, and submitted to regular review by the New York Urban League. But neither would admit their guilt.

1978: The Department of Justice brings him and his father back to court on contempt of consent decree pertaining to their promise not to discriminate. According to Wayne Barrett from Trump: The Deals and the Downfall, “Cohn picked up his argument where he’d left off, branding the new case a ‘rehash’ without ‘the slightest merit,’ attributable to ‘planted malcontents .’ It all remained irrelevant to Donald. The bottom line was that two government discrimination lawsuits had had no effect on the company’s ability to make development deals, usually with the government’s help. The charges were just not a part of the world in which he operated.”

1992: Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino fined $200,000 over managers removing black card dealers at the request of a certain big-spending gambler. Trump has had a long record disparaging his black casino employees as “lazy” in vividly bigoted terms. A former employee at Trump’s Castle claimed, “When Donald and Ivana came to the casino, the bosses would order all the black people off the floor. It was the eighties, I was a teen-ager, but I remember it: they put us all in the back.” A 1991 book about Trump by former Trump Plaza and Casino John O’Donnell has Trump saying, “And isn’t it funny. I’ve got black accountants at Trump Castle and Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.” O’Donnell also reported Trump saying of a black employee, “I think the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.”

1996: Sued by 20 African Americans in Indiana for failing to hire mostly minority workers for a riverboat casino at Lake Michigan.

Shady Ties:

1970s-?: Has been linked to the mafia many times over the years with varying degrees of closeness. Many seem to be the sorts of interactions with mobsters that were inevitable for someone in the construction and casino business at the time. Though Trump has portrayed himself as an unwilling participant, not everyone agrees since strings of other allegations persist. For instance, Trump’s lawyer Roy Cohn also represented Genovese crime family boss Tony Salerno. Cohn would later be disbarred for fraud and other serious wrongdoing in 1986. And according to investigative journalist Wayne Barrett, Trump paid twice the market rate to a mob figure for the land under Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. Michael Isikoff reported that Trump was close to John Gotti associate Robert LiButti whom he invited on his yacht and helicopter as well as bought him 9 luxury cars in one case. Though Trump has been questioned in court over the ties, he’s never been convicted of anything. Though Trump Plaza was fined $200,000 for keeping black employees away from LiButti’s table at his behest and $450,000 for giving him the cars. Say what you want about Ted Cruz, but his suggestion that Trump’s ties with the mafia which could be more extensive than reported might be a reason why he won’t release his tax returns seems to make a lot of sense. Because Cruz had evidence to back up this claim.

1982: Dealt personally with mob-linked figures while opening his first Atlantic City Casino. They were widely known “agent” of the Philadelphia mob’s Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, Kenneth Shapiro and Teamster and known mobster associate Daniel Sullivan who co-owned a site Trump needed for his casino. The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump negotiated with them directly to lease the land and told a New Jersey regulatory agency that “They are not bad people from what I see.” In 1984, Shapiro testified in front of a grand jury to funneling thousands of dollars in contributions from Trump to Atlantic City mayor Michael J. Matthews who Trump was barred from contributing on his own due to his casino ownership. Trump denied the charge telling the Wall Street Journal, “I’m not interested in giving cash, OK?” Shapiro’s brother Barry claimed that Trump never reimbursed Kenneth for his illegal contributions on the former’s behalf. Now Trump refusing to pay Shapiro is believable. But Trump not being interested in giving to political candidates, no way.

1990s: Is brought to the site of the 45 story Trump Tower Philadelphia by business partner Raoul Goldberg. In 2000, Goldberg was sentenced to 46 months in prison for trying to ship tens of thousands of ecstasy pills to the US.

1992: Senate subcommittee named then Trump Taj Mahal foreign marketing vice president Danny Leung as an associate of the Hong Kong-based organized crime group 14K Triad. Leung was also said to give complimentary tickets for hotel rooms and Asian shows to numerous Asian organized crime associates and members. The report also identified 3 other triad-connected business associates or former Trump casino empire employees. Also, according to the New York Daily News in 1995, Leung “flew in 16 Italian crime figures from Canada who stole more than $1 million from the casino in a credit scam. The incident was never reported because Trump never filed charges.” Leung has denied his organized crime affiliation while his casino and junket licenses were renewed.

1998: Despite being against normalizing relations with Cuba as far back as 1999, has done business with the country during the US Embargo, which is a violation of federal law. Yes, it’s a stupid policy but the law is the law. Then again, the Castro brothers aren’t the worst business partners he’s had.

1998-2003: Rented New York office space to the Iranian Bank Melli, one of the largest state-owned banks in the world. US authorities have linked Bank Melli to terror groups and Iran’s nuclear program.

2000s-present: Went into business with Azerbaijani billionaire playboy Anar Mammadov whose father is the country’s transportation minister. The project in question was to build a Trump Tower in Baku. Mammadov’s wealth has resulted in part from his father’s political connections as well as rich oil resource boom and has mounted mounted a PR campaign to rehabilitate Azerbaijan’s kleptocratic image in the West by courting some of Washington’s most powerful politicians. Azerbaijan is considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world due to its intolerance of dissent and the high wealth concentration among the politically powerful and their families. The Mammadovs have been called “The Corleones of the Caspian” and US diplomats have described them as notoriously corrupt even by Azerbaijani standards. They’re also deeply in business with an Iranian-owned firm called Azarpassillo which seems like a front organization for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We’re not sure how much Trump, his family, or his organization knows about the Iranian Mammadov partnership. Yet, while this instance sounds like fake news, it’s not since you’ll find similar articles in mainstream press like The New Yorker. But if he has any part in it, it won’t be the first time he was involved with a money laundering scheme.

2003-?: Worked with Felix Sater who had a 1998 racketeering conviction for a $40 million Mafia-linked stock fraud scheme and who had then become an informant against the mafia. Trump’s attorney claimed that Sater worked with Trump scouting real estate opportunities but was never formally employed.

2009: Allegedly tried to raise money from the regime of Muammar el-Qaddafi as well as set up a meeting to discuss business ventures. This despite the Libyan dictator’s notorious sponsorship of terrorism that has killed scores of Americans. Trump even had Qaddafi rent his opulent Westchester estate to erect a huge traditional tent during his stay and sacrifice a live lamb while in New York for a United Nations Assembly. Qaddafi agreed to stay at Trump’s property mostly because the despised tyrant had been obviously turned down by many other venues. The town of Bedford would yank permission for the tent after a storm of publicity stoked outrage which scuttled the Libyans’ plans and forced their leader to stay in Manhattan indoors. So Qaddafi never got the chance to sleep there.

2014: In New York Magazine, said of billionaire Jeffery Epstein, “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.” Epstein has been named in multiple lawsuits over the last several years for statutory rape, served 13 months in jail, and is a registered sex offender for life at Level 3 (the most dangerous kind. He has settled a few of them but still faces more than a dozen from women who claim he sexually assaulted them as minors.

2016: Despite claims to get tough with China, his Trump Bay Street real estate project in Jersey City is courting investments from Chinese backers through a program called EB-5, which lets foreign investors receive visas in exchange for $500,000 in a project promising to create jobs. Department of Homeland Security says the program lacks adequate background reviews. Since applicants are sometimes cleared in less than a month, critics say that the government is essentially selling visas foreigners with no proven skills, possibly paving way for money laundering and compromising national security. Of course, despite warning about the dangers of immigrant screening, Trump doesn’t seem to use background checks. Trump Bay Street is being built by Trump’s son-in-law’s company. And it doesn’t help that Jared Kushner’s father Charles was a former rainmaker in New Jersey Democratic politics who pleaded guilty to a federal campaign finance violation and filing false tax returns as attempts to silence a witness. The elder Kushner was sentenced to jail for two years on plea deal arranged by then US Attorney Chris Christie but he remains active in the company.

Sexual Misconduct Allegations (some of these may not be proven):

1980s: Allegedly shamelessly and repeatedly tried to seduce Robert LiButti’s then 30-something daughter Edith while still married to his first wife Ivana and even gave her a Mercedes Benz for her birthday but was threatened by the New Jersey mobster with castration. This according to David Clay Johnston.

Early 1980s: Allegedly sexually assaulted Jessica Leeds during a flight. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump raised the armrest, moved toward her and began to grope her. Ms. Leeds said she recoiled. She quickly left the first-class cabin and returned to coach, she said.”

1989: According to a book by Harry Hurt, Trump allegedly raped his then wife Ivana after getting angry at her over a painful scalp reduction surgery. Ivana would later claim that her husband had raped her and that she “felt violated” during their divorce proceedings. Yet Ivanna would later release a statement saying: “During a deposition given by me in connection with my matrimonial case, I stated that my husband had raped me. [O]n one occasion during 1989, Mr. Trump and I had marital relations in which he behaved very differently toward me than he had during our marriage. As a woman, I felt violated, as the love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent. I referred to this as a ‘rape,’ but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.” Yet, keep in mind that Trump was having a five-year affair with future second wife Marla Maples and sought not only to publicly humiliate Ivana but also to profit from her humiliation. When The Daily Beast reported the incident, Trump’s right-hand man Michael Cohen threatened reporters and claimed-incorrectly-that a man can’t legally rape his wife. In 1992, Trump would sue Ivana for not honoring a gag clause in their divorce agreement by disclosing facts about him in her best-selling book and won. It’s one of several cases where Trump has been accused of misogyny including his comments of Megyn Kelly or his fury toward a lawyer who asked for a break to pump breast milk during a deposition in which Trump said, “You’re disgusting” and walked out.

Early 1990s: Allegedly groped aspiring model Kristen Anderson beneath the skirt in a Manhattan nightclub. Anderson related the experience to friends but hasn’t come forward until recently. She believes the incident took place at the China Club where Trump was known to pick up women.

1992: Embarked on an ill-fated effort to in running the American Dream pageant which resulted in him getting sued by George Houraney and Jill Harth. In it, they alleged that Trump kept black women out of the pageant as well as breach of contract. Harth would file another suit against Trump for alleging sexual misbehavior. According to her, Trump groped her at a party, made passes, and forced her into bedrooms. He was even said to join another model in bed, uninvited, late at night as well as calling all women bimbos and most gold diggers. “Basically he name-dropped throughout that dinner, when he wasn’t groping me under the table,” she later said in a 1996 deposition. “Let me just say, this was a very traumatic thing working for him.” This would eventually escalate in what she calls “attempted rape.” She claimed, “He pushed me up against the wall, and had his hands all over me and tried to get up my dress again … and I had to physically say: ‘What are you doing? Stop it.’” Harth would drop her suit while she and Houraney settled with Trump for an unannounced sum. Trump has denied all allegations. Later beauty pageants scandals include winning a $5 million lawsuit against a former Miss Universe contestant who claimed that the pageant was rigged and a debacle with NBC and Univision over his comments about Mexicans. In the latter, Trump bought out NBC’s share and sold the company as well as sued Univision but settled in February.

Late-1990s: Was sued by a woman in Florida for $125 million on grounds that he had sexually harassed her and pulled out of a deal when she didn’t respond to his advances in 1993. Trump has denied the claims and the case appeared to be later withdrawn.

1996-2015: Owned the Miss Universe Organization.During this time he’s been alleged to walk in to contestants’ dressing rooms while they were changing (even the teens), kissing contestants against their wishes, pitting women against each other, groping, and acts of humiliation to contestants who wouldn’t tow the line. Trump described walking in unannounced on nude or partially dressed beauty pageant contestants to Howard Stern, “You know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore I’m inspecting it… Is everyone OK? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible-looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that … I’ll go backstage before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else.”

1997: Allegedly sexually assaulted then Miss Utah Temple Taggart. According to her New York Times testimony, “‘He kissed me directly on the lips. I thought, ‘Oh my God, gross.’ He was married to Marla Maples at the time. I think there were a few other girls that he kissed on the mouth. I was like ‘Wow, that’s inappropriate.’”

1997: Allegedly sexually assaulted Cathy Heller at his Mar-A-Lago resort during a Mother’s Day brunch. According to the Guardian, she said that Trump, “took my hand, and grabbed me, and went for the lips” in front of her husband, children, and in-laws. She leaned back to avoid him and almost lost her balance. She claimed Trump angrily barked, “Oh, come on,” before he grabbed her again, went for the lips, and planted a kiss near her mouth after turning her head away. Heller was “angry and shaken” and didn’t know how to react. But said that Trump was “pissed” because he “couldn’t believe a woman would pass up the opportunity.”

1998: Allegedly sexually assaulted life coach and yoga instructor Karena Virginia. According to her, Trump approached her with a small group of men while commenting on her legs, grabbed her by the arm while she waited for a ride after the US Open in Queens, New York. She continued, “Then his hand touched the right side of my breast. I was in shock. I flinched. ‘Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who I am?’ – that’s what he said to me. I felt intimidated and I felt powerless.”

2003: Allegedly sexually assaulted Mindy McGillvray. According to the Palm Beach Post, “McGillivray, 36, said she was groped by Trump at Mar-a-Lago 13 years ago. She said she never reported it to authorities. But her companion that day, photographer Ken Davidoff, vividly remembers that McGillivray pulled him aside moments after the alleged incident and told him, ‘Donald just grabbed my ass!’”

2005: Talked to Billy Bush in a bus on Access Hollywood about aggressively kissing women, and how he, as a celebrity, can “grab them by the pussy.” He also discussed his pursuit of an unnamed married woman later revealed as the show’s former host, Nancy O’Dell. “I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married,” he told Bush. “And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’ I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.” Trump claimed it was locker room talk but this is worthy of attention. By the way, he later tried to get O’Dell fired while she was pregnant.

2005: Allegedly sexually assaulted People Magazine writer Natasha Stoynoff when she interviewed him and his wife Melania. According to Stoynoff, while Melania changed, Trump took her into another room. “Within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat,” she claimed. Later, he told her, “You know we’re going to have an affair, don’t you?” She told a colleague about it after the trip and thought about reporting it. But she wrote, “I was ashamed and blamed myself for his transgression. I minimized it (‘It’s not like he raped me…’); I doubted my recollection and my reaction. I was afraid that a famous, powerful, wealthy man could and would discredit and destroy me, especially if I got his coveted PEOPLE feature killed.”

2005: Allegedly sexually assaulted then Trump Tower-based real estate receptionist Rachel Crooks during an elevator ride with him. According to the New York Times, “Aware that her company did business with Mr. Trump, she turned and introduced herself. They shook hands, but Mr. Trump would not let go, she said. Instead, he began kissing her cheeks. Then, she said, he ‘kissed me directly on the mouth.’” Trump later asked for her phone number and that he wanted to give it to his modeling agency. Crooks told her then-boyfriend and sister as soon as it happened.

2006: Allegedly sexually assaulted adult film star Jessica Drake and her friends at his hotel suite at Lake Tahoe and offered her $10,000 for sex when she declined. Drake declined again.

2006: Allegedly sexually assaulted Miss Finland Ninni Laaskonen by grabbing her by the butt before the two were set to appear on David Letterman. She described,”He really grabbed my butt. I don’t think anybody saw it but I flinched and thought: “What is happening?” Someone later told her that Trump liked her because she looked like his wife Melania when she was younger.

2007: Shared a story in his book Think BIG and Kick Ass where he’s giving a speech in front of 20,000 people and is asked by an attractive woman if she could audition for The Apprentice. Trump called her up and asked if she’s ever cheated on her husband. She says she had but she’s never told him. Trump then advised her to hire a lawyer and sign a pre-nup as a divorce would likely ensue. This was featured in a chapter centering around the importance of pre-nups which Trump has some expertise in like two failed marriages and excessive adultery.

2007: Allegedly kissed, groped and thrusted against Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. She also alleged Trump made 2 unwanted sexual advances toward her, once at a bungalow where he kissed her open mouthed, grabbed her breast, and started thrusting his genitals. Trump denies this.

2010: According to CNN anchor Erin Burnett, she claims that Trump kissed one of her female friends in a Trump Tower boardroom that year. She said, “Trump took Tic Tacs, suggested I take them also. He then leaned in, catching me off guard, and kissed me almost on lips. I was really freaked out.” Trump later invited her friend to his office where he made further advances, gave her his cell phone number, told her she was special, and asked her to call him. The woman said she, “ran the hell out of there.”

2011: Grabbed and kissed former Miss Universe Australian Jennifer Hawkins onstage in front of thousands of people. Trump was allegedly angry with Hawkins thinking she slighted him by supposedly declining to appear with him at an event in Sydney. Afterwards, he told the audience, “Get even with people. If they screw you, screw them back 10 times as hard. I really believe that.” This was caught on tape and there is a video of it you can watch.

2013: Allegedly sexually assaulted then Miss Washington USA Cassandra Searles. In June 2016, Searles reportedly posted a photo of herself and Trump on her Facebook page saying, “Do y’all remember that one time we had to do our onstage introductions, but this one guy treated us like cattle and made us do it again because we didn’t look him in the eyes? Do you also remember when he then proceeded to have us lined up so he could get a closer look at his property? … Oh I forgot to mention that guy will be in the running to become the next President of the United States.” She later commented, “He probably doesn’t want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.”

2016: Allegedly charged in with child rape of a 13 year old girl for which there is an eyewitness and credible information to support the claim. The woman filing suit claims in 1994 she was enticed to attend parties with the promise of money and modeling jobs at the home of Jeffrey Epstein, after the man was convicted of misconduct with another underage girl. Anyway, she alleges that Trump initiated sexual contact with her on 4 separate occasions, with the 4^th being “savage sexual attack” in which he had her tied to a bed and forcibly raped her while she pleaded him to stop. He threatened that she and her family would be “physically harmed if not killed” if she ever told anyone. Epstein’s party planner was an eyewitness who wrote, “I am coming forward to swear to the truthfulness of the physical and sexual abuse that I personally witnessed of minor females at the hands of Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein . . . I swear to these facts under the penalty for perjury even though I fully understand that the life of myself and my family is now in grave danger.”

Government Money Shenanigans:

1970s-present: As of 2016, has received $885 million in New York tax breaks, subsidies, and grants for his apartment, hotel, and office developments in New York City. According to New York Magazine, Trump seems to have worked to extract as many incentives and exemptions as he could out of the New York government for his real estate projects through his and his father’s political connections. de Blasio and Giuliani administration veteran Alicia Glen characterized Trump as “probably worse than any other developer in his relentless pursuit of every single dime of taxpayer subsidies he can get his paws on.” For his first big development, the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Trump got a city record 40-year tax break for the $120 million project which has now cost the city $339 million in forgiven and uncollected taxes.

1970s-present: Structured his companies to allow him to have lucrative personal tax advantages while limiting his personal liability should the business go bad. According to the New York Times, Trump formed a partnership between himself and a corporation he wholly owned and created for this specific purpose. While many real estate had a similar structure, Trump played on a vastly different scale than most as his leverage was the stuff of legend. Once these partnerships were in place, Trump looked for financing. For instance, to purchase and finish construction on his Taj Mahal, Trump sold half a billion dollars in bonds (IOUs with interest) to individuals, companies, and banks. Yet, within its first year, Trump already started missing interest payments (as is the case since he used junk bonds). Yet, it wasn’t the only one of Trump’s businesses that hemorrhaged money. By the late 1980s, several of Trump’s casinos and properties suffered significant losses, the majority of which ended up on Trump’s tax returns. Trump turned these losses into personal gain through a Net Operating Loss or NOL in order to offset personal income losses for almost two decades. Yet, by then, his creditors stated forgiving his debt since they wanted to salvage what’s left of their investments. His forgiven debt which included the renegotiated bonds used to finance the Trump Taj Mahal which could be deducted from Trump’s personal NOL. So in order to avoid taxes on the forgiven debt and protect his NOL, Trump used a partnership equity for a debt swap that was actually closed by Congress. This was a move that even Trump’s lawyers said was legally dubious as well as made illegal in 2004.

1978, 1979, 1984, and 1995: Paid no federal income taxes. Though this doesn’t mean he paid federal income taxes in other years or has since 1995. These are the years we know he didn’t.

1980s: Cheated New York City out of nearly $2.9 million for his projects.

1980s-2000s: Sued mayoral administrations of Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani, and Michael Bloomberg for tax breaks totaling almost $173 million. $157 million were ultimately granted to Trump Tower and Trump World Tower with condominiums among the most expensive in the city.

1995-present: Has received special tax breaks and loopholes over his business failures in order to avoid paying federal taxes possibly for 18 years.

2000s: Took $150,000 from the Empire State Development Corporation which was designed to help small businesses after 9/11 when many of them were destroyed or went under. At the time, Trump’s 40 Wall Street building had suffered economically and employed fewer than 500 people. But the last condition was controversial, according to the New York Daily News who found that the program had “ignored the federal definition of a small business and adopted a much looser standard. The ESDC used employee counts…to determine whether applicants were small businesses. Federal law requires that the size category of the types of businesses most common in lower Manhattan—finance, insurance, real estate, and law firms—be determined based on annual revenue.” Local politicians were furious that they issued an open letter demanding that Trump return the money.

2013: Received a New York tax rebate available only to those who earned less than $500,000 annually, undercutting claims that he makes hundreds of millions in income. Trump later called the rebate an error.

Charity Scams:

1980s-present: Has made numerous claims on promising to give to charity in his promotions despite that media organizations have been unable to verify his claims.

1987-present: Though often promising to give to charity, his Trump Foundation has proven rather skimpy on the gifts over the years and when it has given, the money has often come from other pockets than Trump’s, including outside donors and even NBC. Most Trump Foundation donors made only one contribution between 2001-2014 and most don’t talk about it. Most of the donors were either working with Trump or received something from him around the same time he donated. It has also collected more than $600,000 from other charities. Its case involving a $25,000 donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has been under special scrutiny since she later dropped investigations over Trump University and Trump Institute shortly afterwards. Both Trump and Bondi said there was no quid-pro-quo but the donation was illegal and the foundation was fined. A Washington liberal watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics charges that other laws might’ve been broken as well. Basically, it can be well established that Trump has used is charity as a personal slush fund since reporters have found no abiding cause like disease and disorder research or a particular college. The Washington Post has also found that the Trump Foundation never had any legal authorization to raise funds as a charity.

1987-2008: Has only contributed $5.4 million of his own money to the Trump Foundation. Has not given since then. It’s a known fact that most of the Trump Foundation money comes from others though Trump tends to take personal credit for the organization’s gift giving. This isn’t normally seen when it comes to a rich person’s private charity. He’s also been known to attend charity events without leaving a check.

1988: Promised to donate $2 million made from advising Mike Tyson to charity through his foundation. But the Trump Foundation never received the donation. That same year, Trump promised to donate $50,000 he made from a Pepsi commercial to charity. Once again, his foundation posts no record of that donation.

1989-present: May have deliberately directed personal income owed to him toward the Trump Foundation in possible violation of tax rules. A September 2016 report from the Washington Post reported that Trump had previously directed others to divert $2.3 million owed to his organization as income to his foundation as donations, possibly to evade personal income taxes. And old Associated Press coverage suggests he may have done this as early as 1989. IRS rules prohibit individuals from diverting taxable income toward charities if they benefit directly from them. That is, unless the individual declares the income on personal tax returns which Trump still hasn’t released. This includes $1.9 million from Richard Ebbers who had bought goods and services from him, $5,000,000 from Vince and Linda McMahon from 2007-2009 after Trump had appeared in 2 WWE events, $400,000 from Comedy Central for appearing on a celebrity roast, $150,000 from People Magazine in return for exclusive photos of his son Barron Trump, $500,000 from NBC Universal in 2012 for hosting The Apprentice, and $100,000 from Donna Clancy whose family law office rented space in the Trump Organization Wall Street building.

1995-1999: Made a $50,000 each year through Trump Foundation funds to the National Museum of Catholic Art and Library. A 2001 Village Voice report claimed that after visiting the East Harlem museum, found that the facility contained, “next to no art,” and no official connection to the Catholic Church. This despite having a 10-year track record of soliciting large-scale donations for its collection. With the Washington Post, the Voice determined that Trump may have directed the grants to the museum to curry favor with its chairman Eddie Malloy who was also head of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. The organization worked on behalf of one of the workers’ unions who worked with Trump on construction projects.

2000s: Through Trump Foundation money, contributed at least $385,000 of grants to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since 2006. In response the, cancer institute has honored Trump variously as “Grand Benefactor” and “Grand Honorary Chair” at its annual fundraisers held at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. He may have also earned more money on the event fees it received from the institute than the Trump Foundation paid in grants since hosting high profile charity events there can cost as much as $300,000.

2001: Made a $10,000 pledge to the Twin Towers Fund on the Howard Stern Show, which was founded by then New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and later administered as part of the New York City Public and Private Initiative, “to benefit the families of firefighters and police officers who died in the attacks.” During the 2016 RNC, Giuliani claimed that Trump made “anonymous” donations after the September 11th attacks. Yet, such donations have never been identified. Giuliani also said in support of Trump’s candidacy, “Every time New York City suffered a tragedy Donald Trump was there to help,…. He’s not going to like my telling you this but he did it anonymously.” Maybe, but the New York City Comptroller’s office told the New York Daily News that it had manually reviewed “approximately 1,500 pages of donor records of the Twin Towers Fund and the related entity NYC Public/Private Initiatives Inc., containing the names of more than 110,000 individuals and entities that were collected as part of the audits” all through August 2012. According to the News, then Comptroller Scott Stringer “found that Trump and [the Trump Foundation] hadn’t donated a dime in the months after 9/11.” Yet, because the review period only covered one year after the attacks, the Comptroller’s office was “unable to conclude definitively” that Trump never gave to the fund after August 2002. Additionally, according to IRS Form 990 tax filings, the Trump Foundation made no grants to the Twin Towers Fund or to NYC Public/Private Initiative from 2002-2014. Though Trump may have personally made a donation after August 2002 which wouldn’t have shown up in the foundation’s records. He’s also made similar claims about contributing to the American Red Cross which have been unsubstantiated.

2004-2015: Despite being highly visibly praised for his generosity and frequent offers to donate to his contestants’ charities on The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice, he ultimately either directed the Trump Foundation to make a grant or had NBC Universal make the donation instead.

2005: Trump Foundation received $100,000 for work by Melania Trump on a Norwegian Cruise Line segment that was later included on The Apprentice.

2005-2014: Through Trump Foundation money, made various grants to other foundations without fulfilling IRS “expenditure responsibility” rules. By law, the Trump Foundation is responsible for ensuring that any grant it makes with another private foundation is strictly used for charitable purposes as well as required to attach full and detailed reports describing the grant money’s use to its IRS Form 990 tax return for each year a grant to a private foundation is made. Trump Foundation tax returns show that it failed to do this for all 20 grants it made to private foundations during this time which total to at least $488,500 and could be subject to significant fines and penalties.

2006: Contributed $1000 to the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Fund, which is a controversial Scientology program co-founded by Tom Cruise. This charity provided a “purification rundown” for firemen and others who inhaled toxins while working near the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center.

2007: Promised to make a $250,000 donation to Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces but didn’t.

2007: Wife Melania bid $20,000 on a 6 foot portrait of him created by a “speed painter” at a breast cancer fundraiser which as at Mar-a-Lago, using Trump Foundation money. Trump kept the painting which now reportedly hangs at one of his golf courses. If so, then according to tax experts, it could violate IRS rules against self-dealing. The Trump Foundation also paid $12,000 for a football helmet and jersey signed by Tim Tebow in 2012.

2007: Trump Foundation reported a $5,000 grant to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation before later claiming that it took the check back. The Chicago charity, however, claimed it never received the check from the Trump Foundation at all.

2007: Appeared at a Celebrity Fight Night Foundation fundraiser to benefit the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center in Phoenix, Arizona. According to the Organization’s spokesperson, Trump stipulated in return for his offering a New York-based dinner for himself and his appearance, that a share of the Parkinson’s charity share the total proceeds with the Trump Foundation. The Trump Foundation’s share amounted to $150,000 of auction proceeds that would’ve otherwise have gone to the center benefiting Parkinson’s Disease research. I’m sure the Trump Foundation money went to pay off some Trump lawsuit settlement at the time.

2007-2015: Eric Trump Foundation raised over $16.3 million through his charity golf tournaments, outings, and marathons with the proceeds meant to go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. According to two people directly involved with these events, in 2011, Trump “specifically commanded that the for-profit Trump Organization start billing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the nonprofit Eric Trump Foundation.” As CNN reports, “According to IRS tax filings, the costs for the golf invitational from 2007 to 2010 were approximately $50,000 per year. In 2011, that jumped to about $142,000. The 2012 golf invitational cost the foundation $59,000. Costs in 2013 again jumped to $230,000, and $242,000 in 2014, and $322,000 in 2015, its final year. It’s unclear why the costs went up and how much of that money went to the Trump Organization.” The Trump Organization took at least $1.2 million with part of it having no documented recipients while $500,000 of the money was donated to other charities, many of which were connected to Trump family members. It’s very clear that the Eric Trump Foundation was just another way for Trump to make money. Eric suspended operations of his foundation in 2016, by the way.

2008: Bought a $120,000 luxury trip with Trump Foundation money during a charity auction. It’s said that the Washington Post has confirmed that Trump has only donated $10,000 to charity within the last 7 years.

2010: Through Trump Foundation money, contributed $150,000 to the Palm Beach Police Foundation which led to Trump receiving the “Palm Beach Award.” Yet, money came from the New Jersey based Charles Evans Foundation and when those donations stopped, so did the Trump contributions to the police charity as well. Adding insult to injury, the Palm Beach Police Foundation has even held its “Police Ball and Auction” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach which paid $276,463 in rental fees in 2014. The 2014 tax form also lists $44,332 in unattributed “direct expenses” paid by the police foundation for the same event as well as $36,608 in “direct expenses” for its annual “Golf Classic,” which the police foundation also holds at the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago golf course each year. In fact, each year from 2010-2014, the police foundation’s public tax records show significant “direct expenses” incurred for bot the Police Ball and Auction and the golf tournament, though expense categories weren’t listed in filings.

2010: Through Trump Foundation money, contributed heavily to anti-vaxxer non-profit Generation Rescue which headed by actress, former Playboy model and fucking ignoramus bitch Jenny McCarthy (I really hate this woman). The anti-vaxxer cause is a dangerous one since it has encouraged parents not to vaccinate their kids which has led to outbreaks of measles and other diseases as well as put other children at risk. It’s also based on junk science of the vaccine-autism link that doesn’t exist. Furthermore, the anti-vaxxer movement also brands those on the autism spectrum as damaged individuals like it’s something parents should fear more than measles. In reality, having a child with autism is not nearly as bad as having a child with measles. At least autism isn’t contagious and doesn’t kill children. Besides, by the time autistic children are vaccinated, it’s most likely that they already have autism from the time they were born.

2010s: Through Trump Foundation funds, paid $158,000 to the Martin Greenberg Foundation as a settlement from a lawsuit brought by Greenberg against the Trump National Golf Club Westchester at Briarcliff Manor, New York. In it, Greenberg claimed he rightfully won a $1 million prize for scoring a hole-in-one in a 2010 charity golf tournament at the club. But the club denied the award on technical grounds, arguing the hole was shorter than 150 yards. To raise the money for the settlement, the Trump Foundation auctioned a prize of lifetime membership at Trump-owned golf courses with the winning bid bringing a $157,000 donation to the foundation. It’s likely the bid was above the actual membership value and the winner might’ve believed he was donating to the foundation for charitable causes instead of a lawsuit settlement to offset a payment at another foundation. In September 2016, the Washington Post reported that the Trump Foundation’s grant to the Greenberg Foundation was directly linked to the legal settlement, likely violating IRS self-dealing rules by using charitable funds to pay Trump’s personal and business obligations.

2012-2014: Through Trump Foundation, made grants totaling at $20,000 to a high school band and choir in return for performances at his resorts. The Palm Beach Post suggests that Trump may have benefited personally from this.

2013: Made a $5,000 grant with Trump Foundation money to the non-profit DC Preservation League. According to the Washington Post, the nonprofit’s support “was helpful” to the Trump Organization in obtaining the rights to convert the old Washington D.C.’s historic Post Office Pavilion into the Trump International Hotel, which has recently opened. The Trump Foundation’s ads in the event programs promoted Trump’s hotels, in violation of IRS self-dealing rules.

2013: Through Trump Foundation, donated $10,000 to the V Foundation, a cancer fighting group founded by former basketball coach Jim Valvano in return for the V Foundation fundraiser at his Trump Winery in Virginia.

2014: Purchased a 4-feet tall painting of himself from the 1990s at a charity auction with $10,000 of Trump Foundation money. A photo of this portrait was found on a Trip Advisor review of Trump National Doral Miami and later by a reporter from Univision who went to the club and asked various staff about the painting. The reporter eventually discovered it hanging on a wall at the golf resort’s Champions Bar & Grill restaurant.

2016: Held a fundraiser in Iowa for veterans’ groups which was launched as a protest event after he refused to attend the Fox News debate and raised less than the $6 billion he initially claimed. It is unlikely that Trump contributed $1 million of his own money which the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation hasn’t confirmed. Some groups have complained that they haven’t received their money yet. It’s likely that he’s committed fraud. Though he claims to be an “ardent philanthropist,” he’s actually only donated $3.7 million to his own foundation between 1990 and 2009 while WWE’s Vince and Linda McMahon have contributed $5 million to his foundation. Overall he’s said to only contribute a paltry $6.7 over the last 20 years. He ranks among the least charitable billionaires in the world.

2016: Directed $100,000 of Trump Foundation funds to the National September 11 Memorial Museum days before the 2016 New York primary where he was on the ballot, mischaracterizing foundation grant as a personal donation. May not be fraud, but it’s highly suspicious.

Lawsuits:

1970s-present: As of 2016, has been subject to numerous lawsuits including 79 branding and trademark cases, 6 campaign cases, 1,863 casino cases, 206 contract dispute cases, 130 employment cases, 61 golf club cases, 191 government and taxes cases, 13 media and defamation cases, 191 other cases, 695 personal injury cases, and 621 real estate cases. This makes 4,056 in all. USA Today has a whole article on it with graphs to show. You got that right.

1970s-present: As of 2016, has been named in 169 federal lawsuits.

1974: While being pursued by federal prosecutors for illegal housing discrimination against African Americans, admitted his company, “had been destroying their corporate records for the previous six months and had no document-retention program,” according to Newsweek.

1980s: Sued Julius and Edmond Trump who were trying to buy a chain of drug stores with their business being called, “The Trump Group.” This was mostly because they happened to be businessmen who had the same last name he did. Trump alleged that the two brothers were nothing but a pair of late arriving immigrants trying to piggyback on his good name. According to him, “Plaintiffs have used the Trump family name for 40 to 50 years in the New York area. More recently, the Trump Organization has come to stand for respectability and success across the United States. The defendants are South Africans whose recent entrance in the New York area utilizing the name ‘the Trump Group’ can only be viewed as a poorly veiled attempt at trading on the goodwill, reputation and financial credibility of the plaintiff.” This took 5 decades to resolve, it was thrown out.

1984: Sued a Chicago Tribune architecture critic for $500 billion for criticizing his plans to build a skyscraper in Lower Manhattan when he hadn’t even hired an architect yet.The case was dismissed.

1990: Named defendant in 21 lawsuits filed by different businesses and individuals, several on grounds of securities fraud and breach of contract. Most complaints stemmed from Trump’s corporation filing for bankruptcy from creditors following construction of the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City. According to The New York Times, the resort was $3 billion in debt.

1990s-2000s: Has sued Palm Beach 3 different times. In 1992, he sued membership club Mar-a-Lago for $100 million. The council gave in and allowed him to make some of his property into a private club. Has sued the Palm Beach Airport for noise violations and tried to prevent them from expanding near his private club. This legal fight cost Palm Beach taxpayers at least $600,000. The latest one was in the late 2000s which was featured on the Colbert Report. In this one, Trump sued Palm Beach for $25 million on grounds that the town cited him for displaying an American flag on his property on a pole that didn’t meet its standards (it was too tall). Trump told Politico, “The town council of Palm Beach should be ashamed of itself. They’re fining me for putting up the American flag. This is probably a first in United States history.” God, I really feel bad for this community.

1993: Sued wealthy financier and Jay Pritzker for civil racketeering over his family’s management of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City where they were equal partners.

1995: Trump Organization was sued by a building superintendent for false imprisonment, alleging Trump security guards assaulted his wife and child. He said he had information about financial improprieties at Trump buildings and sent his wife and 12-year-old son to pick up some relevant documents. But the lawsuit claimed the office they were in was broken into by a screwdriver: “Four men prevented Hatixbe Bajrushi and her son from leaving. Matthew Calamari, the hulking head of security, shoved the boy. Trump’s brother-in-law, James Grau, barked questions, demanding to know why they were there. Michael Nicoll, another guard, pushed them back when they tried to leave. Grau snatched her purse and passed it to Calamari, Nicoll, and Domenic Pezzo to rifle through.[…] Calamari threatened to harm the family if they spoke to police about what happened, according to the lawsuit. After 90 minutes, the police arrived and the Bajrushis were freed.” None of the security guards named in the lawsuit were charged. But FBI agents told Buzzfeed News that 2 of them were questioned as “persons of interest.”

1995-2003: Was sued by ex-wife Marla Maples’ personal assistant which was eventually dismissed. But not without accusations of nude pictures being sent to the tabloids and panty stealing.

2005-2009: Sued New York Times reporter Tim O’Brien for $5 billion over libel. This over O’Brien publishing a 2005 book Trump Nation in which he estimated Trump’s net worth at $150-$250 contrary to the billions he claimed earning ire from his subject. The suit was tossed but not without Trump saying that he estimates his wealth based on his mood on any given day, not his financial statements. Yet, O’Brien has mocked Trump’s current net worth claims while Trump has said on the campaign trail and in an interview with the Washington Post that he wants to make it easier to sue for libel. The Post combed through Trump’s deposition in the case and found 30 instances where he admitted to having lied. As of this year during the presidential campaign, Trump still hasn’t released his tax returns mostly because the public doesn’t care, according to him.

2005: Sued a casino by claiming his former co-worker had conspired against him. The defendants asked Trump’s team to turn over records if they could prove he knew about the deal before 2001, his case had no standing. Yet, despite extensive discovery requests, all that Trump’s team eventually turned over was just a small box of documents with no relevance to the lawsuit. A follow-up review found everything on any Trump company servers before 2001 had been deleted, according to Newsweek.

2006: According to USA Today, was court ordered to hand over several years’ worth of e-mails but claimed that the Trump Organization routinely erased e-mails and had no records from 1996-2001. The defendants said this amounted to destruction of evidence which was never resolved. A Trump IT director testified that Trump Tower executives relied on personal e-mail accounts through dial-up connection. Trump casino unit General Counsel Bob Pickus verified that claim saying, “Every year everything was just wiped out and deleted from pretty much everybody’s computers.” This despite that Trump launched a high-speed Internet provider in 1998 as well as announced that he’d wire his whole building with it. Another said Trump had no routine process of preserving e-mails before 2005. Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld told USA Today, “I was a bit incredulous that an organization of that significance doesn’t do email. I had heard a number of things in 24 years on the bench, but that stuck in my mind.”

2007: Sued law firm Morrison Cohen who represented him for several years over treating him as a cash cow because of fees it sought from him after it won a case where Trump claimed he’d been overcharged by a contractor for work on a golf course. Remember this is from a guy who has been reported to never pay his contractors or lawyers. The firm countersued Trump seeking an extra $470,000 in unpaid legal bills. He settled with an undisclosed sum.

2008: Sued Deutsche Bank and Fortress Investment Group, along with a long list of smaller lenders who were financing his 92-story Chicago hotel and condominium project. Earlier, Trump had personally guaranteed $40 million of Deutsche Bank’s $640 million construction loan but when the money was due, he asked for an extension citing the recession. They refused. In court documents, he condemned Deutsche Bank’s “predatory lending prices,” and partially blamed the global institution for causing the financial crisis, asking for $3 billion in damages. The bank countersued Trump for the $40 million that was promised. They reached an agreement in 2010 with the loan extended to 5 years.

2008: Sued Rancho Palos Verdes, California where he developed a golf course for $100 million in damages for allegedly violating his civil rights and defrauding him. The town’s annual budget is $20 million. The suit charges that the town had been delaying plans for adding 20 luxury grounds of Trump’s National Golf Course, while requiring stringent environmental and safety studies since the area is known to have landslides. But Trump insisted that the town has forced him to spend “millions of dollars on unnecessary, repetitive, unreasonable and unlawful geologic surveys.” He was also pissed that locals balked at renaming a highway Trump National Drive. The judge ruled against part of his claims by denying him permission to build the luxury homes, noting that such plans were never submitted to the city. But it has approved plans for another 36 homes.

2013: Sued comedian Bill Maher who offered on The Tonight Show to give Trump $5 million if he could prove that his father wasn’t an orangutan (as a spoof of Trump’s offer to give $5 million to charity if President Obama would release his records and applications for colleges and passports). Trump sent a copy of his birth certificate to Maher but the latter didn’t pay up. Trump would say, “He has not responded, and the reason he hasn’t responded is his lawyers probably tell him, ‘You’ve got yourself a problem.’” Maher would reply on his show, “Donald Trump must learn two things–what a joke is, and what a contract is.”

2013: Countersued New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for $100 million for malicious prosecution over bringing suit against Trump Institute and Trump University seeking $40 million in restitution for fraud and other violations. The counterclaim was dismissed 3 months later with permission to refile if Trump successfully defends himself against Schneiderman’s underlying pending suit.

Scams:

Mid-2000s: Involved in condo hotels, a pre real-estate crash fixation in which people would buy units they’d use for vacation but would be rented out as hotel rooms for the rest of the year with the developer and owner sharing a profit. For a variety of reasons, this turned out to be a terrible idea resulting in condo buyers suing over claims they were bilked. Trump’s role in the project is uncertain since he’s often sold his name rights to developers where he gets payoff and the aura of luxury the name imparts. But in some condo hotel suits, buyers complain that they bought these properties as investments because of his name only to realize he was barely involved. Trump has also been subject to complaints about his involvements in a multi-level marketing scheme. In Manhattan’s Trump SoHo, it turns out that Trump’s partners had a lengthy criminal past. Bayrock Group’s Tevfik Arif had been detained in Turkey on suspicion of running a high priced prostitution ring. This consisted of him setting up trysts between wealthy businessmen and Eastern European models, some underage aboard a $60 million yacht once used by the nation’s founder Ataturk. The police raid kind of plays like a scene from the first Taken movie. Felix Sater was a convicted stock swindler who had an associate show up in a court-ordered ankle monitor and escaped prison only by helping to convict 19 others, including 6 members of New York City’s crime families. Two associates served prison time for cocaine. Trump claimed he didn’t know this but settled the lawsuit with buyers and that the project was financed by questionable sources in Russia and Kazakhstan (though he didn’t admit to any wrongdoing). In Fort Lauderdale, Trump International Tower and Hotel went into foreclosure and Trump has sued the complex’s developer. In 2013, he settled a suit with prospective buyers who lost millions when a Baja Mexico development went under. Again, Trump blamed the developers, saying he only licensed his name.

2005-2010: Started Trump University, an online “university” to teach his real estate development secrets. Students spent up as much as $35,000, some after being suckered in by slick free “seminars” to learn how to get rich. One ad promised that they would “learn from Donald Trump’s handpicked instructors, and that participants would have access to Trump’s real estate ‘secrets.’” In reality, Trump had little to do with the curriculum or instructors while many “students” have since complained that Trump U. was a scam. Well, at one time it had some prestigious instructors but over time “the faculty” became a motley bunch of misfits. Also, it wasn’t really a “university” by any definition and would later change its name to the “Trump Entrepreneur Initiative” because the school just happened to violate New York law by operating without an educational license. The school shut down in 2010 but the litigation continues. Trump is now being sued by New York for bilking students out of $40 million and is subject to 2 class-action lawsuits in California. In the meantime, Trump has appeared to trying to intimidate plaintiffs, including countersuing one for $1 million (a favorite litigation tactic of his) and refusing to let her withdraw from the suit. While his lawyers have cited positive reviews, former students say they were pressured to give those. A set of damning internal documents were released under court order in May. And Trump decided to attack the judge, claiming that his Mexican ethnicity made him biased. Republicans would later repudiate him across the board while some have openly called him racist. There are lots of articles on this.

2005-?: While operating Trump University, franchised his name to Mike and Irene Milin who ran Trump Institute as well as were known serial operators of get-rich-quick schemes. Trump didn’t own company but instead, licensed his name, appeared in an infomercial, and promised that he would hand-pick instructors (like with Trump U). According to Jonathan Martin, Trump Institute’s course materials contained textbooks found to be plagiarized. The Milins were forced to declare bankruptcy in 2008 because of law enforcement investigations and lawsuits against their company. But Trump Institute continued on a few years afterwards. One of Trump’s aides said he was unaware of the plagiarism but claimed he stood by the curriculum.

2006-2015: Was spokesman for an investment telecommunications company called ACN where investors had to hand over a $500 sign-up fee and then build a consumer base of new investors in a pyramid scheme fashion. Obviously, the entire thing toppled over and investors lost hundreds of thousands of dollars while Trump walked away with millions. A 2011 episode of The Apprentice was devoted to hawking an ACN videophone which has since flopped. Today, ACN is regularly accused of operating a pyramid scheme by its disaffected sales associates.

2009: Franchised his name to the Trump Network which was already accused of being a multi-level marketing scheme pertaining to multivitamins while under Ideal Health. This involved customers mailing in a urine sample which would be analyzed for them in a specially formulated multivitamin package. The company fell on hard times within a few years, leaving some salespeople in tough financial straits. One single mother ended up losing her house and had her car repossessed in the middle of the night.

Suppression and Intimidation:

1990: Threatened to sue Philadelphia brokerage house Janney Montgomery Scott unless they fired gaming securities analyst Marvin Roffman over issuing a negative forecast for Trump Taj Mahal. The firm complied and fired him for “insubordination” but Roffman’s forecast was accurate. Roffman later founded a financial advisory firm the next year that ran more than $500 million by 2007 and now lives in a 40 room and 15,000 square foot mansion in Delaware. Yet, he later said, “But that doesn’t excuse the hell he subjected me to in 1990, sliming my reputation so much that I got fired and couldn’t find another job as an analyst. He acted viciously towards me because, I guess, he felt that I had personally attacked his brand. His image is all-important to him.” According to Barron’s, his life immediately after being canned was a living hell, especially when he sued his former employer for wrongful discharge and Trump for defamation and interference with his contractual relationship with his employment by threatening legal action if Roffman didn’t apologize for his Wall Street Journal remarks. He sought $2 million in punitive damages. Both cases would be settled after dragging on for months. Nevertheless, compared to a lot of Trump’s victims, Roffman was lucky.

1991: Suppressed an 80 – minute documentary called Trump: What’s the Deal? with threats of litigation to broadcasters and distributors. This is because the film painted a powerful and disturbing portrait of Trump as a financial Dorian Gray whose public image bears little resemblance to his conduct away from the cameras, including hiring actors for $50 each to applaud at his campaign announcement. While Trump presents himself as a businessman so skilled in deals as an art form, the film takes down this façade by showing him manipulating politicians and the criminal justice system, pocketing millions in taxpayer welfare, not paying people he hired, doing some of his biggest deals with mobsters, keeping a cocaine dealer as his helicopter pilot, and evidently benefitting from having his sister work in the Justice Department before being appointed as a federal judge. It even featured former advisors and employees describing furious tirades that no one, not even his family, could escape as well as how he lacks any real friends. Though Trump succeeded with suppressing the documentary, it’s now available online for those interested in watching it.

2009: An attorney named Kristopher Hansen called the FBI and reported receiving a threatening phone call from a man believed to be Trump’s bodyguard. At the time, Hansen represented a group of investors in Trump’s casino company, which was going bankrupt (potentially costing them $1.25 billion in defaulted debt). He told the local police that the caller threatened his wife and children: “My name is Carmine. I don’t know why you’re fucking with Mr. Trump but if you keep fucking with Mr. Trump, we know where you live and we’re going to your house for your wife and kids.” According to Buzzfeed’s Jason Leopold, the FBI found Hansen’s account credible enough that they gave him a portable recording device and asked him to record any other calls they got. Meanwhile, they traced the number showing up on Hansen’s BlackBerry to a Manhattan phone booth across the street from the theater that hosted The Late Show with David Letterman, where Trump taped an appearance a few hours after the call was made.

2011: Sent New York Times writer Gail Collins a copy of her column on his potential presidential run with “The Face of a Dog” written all over it.

2011: Threatened to sue rapper Mac Miller for his “Donald Trump” song with a music video that became a Youtube sensation. Between obscene lyrics, Miller vowed to “take over the world when I’m on my Donald Trump shit.” Trump wasn’t amused when the rapper sent him a wooden plaque honoring the song’s success. He tweeted to Miller “I’m now going to teach you a big boy lesson about lawsuits and finance. You ungrateful dog!” The rapper replied, “i’m not trying to put any negative energy into the world. @realDonaldTrump let’s be friends.” No suit has been filed.

2011: Threatened to sue MSNBC host Laurence O’Donnell who accused him of being worth less than $1 billion. Trump tweeted, “I heard, because his show is unwatchable, that @Lawrence has made many false statements last night about me. Maybe I should sue him?” He then went on to say he was substantially worth more than $7 billion with very low debt, great assets. O’Donnell replied that the threat was “awfully soft” for Trump and insisted, “I know his big secret, his biggest secret, and he knows that I know it: Donald Trump cannot afford to sue me.=”#45055857″>”

2011: An unnamed man approached porn star Stormy Daniels in a parking lot while she was with her infant daughter and implied she’d face bodily harm if she spoke about Donald Trump and their affair ever again: “a guy walked up on me and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.” And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.’ And then he was gone.”

2013: Threatened to sue Angelo Carusone, organizer of a campaign to get Macy’s to drop Trump as a celebrity spokesperson and remove Trump-branded products from its shelves. The petition claimed that Trump had “long engaged in sexist behavior” and “used his public platform to deny the reality of climate change.” In a letter, Trump’s lawyer accused Carusone of using “mob-like bullying and coercion” and informed him that if he failed to cease and desist, Trump would sue him for no less than $25 million in damages. However, he’d soon back out. But Carusone would get his wish in 2015 after Trump called Mexicans rapists and criminals.

Political Misdeeds:

1980s: According to a New York State report, Trump circumvented corporate and personal donation limits by contributing money to candidates from 18 different subsidiaries, rather than giving in his own name. Trump told investigators he did this on the advice from lawyers which wasn’t illegal. He also said the contributions were not to curry favor with business friendly candidates but to simply satisfy requests from friends. However, it’s apparent he was trying to curry favor with business friendly candidates since that’s why most business people contribute to political campaigns in the first place.

1990s: Promised an amusement park in Bridgeport, Connecticut that fell through after a bitter struggle with rival Steve Wynn, which resulted in him owing $300,000 in back taxes. This was forgiven by the mayor at the time if Trump would sell the land for $1. That mayor would later spend 7 years in prison on corruption charges.

1991: Was part of a determined and successful lobbying campaign to change several tax rules, including one that would let him use his NOL to offset all personal income. This cleared the way for Trump to avoid paying federal income taxes on ventures including The Apprentice for which Trump claims he was paid over $200 million.

2010: Donated campaign money to then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott who was also looking in to investigating Trump University. And like Bondi, Abbott decided not to pursue it mostly due to “political reasons” according to a former Texas official.

2010: Trump Foundation made a $10,000 donation to the American Spectator Foundation which is a nonprofit group that publishes the arch-conservative magazine of the same name as well as $5,000 to the Liberty Foundation which is an advocacy group run by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife.

2011: Through the Trump Foundation, made a $10,000 donation to the Palmetto Family Council, a group which opposes divorce, same-sex marriage, and abortion in South Carolina.

2012: Through the Trump Foundation coffers, made a $100,000 donation to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and $35,000 to Samaritan’s Purse. Both are Christian nonprofits run by Franklin Graham with the former being an advocacy group. When Trump proposed banning Muslims from entering the US late in 2015, Franklin Graham took to Facebook to defend him. Other conservative and religious groups have also been Trump Foundation grantees around the same time including the American Conservative Union, the anti-abortion group Justice for All, and the Texas-based evangelical ministry the Family Leader Foundation.

2013: Donated money to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s reelection campaign while her office was deciding whether or not to pursue a fraud case against Trump Institute and Trump University. Bondi dropped the investigation 4 days after the Trump Foundation contributed $25,000 to And Justice For All, which was backing her reelection. The Trump Foundation later recorded the incorrect recipient as the gift and later had to pay a $2,500 penalty to the IRS but even then didn’t recoup the money as required. I believe the correct term describing this transaction is a bribe. After that, a liberal watchdog group filed a complaint to the IRS accusing the Trump Foundation of using the charity to benefit a group’s leader. At the same time, Trump’s family gave more to her while Trump himself hosted a fundraiser at his Mar-A-Lago in Florida, charging less than market rate and less than he charged his own campaign to host events there. When this came to light in 2016, Trump moved $25,000 from his personal account to compensate his foundation and paid a $2,500 IRS fine. Trump Foundation representatives have said the contribution was made in error (yeah right).

2013: Trump Foundation donated at least $40,000 to the Drumthwacket Foundation a charity dedicated to preserving the New Jersey governor’s mansion and whose other donors have close ties to Chris Christie.

2013: Through the Trump Foundation, granted $10,000 to the Iowa-based The Family Leader which is a conservative Christian organization whose stated mission is to, “strengthen families, by inspiring Christ-like leadership in the home, the church, and the government.” Following the grant, its leader Vader Plaats invited Trump to speak at a leadership summit. These grants may have been illegal since The Family Leader is a 501(c)(4) corporation established to “develop, advocate and support legislative agenda at the state level” and not a charity. Thus, the Trump Foundation legally can’t donate money for non-charitable purposes. Though Trump may have intended to donate to The Family Leader Foundation which is listed as a 501(c)(3).

2013: Contributed $50,000 of Trump Foundation money to the American Conservative Union’s Conservative Political Action Conference or CPAC, to which he was invited to speak. In that same year, he was also invited to speak to the Economic Club in Washington DC after the Trump Foundation made a grant there.

2014: Trump Foundation made donation to the Moran Eye Center, a Utah hospital sponsoring Kentucky US Senator Rand Paul’s annual medical trips to Central America to perform eye surgery in poor and rural communities. Trump even sponsored one such trip to Guatemala.

2014: Made a $100,000 through the Trump Foundation to Citizens United, the infamous conservative group best known for a lawsuit that resulted in the US Supreme Court striking down many limits of the kinds of campaign donations Trump has criticized during his candidacy. This 2009 case permitted corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money backing political candidates. Even better, Citizens United was engaged in a lawsuit with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who was also pursuing a civil lawsuit against Trump University. Schneiderman’s office called this donation part of a vendetta by Trump while Citizens United has rejected claims between the donation and its own lawsuit against the New York attorney general. Schneiderman is currently investigating the Trump Foundation as we speak.

2015: Made a $100,000 donation through the Trump Foundation to Project Veritas, which is a charity run by conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe, infamous for his notorious character assassination of ACORN. In October 2016, O’Keefe released a video that purportedly reveals how Democrats incited violence at Trump rallies. During the third presidential debate, Trump claimed that the new videos O’Keefe produced and released that week proved that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama “hired people” and “paid them $1,500,” to “be violent, cause fights, [and] do bad things” at Trump rallies. Since we’re talking about James O’Keefe who’s been under fire by people claiming he smeared them, we shouldn’t take his claims seriously.

Presidential Campaign:

2015-2016: Has used his entire presidential campaign as an outgrowth to build and promote his personal brand. Has devoted speeches to attacking a judge in the fraud suit against his “university,” encouraging surrogates to do the same, and promising to relaunch the enterprise if elected. Celebrated Brexit which drove down the pound’s value and proved helpful for driving his visitors to his Scottish golf course. When asked if he would put his holdings in a blind trust, Trump replied he would but defined “blind trust” to mean that his children would run his business for him, which is not what a blind trust is.

2015-2016: May have directed money from the Trump Foundation to finance his presidential campaign.

2015-2016: Has spent millions of dollars in campaign funds for his businesses which accounts for 7% of the money going to various Trump venues, an aviation company he owns, Trump Tower for office space, his corporate staff, and various other vendors. Meanwhile, he’s been paid $1.6 million by the US Secret Service to travel on a plane owned by one of Trump’s companies.

2015: Campaign launches Make America Great Again PAC, a pro-Trump Super-PAC created by Stephanie Stephanie Cegielski which is financed in part by Ivanka Trump’s mother-in-law Seryl Kushner whose husband was a convicted Democratic financier Charles who was sentence to 2 years in prison on 18 federal charges. Cegieleski now believes Trump is mentally unfit for office and the Super-PAC is now defunct after 4 months in operation (though the group’s website is said to still be in operation as of March so the Super-PAC may still be active). Though the official excuse is Trump’s disavowal of Super-PACs, it was also facing scrutiny over suspect collaboration with Trump’s campaign office.

2015: Trump Organization’s general counsel sent a cease-and-desist letter to Right to Rise PAC which was a PAC for the Jeb Bush campaign. In it they preemptively warned that aired any misleading or defamatory ads against Trump, they’d be sued. RTR said it was a leadership PAC not a Super PAC and didn’t produce TV ads. RTR also filed a complaint against Trump with the Federal Elections Commission for allegedly violating election laws by using his corporate in-house counsel for campaign purposes. Trump has denied wrongdoing. The FEC confirms the complaint but declines to comment.

2015: Is sued by 5 men who demonstrated outside a Trump presidential campaign event at Trump Tower citing that his security staff punched them. They also allege that city police advised the security guards that the men were permitted to protest there. Several people videotaped the incident.

2016: Hired Corey Lewandowski as his campaign manager despite his relatively short resume. For a time, it seemed to work well until a Brietbart reporter tried to ask Trump a question after a press conference. Lewandowski reached out and wrenched her out of the way. Though the two insisted that the incident never happened and that Fields was “delusional,” witnesses and surveillance footage acquired by Jupiter Police from Trump National clearly show otherwise. Lewandowski was arrested for battery but the prosecutor didn’t press charges. Trump has said that he could’ve been in danger, since Fields’ pen could’ve been a bomb (for the love of God, this is just bullshit).

2016: Might’ve illegally offered Ben Carson a job after he dropped out of the presidential race.

2016: Found in FEC filings by the Daily Beast that his presidential campaign had spent more than $55,000 buying his own book, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. Meaning that Trump used campaign donations to buy a book, sending cash back to himself. Copies were also given to delegates at the Republican National Convention. According to campaign expert Paul S. Ryan, this maneuver goes against FEC rules as he told the Beast: “It’s fine for a candidate’s book to be purchased by his committee, but it’s impermissible to receive royalties from the publisher… There’s a well established precedent from the FEC that funds from the campaign account can’t end up in your own pocket.” The Huffington Post later discovered that Trump jacked up rent for campaign offices when he stopped funding his own campaign.

2016: According to the Huffington Post, there’s not yet publicly disseminated evidence that Trump misused New York City police officers to retaliate against his perceived enemies as well as to harass and threaten his opponents’ personal safety.

2016: Hired Paul Manafort as his campaign manager who has been known to offer his services to pro-Russian Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych and Philippines leader Ferdinand Marcos, both who were driven from power by popular revolution (with one infamously married to an avid shoe collector). Ukranian ledgers reveal that the Yanukovych regime paid Manafort $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments. Manfort has also lobbied for Saudi Arabia, a Bahamian president suspected of narcotics trafficking, and a former Angolan rebel leader accused of torture. And he has been well compensated with his firm said to accept clients who’d pay $250,000 a year as a retainer.

2016: Recruited Roger Ailes as a campaign adviser after he was forced to resign as CEO of Fox News over sexual harassment allegations from dozens of women. According to these women, Ailes’s behavior was positively monstrous. But what you might not know is that Ailes’s abusive and predatory actions toward women were so well-known and so loathsome that the folks in the Nixon administration refused to allow him work there in 1969. This is despite playing a key role in getting Nixon elected. The Nixon administration was responsible for Watergate.

2016: Quintupled rent charged to his campaign for using Trump Tower between March and July, despite it having fewer paid staff in the latter month. It’s obvious that Trump has raised the rent once his campaign has been financed primarily by outside contributions rather than the candidate himself. The Wall Street Journal has reported that 17% of Trump’s campaign spending has gone to companies linked to himself, his children, or to reimburse their travel expenses.

2016: Is endorsed by US Representative Chris Collins who becomes his first congressional backer. Yet, a new report suggests that he only did so because state party and bigwig Trump ally, Carl Paladino blackmailed him by threatening to deploy his vast political resources against him. He also aggressively pushed and threatened Republicans on New York’s delegation to Congress and its state legislature to support Trump. Basically he did this by writing in an open letter, “This is our last request that you join ‘Trump for President’ and try to preserve what’s left of your pathetic careers in government.” In addition, he threatened Republican delegates to the 2016 RNC if they didn’t vote for Trump as pledged, “I don’t trust our entire delegation (…) I’d certainly whack them if they went off the reservation.”

2016: Received first campaign donation from Aon Corp. Newman Team CEO, Pamela Newman who has also gave money to Trump’s Super-PAC and hosted a fundraiser dinner for him. Trump’s campaign in turn paid Aon $300,000 for insurance.

2016: Ran an Op-Ed in a Northern Marianas newspaper ahead of the territory’s primary which was virtually identical to a piece Ben Carson wrote a few days prior.

2016: Threatened to sue Ted Cruz to reverse the Iowa Caucus results due to him allegedly making misstatements about Ben Carson leaving the race. He then repeatedly sued to have Cruz declared constitutionally ineligible for the presidency because he’s not a “natural born citizen.” To be fair, Cruz was born in Canada but since his mother was born in the US, he certainly qualifies.

Miscellaneous:

1989: Faked a near death experience to get front page headlines after a tragic helicopter accident kills 5 including 3 Trump executives. He claimed that he was supposed to be on that helicopter but changed his mind at the last minute.

1996: Already struggling Trump Hotels and Casinos is offered a boost from the Hard Rock chain owner the Rank Group by proposing an investment in Trump’s Castle that would’ve helped reverse declining fortunes for the company. This consisted of Rank proposing purchasing a 50% interest in as much as $350 million and valuing the property at $180 million more than what Trump paid for it. All Rank wanted was to rebrand the property simply as Hard Rock. Any sane business person in Trump’s position would take this deal. But not Trump who backed out at the last minute because he wanted his name to stay on the property and that it be renamed Hard Rock at Trump’s Marina. Rank walked and the Trump Hotel stock price continued to dive. Trump later told Fortune magazine that he remembers nothing about negotiations with Rank.

2000s: Though he did give an eloquent defense of New York’s response during 9/11, has ignored pleas to help 9/11 first responders pass the James Zadroga Act reauthorization which set up a healthcare fund for police, firefighter, and other rescue workers. Several other candidates had but Trump remained silent despite receiving multiple letters and calls from the Citizens for Extension of the James Zadroga Act, according to ABC. One of the group’s board members told the network, “I’m mortified that he can stand in front of the nation and wrap himself in a flag.”

2000: Starred in a Playboy soft-core porn. Though not illegal, it’s not something that puts him in a decent light.

2003-?: According to Newsweek, Trump Hotels wiped, “the data from everyone’s computers every year,” according to Newsweek. Lawsuits show that Trump and his companies regularly delete e-mails and other records since the very beginning.

2006: Bought an estate at Balmedie, Aberdeenshire in Scotland and built a golf course, against the wishes of locals. Trump promised the town his golf course project would create 6,000 jobs but later admitted, it only produced 200.

2007: Advised investors to buy “Subprime Mortgages At A Discount, And Repossessed Houses At Low Prices.” According to NBC, “The subprime mortgage crisis alone caused millions of Americans to lose their homes, but that same Globe and Mail piece reports Trump was ‘advising investors that there are now great deals in buying subprime mortgages at a discount, and repossessed houses at low prices.’”

2012: Despite his claims on sheltering thousands of people at Trump Tower after Hurricane Sandy, he was required by law to do so with the Trump Tower lobby having a 350 person capacity. No one has backed up his claims.

2015: Claimed in a financial statement that he’s given away $102 million worth in land but never supplied any information as to what this land is. My guess it’s probably some real estate on Middle Earth.

2015: In a financial statement, claimed an income of $362 million which was later determined as gross revenue and his actual income is likely one third of that.

2015: Claimed that he saw people jumping from the World Trade Center from his apartment even though Trump Tower is located more than 4 miles from the site. So it’s dubious at best.

2016: Though regularly boasts being worth $10 billion, a Fortune analysis estimated it’s likely between 1/3 and ½ that amount.

For more:

http://thejoshuablogs.blogspot.com/2016/08/heres-proof-of-donald-trumps-failures.html– this features a list of links from various sources such as The Washington Post, USA Today, PBS, Rolling Stone, Associated Press, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and other reputable sources. You’ll find plenty of information backing up my claims right here. Feel free to look.

http://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/– Lists everything you want to know about Trump’s lawsuits.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/donald-trump-scandals/474726/– A rough cheat sheet from The Atlantic on Trump’s scandals. It’s one of my main sources. And yes, they have links an sources to prove it.

http://www.vox.com/2016/10/12/13265206/trump-accusations-sexual-assault – Lists all of Trump’s sexual assault allegations so I don’t have to.

America Needs to Dump Trump

Posted by historymaniacmegan on May 24, 2016

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I know that I’ve been trying to avoid this subject for some time since it pertains to politics within an election year. But since Donald Trump is now the presumptive GOP nominee for president, I can no longer keep my mouth shut, not only as a Catholic social justice liberal but as an American citizen. I know people won’t like what I have to say about this, especially among my friends and family. Yet, I think my opinion on this situation is what Americans need to hear. Like many people, when Donald Trump announced his candidacy, I laughed it off thinking he probably won’t last very long since I found the idea simply preposterous. However, once people started taking him seriously and voting, his candidacy stopped being funny very quickly for me. In fact, he’s what John Oliver would call him as “America’s black mole,” because, “It may have seemed harmless a year ago, but now that it’s become frighteningly bigger, it’s no longer wise to ignore it.” The idea that people would vote for this clown despite being such an embarrassment and national disgrace to this country with all the nasty stuff he’s said just scares the living shit out of me. I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind ever voting for this guy and I thought the American people knew better than to vote for a guy I clearly see as nothing but a complete fraud whose support is based on spectacle and telling what people want to hear even if it means resorting to outright bigotry and denigrating the ideals this country stands for. Despite the slogan, Trump isn’t the candidate who’d make American great again. He’s a guy who’d make America anything but great and possibly have liberals like me view the George W. Bush administration with nostalgia. And that presidency was a disaster with 9/11, two wars in the Middle East, Enron, the Plame Affair, Hurricane Katrina, tax cuts for the rich, the 2008 crash, No Child Left Behind, and more. To me, Donald Trump is an electoral fungus with cotton candy hair whose campaign represents the US at its worst. He is a spoiled and selfish brat and an unapologetic bully who I have absolutely no respect for not only as a candidate for president, but also as a human being. He is a man I cannot trust. Nor is he a man I think sets a good example for our country. And it’s because of these reasons and more I don’t believe that Trump should ever be president.

Donald Trump’s rallies have attracted a considerable turnout during primary season no matter how outlandish, ridiculous, and offensive he gets. Sure he’s a celebrity and a reality show host. But even before he ran for president I thought him as a complete turd. And I don’t understand why anyone could even support a candidate who has proven time and time again to be nothing but.

As you might’ve heard, the bulk of Trump supporters include working class whites who show up to his rallies in record numbers. Many of them tend to feel ignored by the politicians in Washington as well as feel that they’re in desperate situations with downward spiraling lives. I admit that working class whites haven’t had it very good since the 1980s with outsourcing and deindustrialization causing the loss of good jobs that were replaced by new ones that barely paid the rent as well as blighted cities. Not to mention, many of the jobs that replaced the ones that went are poverty level and non-union. Yes, I feel for these people and I’m very aware that they’ve been screwed by big corporations and Wall Street. I also understand why many working class whites tend to blame the poor and minority groups, which Donald Trump greatly exploits. However, what working class whites are actually doing is shooting themselves in the foot by embracing Trump and all he stands for.

Whenever I see signs like these on people’s properties, I tend to wonder why on earth would anyone want to support this guy. I know many of Donald Trump’s supporters are working class whites, but still I keep asking myself that question. I can find nothing about this guy that suggests he’s presidential material or even a decent human being. And yet, no matter how many contemptible things he’s said, he’s somehow popular that people vote for him. This makes me sick.

Yes, I know working class whites are hurting and I feel for them. But so are minorities who are in the same situation with racism and discrimination to boot. Many of them work the degrading jobs for the same wages are just as equally unhappy with their situation as their white counterparts. Many undocumented immigrants have it just as bad, if not worse. While many people tend to criticize poor blacks for going on welfare, we should accept that there are plenty of working class whites on public assistance as well. And a lot welfare recipients white and minority alike have jobs, sometimes more than one. While there’s said to be a lot of crime and drug use in the inner cities, you can also say the same in rural Appalachia. Working class whites might see similar disadvantaged groups as “the other” as different from them and see anything that aims to support their interests as something to oppose. However, what working class whites need to realize is that these people of color aren’t much different from them, especially in their economic situations. As someone descended from working class whites, I see the poor and racial minorities as my brothers and sisters as well as support movements like Black Lives Matter and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, not just because it’s right and a way to stay true to my faith. But also that a lot of policies benefiting racial minorities also help poor and working class whites. And American history is full of examples to support this. Reconstruction not only expanded suffrage to African Americans but also to Southern whites who weren’t able to vote before the Civil War. It was also a time when both blacks and whites in the South first had access to public schools as well. You have the West Virginia mine wars during the early 1900s where black and white miners alike fought for the right to unionize as well as better wages and working conditions and an end to unfair company practices. Then there’s union organizer Walter Reuther’s support for the Civil Rights Movement and his marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. since both saw the causes of civil rights and economic justice as intertwined. And the fact that these two ideas are intertwined with one another should be a reason why working class whites should support Black Lives Matter and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Here we have the super rich superdick at a rally in Mobile, Alabama among cheering crowds which make me cringe. Seriously, I thought the American people were better than to support a guy like Donald Trump. The guy is a complete prick and a sleaze on top of that. Why the hell could anyone seriously support this guy as president? I can’t understand this.

It’s a shame that many working class whites are willing to accept the economic status quo that’s screwing them, support men like Donald Trump, and blame their downward spiraling lives on the poor and people of color. I know it may not be something working class whites might not want to hear but even though I sympathize with their plight, the bigotry, xenophobia, and racism that many embrace has got to go. All what embracing Trump’s racist rhetoric does for working class whites is make them look like a bunch of ignorant rednecks supporting a candidate against their own best interests as well as makes the powers that be not take their concerns seriously. Yes, I know that many of these voters are unsettled by cultural and demographic change, but the US has been through this before and it’s nothing to be worried about. I know many of these people are unsettled over Obama’s ongoing transformation of the US as something no longer recognizably American. But previous generations have faced the same thing under other presidents and responded to backlash against changes the exact same way. What these people see as “recognizably American” either never really existed or was much shittier than you remember. I’m sorry but I don’t want to live through another Bush administration. Even though Obamacare isn’t Universal Healthcare and flawed, at least it’s better than what we had before and I do not want to go back to the old system. The fact that the Democratic Party supports rights for women, LGBT people, and racial minorities is not their problem. Their main problem is their tendency to compromise and downplay their sacred principles in favor of much needed campaign contributions from wealthy donors and corporations, especially thanks to Citizens United. This is especially true when it pertains to Democratic principles pertaining to labor rights, corporate regulation, health and safety, taxing the rich, and environmental protection. But I have to admit that Barack Obama has been a good president for this country and I’d hate to see him go. At least Democrats support policies like free pre-K, affordable childcare, equal pay for women, and paid leave. Not to mention, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are both viable candidates in their own right and I can see why anyone reasonable would support either of them.

Many people support Trump because they think he “tells it like it is.” If so, then how come Politifact has no true statements on his file? Not only that, but they made him Liar of the Year for 2015. Kind of shows what a phony he is.

I’ve often heard that many Donald Trump supporters believe that he’s not afraid to tell it like it is or be honest. I find that hard to believe since I’ve long known him to be a spoiled rich brat who’s a shameless opportunist and self-promoter. If there is any candidate in this election who has the guts to tell it like it is, my money is on Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders and I can understand why so many people love him for it. Sanders might be a self-described democratic socialist but he mostly believes what he says and has a pretty good idea on what he wants to do if he’s elected president with plenty of detailed policies to back it up. If I saw a herd of working class whites fill a stadium at a Bernie Sanders rally, I wouldn’t question their judgement since Sanders seems like a guy who supports policies that benefit the little guy. Of course, he’s not perfect, his policies may not be realistic, and doesn’t have a chance in hell to win the Democratic nomination, but at least his appeal to many Democrats makes a lot of sense.

This painting of Donald Trump is by someone from San Francisco. It depicts the wretched presidential candidate holding money in one hand, making a Nazi salute with the other, and having a pile of shit coming out of his mouth plopped onto the US. I think it shows the idea I’ve long suspected in that Trump is full of shit.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, is mostly speaking to people’s frustrations and anxieties by telling them what they want to hear. Telling people that the way to “make America great again” is to deport 11 million people with ease isn’t “telling them like it is.” It’s lying on multiple levels. He also talks about how his standing as a “businessman” makes him an “outsider.” So unlike traditional politicians in Washington who are bought and paid for, he “can’t be bought.” However, we have to acknowledge that Trump has been a member of the 1% his entire life who wouldn’t be the man he is today if he wasn’t born into one of the wealthiest families in the country. Sure big money in politics is a major problem and the notion of politicians being bought and paid for by wealthy donors is part of how Washington conducts business as usual. Yet, understand that Trump is a massive hypocrite who’s bought and paid for politicians himself. Despite what he claims, he’s not funding his campaign all by himself for he probably has his share of wealthy backers. So he’s very much part of the political establishment. But even if most lawmakers were controlled by their contributors, the idea Trump could somehow move our system through sheer force of un-bought will is utter crap. It constitutes much of his candidacy’s Big Lie: never mind the policy details, never mind the separation of powers, and never mind the profound disagreements between the parties. Everything will be easy and terrific. Except in politics, accomplishing anything in politics is everything but easy and terrific. He’s not telling you like it is. He’s telling you like it isn’t. When he’s telling it like it is, he’s really conning people into voting for him by telling them what they want to hear or what will entertain them. He’s playing for an audience by appealing to voters’ frustrations, insensitivities, and other unsavory emotions. He is not like you. He cares nothing about you for all Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. You are his potential pawn to be used to get what he wants. His candidacy is only a reality show based on the public image he’s created and cultivated for decades that’s all spectacle that satiates a bloodlust and structured insanity. But behind that façade, there’s very little substance. While most presidential candidates typically draft detailed policies that they intend to pursue if elected, Trump has released very few. All the things he said he’d do just sound like simplistic bullshit by a guy who seems completely unconcerned about the implications in order to accomplish them. All delivered with the kind of maniacal overconfidence that’s seen as almost delusional. He not only lies his ass off but doubles downs on those lies. He denies long established facts most people accept even by experts in their field such as that New Jersey Muslims weren’t cheering on 9/11, vaccines don’t cause autism, Obama was born in the US, and global warming isn’t a hoax perpetuated by China to close US factories. Furthermore, it’s widely said that Trump doesn’t understand how government operates, advisers or no advisers. His foreign policy team has been described as “a collection of charlatans.” In debates, it’s been revealed that he didn’t know what a nuclear triad was (it’s a doomsday force of land based missiles, long range bombers, and submarine-launched missiles that the President can order if the US is attacked). Nor did he know that China wasn’t a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership which is intended to counter the country’s economic influence. Not to mention, Trump has been known to change his political views like one would change their socks. This is not what you’d want in a presidential candidate.

Here’s a Twitter chat between Donald Trump and Coach Clint Swan about the Boston Marathon bombers and the Central Park 5 (black and Hispanic teenage boys who were falsely accused and falsely convicted of raping and attacking a jogger along with a few others in 1989. It was a gross miscarriage of justice that was mired in racial discrimination, emotional distress, and malicious prosecution). This shows that Trump is a very insensitive jerk and his racism is nothing new. What an asshole.

As for his public image, Donald Trump has built it around a bully persona pertaining to bombast, bluntness, and offending people. Unfortunately, it turns out that a lot of primary voters are attracted to jerks as long as their vitriol is directed toward the right people, even if it means inciting violence against protestors at his rallies. His supporters cheer when he insults immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, women, other politicos, POWs and even the occasional Fox News host (but not in a good way at all). His supporters will tell you that he doesn’t bow to political correctness. Maybe, but perhaps he should. They’d also tell you that Trump says what people wish they could say. If by “people,” you mean “racists,” since Trump isn’t afraid to call Mexicans criminals and racists, promises to kick every Muslim out of America, ridiculed a reporter for being disabled, called POWs losers for getting captured, and said of a black protestor, “Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.” But only those from the white supremacy and white nationalists groups who back him are willing to admit that he’s the voice they always wanted since he’s mainstreaming such bigotry throughout the race, especially when many of his supporters believe in the notion of “white racism” which doesn’t even exist. And it doesn’t help that Trump hesitated to disavow David Duke and the Klu Klux Klan. But the closet racists of the country know what they believe in is ignorant bullshit who don’t want to risk becoming pariahs for exposing their bullshit. His bully persona has also made him exceedingly popular with people who believe he represents American ideals, especially the American promise of success being represented by great wealth (I’ll get to this later), which is troubling. The fact that millions of people are seriously willing to vote for this fuckwad as president disturbs me even more. Now I don’t expect my politicians to necessarily be saints. But I do wish that they’d have some capacity for basic human decency in public appearances.

However, we have to acknowledge that Donald Trump is an exceptionally shitty human being whose capacity for basic human decency is practically non-existent. He’s a trust fund baby with an aggressive competitive drive, an ego the size of Texas, and an inability to take criticism or a joke despite that he’s a walking and talking cartoon character. He’s a bully who takes any attacks against him and jokes at his expense personally and with a vicious streak. One woman was kicked off of Last Comic Standing because she made fun of Trump’s hair. He even threw a hissy fit over some magazine talking about his tiny hands. Really? Throughout his life he has continually asserted his sense of spoiled rich kid superiority with only the barest hint of doubt. He’s a thriced-married serial philanderer who treats the women in his life as objects, is well-known to make women uncomfortable around him, and openly admitted on national TV that he wants to bang his daughter. Yes, he said this. He’s a draft dodger who called John McCain a loser for being a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 5 years. His name is synonymous with success defined by wealth and luxury that wouldn’t have been possible if he wasn’t a trust fund baby who received an Ivy League education on his family name. Though he claims to be a successful businessman, he is anything but (I’ll get to this later). He has no class and wants to beat and grind adversaries to the ground. And no matter how much offensive, divisive, and destructive his rhetoric can be, he’s never ashamed, he’s never humble, he’s never gracious, and never apologizes. As for friends, well, he’s openly praised Vladimir Putin calling him “a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond” despite that Putin is highly feared and known to leave a trail of invaded countries and dead journalists. And it doesn’t help that his penchant for being an unrepentant asshole with a goofy toupee that it’s no wonder he’s been referred by Jon Stewart as “Fuckface Von Clownstick” as well as such a complete joke of a man that comedians find him so irresistible to mock. The fact Trump’s voracious hunger for fame, wealth, and power combined with his hideous muppet hair and morally bankrupt personality just gives the comics more ammunition to mock him. In short, he’s not a guy you’d want your child to look up to since he sets a very poor example to children since he makes Richard Nixon look like a boy scout. Fuckface Von Clownstick, indeed.

While Donald Trump often says he’s a great businessman, he’s had a string of business failures seen here. While Trump often tries to brad his name as high class, it has repeatedly come to mean shoddy work, half-baked schemes, and sketchy characters. This is from a conservative website by the way.

Another thing that you hear from Donald Trump supporters is notion that Trump would make a good president because he’s a good businessman. However, not all great businessmen make great politicians and vice versa. Besides, while the goals for business are to make money, the goals of government are far more complex so being CEO of a major corporation is nothing like being President of the United States. And contrary to his claims, Trump is not a great businessman. Yes, he wrote The Art of the Deal that doesn’t mean he’s a great businessman. After all, some people from write relationship advice despite being shitty in relationships. But deal making and promotion are only part of being a successful businessman. And I’m sure these two aspects Trump masters beautifully. But he’s not a great operator and most business usually consists of overseeing day-to-day details that require the attention. Trump usually leads the running and operating on locations to managers he hires. Day-to-day details don’t interest him. His Atlantic City casino ventures went bankrupt 4 times and was forced to sell his other businesses like Trump Airways all of which employed thousands of people (Rolling Stone lists 13 of his business failures in all). In his offices, there are 2 or 3 floors at Trump Tower that might have 40 or 50 people in them. Sure he’s wealthy now. But that’s because he inherited a lucrative family business. And he only achieved real success when he turned from real estate development to franchising his name for other developers’ projects. That and his ethically questionable business practices. His for-profit Trump University is now being investigated for fraud. His earnings may be smaller than he says they are. His name on offerings like furniture, neckties, steaks, magazines, alcohol and other beverages, air travel, board games, fragrances, telecommunications, mortgages, and more which is said to stand for high class, high quality, and high cost. But a lot of these ventures failed and Trump is partially responsible for that. Thus, in practice the Trump brand has often repeatedly stood for half-baked schemes, shoddy work, and sketchy characters. Now thanks to him calling all Mexicans rapists and criminals, Macy’s has discontinued his line of menswear that it carried for 11 years and whose ties I’ve sorted during the 2014 Christmas season for a measly $8 an hour. Despite that Trump likes to brag about his success as a businessman, he is not a self-made man nor a man you’d trust to run your business venture. If Trump has refused to release his tax returns, chances are that he’s probably not as rich and successful as he makes himself out to be. And if he’s not interested in the day-to-day details of running his business, he’s probably not going to be interested in the day-to-day details of running the US Government. At the end of the day, he’s not the successful businessman but a trust fund baby who got really lucky.

Here’s a diagram from the Onion on Donald Trump’s latest casino bankruptcies listing the reasons for their failure. And yes, it acknowledges that Trump inherited most of his money.

Finally, the main reason why Donald Trump should be president has to do with the fact that most Americans who know him don’t like him even within the Republican Party and his hometown of New York City. As a celebrity, he’s more of a guy most people love to hate and make fun of as a joke. That is until he ran for president and people started taking him seriously as a candidate. As a blogger and a liberal Democrat, I am free to say what I want about Trump and not get the short end of the stick. The Donald doesn’t know who I am. And if he gets angry on what I say about him, it’s just going to make him look like an idiot since I’m just a small-time blogger with a small following. But others don’t have the same luxury. If you pay attention, you might be aware that the Bush family and Mitt Romney don’t like him at all. The Koch brothers don’t care for him either and decided not to back him for now. The National Review did a piece on why Republicans shouldn’t vote for him. Noted pundit Glenn Beck has steadfastly opposed Trump saying, “I don’t want my children to look at that man and say, ‘Yeah, he’s my President.’ I won’t have that. I will not endorse it, I will not tolerate it.” This is coming a guy who had his own show on Fox News that made him notorious for crazy antics that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert mercilessly mocked until he was fired from the network. Nebraska freshman Senator Bob Sasse has even written a long Facebook post explaining he’s not backing Trump as well. Radio host Erick Erickson decided not to endorse Trump, because he’d rather, “put my country before my party and decline to help the voters in this country commit national suicide.” Leon Wolf from Redstate even went further saying that while he thinks Hillary would make a terrible president, he genuinely believes that she’d be way better than Trump.

This is a poll from Suffolk University and USA Today on what words best describes Donald Trump. Despite his own delusional self-grandeur, most people think the man is a jerk. This isn’t what you want in a presidential candidate.

Politicians who’ve had decided the back Trump, have only been willing to do so for the “good of the party” since he’s the presumptive nominee. Or back in the primaries, he’s the frontrunner and probably want Trump to do something for them, don’t want to be seen supporting Hillary Clinton, or feel their jobs depend on it. Take Chris Christie for instance whom Stephen Colbert likened to “a best man at a wedding he doesn’t believe in” when he endorsed the guy. John McCain has also endorsed him despite how Trump said that he’s not a war hero because he got captured in Vietnam. McCain would go on to say that Trump owed former POWs and their families an apology because these guys have dealt with a lot of shit. But McCain’s endorsement is understandable because he’s in a tight reelection battle in Arizona. But a private recording reveals he’s not happy about it and thinks backing him will hurt his chances. New Hampshire US Senator Kelly Ayotte says she’ll support him but not endorse him since she’s also in a tight reelection battle. I’m sure this means, “I’m playing it safe because I don’t want to alienate my GOP supporters in the primary but I don’t think endorsing the guy is going to help me in November.” Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval is another guy who’s backing him but only for the good of the party. Yet, he’s clearly not a fan and doesn’t plan to attend the convention. Finally, we have South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham who said the day when Trump won Indiana, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it.” This guy hates Trump so much that he even endorsed Ted Cruz despite previously likening the choice between the two as one between being poisoned and being shot. Recently, CNN has reported Graham has privately urged donors to unify around him though he hasn’t really endorsed him publicly yet. Guess it’s for the good of the party.

Here is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie behind Donald Trump after he endorsed the guy for president. Notice the look on his face. Is that a look of an enthusiastic supporter? No.

Then there are those who are undecided like Speaker Paul Ryan who I liken as a hypocrite and whose Ayn Rand inspired ideas libertarian economics are appalling, insensitive, impractical, and insane. But in this election, it’s hard not to feel sorry for him. Though he has intended to support whoever’s the GOP nominee in the past, he has admitted that he’s not prepared to back Trump-yet. “To be perfectly candid with you, I’m just not ready to that at this point. I’m not there. I hope to, and I want to,” he said on CNN. It should be apparent that Ryan is lying his ass off as if he’s a kid when his mom asks him whether he’ll support her decision to marry Mr. Douchebag. In reality, Ryan hates Trump’s guts and really doesn’t want to endorse him for president. He’s said that his party needs “a standard-bearer that bears our standards.” And it’s clear that the House Speaker doesn’t think Trump is the guy he has in mind. Otherwise, Ryan would’ve kept true to his promise once Trump clinched the nomination. But he can’t speak his mind and tell Trump to stick it because he simply can’t afford to since he’s in a tight primary congressional race with an opponent who’s already endorsed him. It doesn’t help that he’s House Speaker (a job he didn’t even want) and is the highest ranked elected GOP leader in the country. If Ryan decides to back Trump, it will be because he doesn’t want to lose his job. And he will back the man only when he absolutely has to, most likely at the Republican National Convention. Nevertheless, I can easily imagine Ryan having an effigy of Donald Trump in his office that he periodically uses as a punching bag and constantly swears at. As of now, Trump’s nomination has put him in a no-win situation where he’s stuck with either endorsing a nominee he thinks makes his party a joke at the cost of his personal integrity or possibly alienating his Republican constituents in his Wisconsin district who can vote him out of office and end his political career.

Here’s House Speaker Paul Ryan from Wisconsin after meeting with Donald Trump. Ryan said the meeting went well but he’s still not ready to endorse him. In reality, Ryan despises Trump and really doesn’t want to endorse him. In the end he may not have other choice if he wants to save his career since his primary opponent is a known Trump supporter.

Look, I know that many of you may not like Hillary Clinton for various reasons. I know she’s not a likeable person. I know she has a lot of baggage as a politician and public figure. And I know that many people in this country fundamentally don’t like her. However, we have to accept the fact that despite her many faults, there’s no doubt that Clinton is qualified for the job, has realistic and coherent policy ideas, and has proven herself reasonably competent in every political position she’s had. And when it comes to listing all the US presidents on the wall at your kids’ school, you’d probably be okay with her being on it, eventually. You may not think much of her or even agree with her ideas. Even at her worst, she still looks like the better choice for president than Donald Trump. In fact, you could probably say that a spilled can of antifreeze or a steaming pile of dog shit are better choices than Donald Trump. Many might say that Clinton is corrupt, untrustworthy, inconsistent and hypocritical. But she has proven herself to be a serious presidential candidate not once, but twice. If she’s elected, chances are you won’t need to explain to your kids why most Americans voted for her even if you didn’t. Hillary may not make the best president, but I can guarantee you that if Trump’s in the White House, expect him to be an epic disaster.

Here’s a cartoon of Donald Trump if he was at a job interview for the presidency. Note that his resume doesn’t make him seem like he’s presidential material. Doesn’t look good.

You can’t say any of that about Donald Trump. But one thing is clear, the man is a complete fraud and a conman as well as a wretched human being most people hate. He has risen to become the GOP nominee in the 2016 presidential race through soundbites filled with racism, sexism, xenophobia, turning his campaign into an empty spectacle, and inciting violence. But at the same time he has failed to show that he’s qualified or even serious about the job and what it entails. Elections aren’t reality shows. They are political events where we choose leaders and representatives to make laws and policy decisions that affect our lives. Presidential elections are serious business that our country can’t afford to elect a clown like him to the White House. If there’s any good reason why even the most conservative Republican should vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, it’s that she takes this election seriously and is more likely to exercise the presidency with the kind of decorum, respect, and dignity Americans deserve from a leader 0f the free world. And if you take this election and the politics seriously, then she is the candidate you should support regardless of what you think of her or your political ideology. I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow. But if you’re an American who loves your country and cares retaining at least a shred of dignity on the presidency after Obama leaves the White House in January, you’d have to be a complete idiot to support Donald Trump. Sure he may be entertaining and might say things you’d want to hear, but he’s not the kind of man who should be leading the country.

This is a mural by a guy in New York City. It’s of Donald Trump as a steaming pile of shit. I think it’s a realistic portrait, well, from a certain point of view.

US State Mount Rushmore: Part 10 – Virginia to Wyoming

Posted by historymaniacmegan on April 26, 2016

Well, we’ve come to the last post in our series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have compiling it. I tried to do the best I could even though I might’ve copied and pasted from Wikipedia on some occasions. Well, on a lot of occasions. Well, anyway, in this final selection, I give you the Mount Rushmores I’ve arranged from Virginia to Wyoming. From Virginia we’ll meet 4 Founding Fathers consisting of 3 presidents and a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In Washington State we’ll meet a guy known for “Purple Haze,” an Indian you’d mistake for a major city, a famed stripper with a mom from hell, and a Japanese civil rights activist who tried and failed. From West Virginia we have a major early civil rights leader who was quite the manipulative bastard, an eccentric Confederate general, a lady who founded a major holiday, and a decorated lady war hero who’d put Audie Murphy to shame. In Wisconsin we’ll meet a witch hunting senator with a drinking problem, your great-grandpa’s Bernie Sanders, a guitarist whose influence is still felt in the music industry, and a controversial suffragette. Last but not least we come to Wyoming where we’ll get to know a famed artist who paints like a kindergartner, the first woman summoned for jury duty, a lady justice of the peace, and the first white guy to visit Yellowstone National Park.

46. Virginia

Who knew that a young man who started a major world war by bungling a diplomatic mission would eventually be seen as a father to his country? While it’s said that George Washington couldn’t tell a lie, in reality he had established his own spy ring during the American Revolution who used double agents during the Battle of Trenton and was an expert in misinformation.

Figure 1: George Washington– First President of the United States from 1789-1797, Founding Father, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and presided over the convention that drafted the current US Constitution that during his lifetime was called the “father of his country.” Widely admired for his strong leadership qualities, he was unanimously elected president in the first two national elections. His administration oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the French Revolutionary Wars, suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. And his presidency established many precedents, still in use today, such as the cabinet system, the inaugural address, and the title Mr. President. His retirement after 2 terms also established a tradition that lasted until 1940 when FDR won an unprecedented 3^rd term and later inspired the 22^nd Amendment that now limits the president to 2 elected terms. Gained prominence at 22 as a senior officer in the Virginia militia when he bungled up a diplomatic mission on the banks of the Ohio that was way above his expertise (as well as possibly doomed from the start since it mostly consisted of him telling the French to get out) and accidentally started the French and Indian War, a major global conflict between the British and French over colonial possessions that lasted for 9 years. In 1775, he was commissioned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army of the American Revolution. In that command, he forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the middle of winter, he defeated the British in two battles (Trenton and Princeton), retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. His strategy enabled Continental forces to capture two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. While lauded for his selection and supervision of his generals, preservation and command of the army, coordination with the Congress, with state governors and their militia, and attention to supplies, logistics, and training, he was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with large armies. Resigned as commander-in-chief after victory was finalized in 1783. Presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787 which devised a new form of federal government for the US. As president, he worked to unify rival factions in the fledgling nation. Supported Hamilton’s programs to satisfy all debts, federal and state, established a permanent seat of government, implemented an effective tax system, and created a national bank. Avoided war with Great Britain by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 despite intense Jeffersonian opposition. Though supported Federalist policies, he remained nonpartisan. His Farewell Address was an influential primer on civic virtue, warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars. His use of national authority pursued many ends, especially the preservation of liberty, reduction of regional tensions, and promotion of a spirit of American nationalism. Upon his death, he was eulogized by Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Revered in life as in death he is almost always consistently ranked among the top 3 presidents in American history.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that among these, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” – from the Declaration of Independence (1776)

Figure 2: Thomas Jefferson– president from 1801-1809 who was a Founding Father known as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence as well as a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from Great Britain and form a new nation. Produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national level. Besides drafting the Declaration of Independence during the American Revolution, he drafted the law for religious freedom as a Virginia legislator and served as a wartime governor. Was US Minister to France in 1785 and served as the country’s first Secretary of State under George Washington. With Madison, he organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the First Party System and anonymously wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798–1799, which sought to embolden states’ rights in opposition to the national government by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts. As president, he pursued the nation’s shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies. But the highlight of his administration was organizing the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of the US. Yet, he reduced the size of the military and began a controversial Indian removal process in the newly organized Louisiana Territory. Second term was beset with difficulties at home such as Aaron Burr’s trial and American trade being diminished with the Embargo Act as a response to British threats to US shipping. Yet, is ranked by historians as among the greatest US presidents. Was a renaissance man who mastered many disciplines which ranged from surveying and mathematics to horticulture and inventions. Proven architect in the classical tradition and designed his dream house Monticello. Besides English, was well versed in Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and Spanish. After his presidency, he founded the University of Virginia. Was a skilled writer and correspondent with his only full length book Notes on the State of Virginia being considered the most important American book before 1800 and more than 18,000 wrote letters of political and philosophical substance during his life.

Though only standing at 5'4" weighing around 100 pounds as well as being exceedingly shy and wearing black all the time, James Madison played such a pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution that he's often credited as its primary author. As president, he also led the US through a major war without suspending civil liberties, attacking minorities, or expanding presidential powers. Considering how other wartime presidents handled conflicts, this is very impressive.

Though only standing at 5’4″ weighing around 100 lbs as well as being exceedingly shy and wearing black all the time, James Madison played such a pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution that he’s often credited as its primary author. As president, he also led the US through a major war without suspending civil liberties, attacking minorities, or expanding presidential powers. Considering how other wartime presidents handled conflicts, this is very impressive.

Figure 3: James Madison– president from 1809-1817 who was a political theorist and statesman hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” and “Father of the Bill of Rights” for his pivotal roles in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Was one of the most active participants during the Constitutional Convention who spoke numerous times, convinced George Washington to attend and preside, kept a diary of the convention’s proceedings as well as came up with the Virginia Plan that included representation based on population and is seen as the US Constitution’s first draft. His role in drafting the US Constitution was so important, that he’s often credited as its primary author. After the Constitutional Convention, he became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify the Constitution both nationally and in Virginia. Collaboration with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton produced The Federalist Papers among the most important treatises in support of the Constitution. While he initially favored a strong national government during constitution deliberations, he later preferred stronger state governments, before settling between the two extremes late in his life. In 1789, he became a leader in the new House of Representatives, working closely with Washington, drafting many basic laws and is noted for drafting the first ten amendments to the Constitution thus, earning him the nickname “Father of the Bill of Rights.” Broke with the Federalist Party in 1791 to organize the Democratic-Republican Party with Jefferson as well as later drafted the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions arguing that states can nullify unconstitutional laws. As Jefferson’s Secretary of State, he supervised with the Louisiana Purchase and was a party in the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison. As president, he presided over renewed prosperity for several years. After failures of diplomatic protests and a trade embargo against Britain, he led the US into the War of 1812 which was an administrative morass, as the US had neither a strong army nor financial system. At one point, he and his wife Dolley had to flee the White House because the British torched the place along with the rest of Washington D. C. He afterward supported a stronger national government and a strong military, as well as the national bank, which he had long opposed. And his chief accomplishment after his presidency was preserving the Constitution and holding the nation together through the nation’s first major war without suspending civil liberties, attacking minorities, or expanding presidential powers, which is very impressive. After his presidency and Jefferson’s death, he was appointed head of the University of Virginia, a position he held for 10 years until his death.

John Marshall may not have been the first Chief Supreme Court Justice but he’s very much responsible for shaping the US Supreme Court and the judicial branch as it is today. His ruling on Marbury v. Madison established the process of judicial review. Why we don’t talk about him more in schools I have no idea.

Figure 4: John Marshall– Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801-1835 whose court opinions helped lay the basis for United States constitutional law and possibly the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches. As longest-serving Chief Justice and the 4^th longest-serving justice in U.S. Supreme Court history, he dominated the Court for over three decades and played a significant role in the development of the American legal system. Most notably, he reinforced the principle that federal courts are obligated to exercise judicial review in, by disregarding purported laws if they violate the constitution in Marbury v. Madison. Thus, he cemented the position of the American judiciary as an independent and influential branch of government. His court would go on to make several important decisions relating to federalism, affecting the balance of power between the federal government and the states during the early years of the republic, particularly repeatedly confirming the supremacy of federal law over state law, and supporting an expansive reading of the enumerated powers. Of course, some of his decisions were unpopular but he built up the third branch of the federal government, and augmented federal power in the name of the Constitution, and the rule of law. Through his actions he gave the US Supreme Court the energy, weight, and dignity of what many would say is a third co-equal branch of the U.S. government and brought to life the constitutional standards of the new nation. His influential rulings reshaped American government and made the Supreme Court the final arbiter of constitutional interpretation. Wrote a 5 volume biography of George Washington and defended the legal rights of corporations by tying them to individual rights of stockholders on property, which might’ve set some negative precedents down the line.

47. Washington

“Purple haze, all in my brain/Lately things just don’t seem the same,/Acting funny, but I don’t know why,/’Scuse me while I kiss the sky.” – from “Purple Haze” (1967)

Figure 1: Jimi Hendrix– rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter who, although his mainstream career only spanned 4 years, is widely recognized as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20^th century. Began playing guitar at 15, and served as a US Army paratrooper with an honorable discharge, he began playing gigs on the chitlin’ circuit which earned him a place in the the Isley Brothers’ backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. Was discovered by Linda Keith when he moved to London in late 1966. Within months, he achieved 3 top ten hits in the UK with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” and “The Wind Cries Mary.” Achieved fame in the US after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. As the world’s highest paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia at the age of 27. Inspired musically by American rock and roll and electric blues, he favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in utilizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amplifier feedback. Helped popularizing the use of a wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, and was the first artist to use stereophonic phasing effects in music recordings. Despite his hectic touring schedule and notorious perfectionism, was a prolific recording artist who left behind numerous unreleased recordings. Influence is evident in a variety of popular music formats, and has contributed significantly to the development of hard rock, heavy metal, funk, post-punk, and hip hop music.

Okay, maybe calling Gypsy Rose Lee a stripper is like calling Frank Sinatra a saloon singer, but her striptease routine made her one of the most theatrical entertainers of her time. Today, she’s better known for the musical about her legendary stage mother from hell.

Figure 2: Gypsy Rose Lee– burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act who was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy. After a childhood of living with a definitive stage mother from hell and her better talented sister June Havoc, she soon discovered that she could make money in burlesque. Initially it’s said that her act was propelled forward when a shoulder strap on one of her gowns gave way which caused her dress to fall to her feet despite her efforts to cover herself. Encouraged by the audience’s response, she went on to make the trick the focus of her performance. Her innovations were an almost casual strip style compared to the herky-jerky styles of most burlesque strippers (she emphasized the “tease” in “striptease”), and brought a sharp sense of humor into her act as well. Became as famous for her onstage wit as for her strip style and was one of the biggest stars of Minsky’s Burlesque where she performed for 4 years and was frequently arrested in raids. During the Great Depression, she spoke at various union meetings in support of New York laborers and it’s said that her talks were among those that attracted the largest audiences. Made 5 films in Hollywood as Louise Hovick but her acting was generally panned so she returned to New York City. Viewed herself as a “high-class” stripper, and approved of H. L. Mencken’s term “ecdysiast”, which he coined as a more “dignified” way of referring to the profession. Authored a mystery thriller in 1941 called The G-String Murders and Mother Finds a Body in 1942. Supported of the Popular Front movement in the Spanish Civil War and raised money for charity to alleviate the suffering of Spanish children during the conflict.

Chief Seattle was a prominent figure among his people who pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers. However, we’re not really sure what he said in that highly publicized speech.

Figure 3: Chief Seattle– Duwamish chief who was a prominent figure among his people known for pursuing a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with “Doc” Maynard. Has a widely publicized speech arguing in favor of ecological responsibility and respect of Native Americans’ land rights attributed to him but what he actually said has been lost through translation and rewriting. Earned his reputation as a leader and a warrior at a young age, ambushing and defeating groups of tribal enemy raiders coming up the Green River from the Cascade foothills, and attacking the Chimakum and the S’Klallam tribes living on the Olympic Peninsula. When his people were driven from their traditional clamming grounds, he met with “Doc” Maynard in Olympia where they formed a friendly relationship useful to them both. By persuading the settlers at the white settlement of Duwamps to rename their town Seattle, Maynard established their support for his people and negotiated relatively peaceful relations with the tribes.

Takuji Yamashita may not have been very successful in challenging unjust laws against Asians regarding citizenship, joining a profession, or owning land. But his arguments in front of the Washington State Supreme Court were certainly solid. It was only due to the judges’ racism that he wasn’t able to practice law or own property.

Figure 4: Takuji Yamashita– civil rights campaigner who in spite of social and legal barriers, directly challenged three major barriers against Asians in the United States: citizenship, joining a profession, and owning land. Immigrated from Japan to the US as a child where though he graduated from Tacoma High School in 2 years, received a law degree at the University of Washington, and passed the state bar exam with distinction, couldn’t practice law due to his country of national origin. He appealed, but the State Supreme Court unanimously ruled him ineligible to be an American and unable to practice law. Entered legal waters again when he appealed an alien land law prohibiting Asians from owning property only for Washington’s attorney general maintaining that in order for Japanese people to fit in, their “marked physical characteristics” would have to be destroyed, that “the Negro, the Indian and the Chinaman” had already demonstrated assimilation was not possible for them. Though the US Supreme Court heard the case, it was denied. Later managed restaurants and hotels in Seattle and Bremerton and an oyster business in Silverdale until WWII where he and his wife were interned and lost everything they had. Returned to Japan in 1957 where he died less than 2 years later.

48. West Virginia

“In any country, regardless of what its laws say, wherever people act upon the idea that the disadvantage of one man is the good of another, there slavery exists. Wherever, in any country the whole people feel that the happiness of all is dependent upon the happiness of the weakest, there freedom exists.”

Figure 1: Booker T. Washington– educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States who was the dominant leader in the African-American community between 1890 and 1915. Was from the last generation of black American leaders born into slavery and became the leading voice of the former slaves and their descendants who were newly oppressed in the South by disenfranchisement and the Jim Crow discriminatory laws enacted in the post-Reconstruction Southern states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Based was the Tuskegee Institute, he gave a speech, known as the “Atlanta compromise,” which brought him national fame. Called for black progress through education and entrepreneurship, rather than trying to challenge directly the Jim Crow segregation and the disenfranchisement of black voters in the South. Mobilized a nationwide coalition of middle-class blacks, church leaders, and white philanthropists and politicians, with a long-term goal of building the community’s economic strength and pride by a focus on self-help and schooling. Was challenged by black militants in the North, led by W. E. B. Du Bois who set up the NAACP in 1909 to work for political change as well as tried with limited success to challenge Washington’s political machine for leadership in the black community but also built wider networks among white allies in the North. Yet, he also secretly supported court challenges to segregation and passed on funds raised for this purpose. Mastered the nuances of the political arena in the late 19th century, which enabled him to manipulate the media, raise money, strategize, network, pressure, reward friends and distribute funds while punishing those who opposed his plans for uplifting blacks which earned him the nickname the “Wizard of Tuskegee.” His long-term goal was to end the disenfranchisement of the vast majority of African Americans, who still lived in the South. Historians are divided on whether to call him a visionary civil rights leader or a political boss.

Though Stonewall Jackson was kind of eccentric, he was nevertheless among the most formidable Confederate generals during the American Civil War. Shortly before his death due to friendly fire, Robert E. Lee once said of him, “You are better off than I am, for while you have lost your left, I have lost my right arm.”

Figure 2: Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson– Confederate general during the American Civil War and the best-know Confederate commander after Robert E. Lee. Military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under Lee. His Valley Campaign and his envelopment of the Union Army’s right wing at Chancellorsville are studied worldwide, even today as examples of bold and innovative leadership. Excelled as well in other battles such as in the First Battle of Bull Run where he received his famous nickname “Stonewall,” the Second Battle of Bull Run, and the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. But he wasn’t a universally successful commander, however, as displayed by his late arrival and confused efforts during the Seven Days Battles around Richmond, in 1862. Was rather eccentric as well as a religious fanatic who disliked fighting on a Sunday but that didn’t stop him from doing so who also wrote tender letters to his wife. But that doesn’t stop military historians considering him to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in US history. Unfortunately, during the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, Confederate pickets accidentally shot him which resulted in his arm being amputated and dying of pneumonia 8 days later. His loss was a severe setback for the Confederacy, not only affecting it’s military prospects but also the morale of its army and the general public. In death, he became of Southern heroism and commitment, and later a mainstay in the pantheon of the “Lost Cause.”

Though she never married or had children of her own, Anna Jarvis is widely seen as the founder of Mother’s Day. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t take commercialism into consideration.

Figure 3: Anna Marie Jarvis– founder of Mother’s Day in the US. Inspired by her community organizer mother’s Sunday school prayer: “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.” 3 years after her mom died, she held a memorial ceremony to honor her mother and all mothers at her church which is today the International Mother’s Day Shrine marking the first Mother’s Day observance. In the ensuing years, she embarked upon a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday, spending significant amount of time writing to countless business executives, church groups, and politicians at the state and national level to promote the commemorative day. She was so involved in the process that she quit her job to incorporate the Mother’s Day International Association (MDIA) in 1912 to encourage national and international recognition of the day. The soon holiday spread throughout every U.S. state and numerous foreign countries, including Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, and throughout South America and Africa. In 1914, her persistent efforts would pay off when President Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday. However, she wasn’t happy with how the day she saw as a sentimental holiday ended up falling to the excesses of commercialism which she should’ve foreseen.

In her nearly 30 year career as a US Army nurse, Colonel Ruby Bradley served in both WWII and Korea with great distinction whether it be surviving a Japanese prison camp or almost getting blown up. She is said to be the most decorated woman in military history.

Figure 4: Ruby Bradley– one of the most decorated women in US military history who entered the US Army Nurse Corps as a surgical nurse in 1934 and was serving at Camp John Hay in the Philippines when she was captured by the Japanese army 3 weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Was moved to Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila in 1943 where she and several other imprisoned nurses earned the title “Angel of Fatigues” from fellow captives. For the next several months, she provided medical help to the prisoners and sought to feed starving children by shoving food into her pockets, often going hungry herself. As she lost weight, she used the room in her uniform for smuggling surgical equipment into the prisoner-of-war camp where she assisted in 230 operations and delivered 13 babies. Only weighed 86 lbs when Americans liberated her camp in 1945. Also served in the Korean War as Chief Nurse for the 171st Evacuation Hospital. During a 1950 Chinese counteroffensive, she refused to leave until she had loaded the sick and wounded onto a plane in Pyongyang while surrounded by 100,000 advancing Chinese soldiers and was able to jump aboard the plane just as her ambulance exploded from an enemy shell. The next year, she was named Chief Nurse for the 8^th Army where she supervised over 500 Army nurses throughout Korea. Was promoted to colonel in 1958 and retired in 1963.

49. Wisconsin

Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy is perhaps one of the most insidious figures during the Cold War who ruined countless lives and careers through his accusations of Communism. When a a lawyer named Fred Fisher was among his targets, his employer Joseph N. Welch responded, “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness… Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

Figure 1: Joseph McCarthy– US Senator from Wisconsin who, in 1950 became the most visible public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion. Noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere. However, his tactics and inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate. Name coined the term, “McCarthyism” in 1950 in reference to his practices, which was applied to similar anti-communism and witch hunt activities which ruined so many people’s lives. Today it’s more generally referred to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents. But the term also works in his case since he used various charges of communism, communist sympathies, disloyalty, or homosexuality to attack a number of politicians and other individuals inside and outside of government. Fortunately, by 1954 with the highly publicized Army-McCarthy hearings, US Senator’s suicide, and Murrow making an ass out of him, his support and popularity faded and was censured by the US Senate, making him one of the few to be disciplined in this fashion. Remains a very controversial figure with his share of defenders. However, while most historians agree that while there was some degree of Soviet espionage in the US at the time, they believe that his actions ultimately harmed Anti-Communist efforts more than helped. Is always depicted in a negative light and deservedly so.

Though a Wisconsin politician, Robert La Follette had a national impact on the US political process by introducing the direct primary. Before he came along with his Wisconsin Idea, political candidates were usually selected by party bosses who usually ran the elections.

Figure 2: Robert LaFollette Sr.– politician who served as governor and US Senator Wisconsin as well as ran for president carrying his own state and winning 17% of the vote. But he’s best known for being the Bernie Sanders of his day who’s been called “arguably the most important and recognized leader of the opposition to the growing dominance of corporations over the Government” and is seen as one of the greatest politicians in US history. Was a proponent of progressivism and a vocal opponent of railroad trusts, bossism, WWI, and the League of Nations. Championed numerous progressive reforms, including the first workers’ compensation system, railroad rate reform, direct legislation, municipal home rule, open government, the minimum wage, non-partisan elections, the open primary system, direct election of U.S. Senators, women’s suffrage, child labor laws, social security, consumers’ rights, and progressive taxation. As governor, he created an atmosphere of close cooperation between the state government and the University of Wisconsin in the development of progressive policy, which became known as the Wisconsin Idea with policy goals including the recall, referendum, direct primary, and initiative which were aimed at giving citizens a more direct role in government. As US Senator, he opposed the prosecution of Eugene Debs and played a key role initiating the investigation of the Teapot Dome Scandal during the Harding administration. While a brilliant orator given to periodic bouts of “nerves, he made many enemies, particularly for his opposition to WWI and defense of free speech during war time. And a lot of his ideas were met with considerable opposition to some of his ideas, even within his Republican party. Published the ten-volume The Making of America.

Les Paul musical innovations have had a profound influence on the recording industry. Though more popularly known as creating an electric guitar and his career with then wife Mary Ford, he also experimented considerably with multitrack recording.

Figure 3: Les Paul– jazz, country, and blues guitarists, songwriter, luthier, and inventor who’s best known as one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, which made the sound of rock and roll possible. Also credited with many recording innovations as his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention. Innovative talents also extended to his playing style including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. In the 1950s, he recorded with his wife Mary Ford, selling millions of records. Is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where he’s prominently named on its website as an “architect” and a “key inductee” along with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed. Only person inducted in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

“Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to race, sex, color or creed has his or her own inalienable and unpurchasable voice in government.”

Figure 4: Carrie Chapman Catt– teacher, superintendent, and women’s suffrage leader who campaigned for the 19^th Amendment as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association where she increased the size of the organization and fundraised many dollars as well directed NAWSA to support the war effort during American entry in WWI which shifted the public’s perception of the suffragettes in their favor. Nevertheless, her tactics in order to achieve women’s suffrage weren’t without controversy since she sometimes appealed to the prejudices of the time. But some historians consider her stance on women’s rights to be representative to white women only as well find some of her arguments and remarks to be racist. Also founded the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. In 1933, she organized a protest committee of 9,000 non-Jewish women who sent a letter of protest to Adolf Hitler decrying acts of violence and restrictive laws against German Jews as well as pressured the US government to ease immigration restrictions to benefit more Jewish refugees. In 1940, she organized the Women’s Centennial Congress to celebrate the feminist movement in the US.

50. Wyoming

With his style of drip painting, Jackson Pollock one of the best known artists in the abstract expressionist movement. However, whether you’d call what he did art is entirely up to you.

Figure 1: Jackson Pollock– influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement well known for his style of drip painting. A major artist of his generation, he enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety who was regarded as a recluse, had a volatile personality, and struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. His work has been subject of important critical debates on whether it should be considered art or something created by an adult man that could be easily copied by a 5-year-old.

Eliza Stewart Boyd was the first woman in the US to serve on a jury in 1870 Laramie, Wyoming. Nevertheless, I think this photo is unflattering but it’s the only one of her I could find.

Figure 2: Eliza Stewart Boyd– teacher who became the first woman in America ever selected to serve on a jury when her name was drawn from a March 1870 voters’ roll to serve on a grand jury which was convened later that month in Laramie. After the grand jury was convened, 5 other women made history becoming the first women in the world to serve on a trial jury. This was made possible since Wyoming’s first territorial legislature granted women full equal political rights even though they still couldn’t vote for president when the territory achieved statehood. Would also be the first woman in Wyoming to be nominated to run for the Territorial legislature but she declined for unknown reasons.

Though she only served a term of 9 months in Wyoming’s South Pass City, Esther Hobart Morris achieved distinction as the first American woman to be appointed justice of the peace. She would later have a role in the women’s suffrage movement.

Figure 3: Esther Hobart Morris– first US woman justice of the peace in 1870 in South Pass City, Wyoming where she was appointed to fill after the last guy resigned in protest over the then territory’s passage of the women’s suffrage amendment the previous December. Served a term of less than 9 months where she ruled on 27 cases during her more than eight months in office, including 9 criminal cases. And she held court over a place where men outnumbered women 4 to 1 as well as over a camp of miners, gamblers, speculators, business owners, prostitutes, and rounders. Is even said to have her own husband arrested. Though pointed as a leader of Wyoming’s suffrage amendment, her role in the legislation is disputed. However, it is clear she had strongly encouraged and influenced her town’s saloon owner and representative to Wyoming’s Constitutional Convention to introduce a women’s suffrage clause to its constitution. Nevertheless, in 1869, Wyoming became the first jurisdiction in the US to grant women the right to vote, which wasn’t granted to women nationally until 1920. After her term as justice of the peace, she’d be active in the women’s suffrage movement for the rest of her life and was seen as a Wyoming legend.

During the winter of 1807-1808, John Colter became the first known white person to step foot in what is now Yellowstone National Park. His escape from the Blackfeet Indians is said to make him a legend.

Figure 4: John Colter– member of the Louis and Clark Expedition who’s best remembered for explorations during the winter of 1807-08 where he became the first known white person to enter the region that became Yellowstone National Park and to see the Teton Mountain Range. Because he spent months alone in the wilderness, he’s widely considered to be the first mountain man and his escape from the Blackfeet Indians made him a legend. In 1810, he visited William Clark and provided details of his explorations since they last met. From this information, Clark would create a map which was the most comprehensive map produced of the exploration’s region for the next 75 years.

US State Mount Rushmore: Part 9 – South Dakota to Vermont

Posted by historymaniacmegan on April 26, 2016

Yeah, we’re starting to wind down here. For those asking me why I had the Wright brothers together and the Perry brothers listed separately. Allow me to explain that. You see, the reason why I have the Wright brothers listed together is because they accomplished controlled heavier than air flight together and were practically inseparable. By contrast, while the Perry brothers were both naval officers, they both achieved distinction separately and are known for doing different things. Maybe it’s best we get down to business. Now in this penultimate selection, I intend to bring you some more Mount Rushmores I compiled from South Dakota to Vermont. First, it’s to the Mount Rushmore state South Dakota where we’ll get to know a holy man who inspired his people to win Little Bighorn, a scientist with his own element named after him, and two Native American women with one who advocated for grave protection and another who wrote an opera. Second, we find ourselves in Tennessee where we’ll meet a man called Old Hickory, a king of the wild frontier who hated him, a man he had evicted, and a woman who might be a descendant of someone he owned who started one of the first “Black Lives Matter” campaigns. After that, it’s down to the Lone Star State of Texas where you’ll find bigger than life personalities like a president known for his Great Society and eccentric ways, a leader in the Texas Revolution who couldn’t catch a break, a teenage boy who went to hell and back, and a germaphobic billionaire. Next, we’re on to Utah where we’ll encounter a Mormon Moses, a wrongly convicted left-wing songwriter, a legendary companion of Sundance, and a dean of Western writers. And finally, we make it up the Green Mountains of Vermont where you’ll meet president with walrus whiskers, a Green Mountain boy, the only black guy to get elected in the antebellum period, and a founder of a major religion in Utah.

41. South Dakota

“I hardly sustain myself beneath the weight of white men’s blood that I have shed. The whites provoked the war; their injustices, their indignities to our families, the cruel, unheard of and wholly unprovoked massacre at Fort Lyon … shook all the veins which bind and support me. I rose, tomahawk in hand, and I have done all the hurt to the whites that I could.”

Figure 1: Sitting Bull– Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people during years of resistance to United States government policies. Best known for having a vision in which he saw many soldiers, “as thick as grasshoppers,” falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a foreshadowing of a major victory in which a large number of soldiers would be killed which inspired his people to a major victory in the Battle of Little Bighorn, a battle where the confederated Lakota tribes and the North Cheyenne annihilated Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his battalion. After the battle, he and his people left the US for Wood Mountain Canada’s Northwest Territories where he remained until 1881 when he and most of his band returned to US territory and surrendered to U.S. forces. Was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.

In the early 1970s, Maria Pearson was appalled how Indian skeletal remains were treated differently from their white counterparts. In response, she went to the Iowa governor’s office in traditional attire saying, You can give me back my people’s bones and you can quit digging them up.”

Figure 2: Maria Pearson– Yankton Dakota activist who successfully challenged the legal treatment of Native American human remains. Was one of the primary catalysts for the creation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) with her actions leading her being called “the Founding Mother of the modern Indian repatriation movement.” When asked what the Iowa governor could do for her she replied, “You can give me back my people’s bones and you can quit digging them up.”

As a member of the Manhattan Project, Ernest Lawrence worked on the uranium-isotope separation and invented the cyclotron. He has an element named after him in his honor.

Figure 3: Ernest Lawrence– pioneering American nuclear scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. Known for his work on uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project, for founding the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After the war, Lawrence campaigned extensively for government sponsorship of large scientific programs, and was a forceful advocate of “Big Science”, with its requirements for big machines and big money. Strongly backed Edward Teller’s campaign for a second nuclear weapons laboratory, which Lawrence located in Livermore, California. Chemical element 103 was named lawrencium in his honor after its discovery at Berkeley in 1961.

“The old legends of America belong quite as much to the blue-eyed little patriot as to the black-haired aborigine. And when they are grown tall like the wise grown-ups may they not lack interest in a further study of Indian folklore, a study which so strongly suggests our near kinship with the rest of humanity and points a steady finger toward the great brotherhood of mankind, and by which one is so forcibly impressed with the possible earnestness of life as seen through the teepee door! If it be true that much lies “in the eye of the beholder,” then in the American aborigine as in any other race, sincerity of belief, though it were based upon mere optical illusion, demands a little respect.
After all he seems at heart much like other peoples.”

Figure 4: Zitkala-Ša (a.k.a. Gertrude Simmons Bonnin)– Yankton Dakota writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist who wrote several works chronicling her identity struggles and pulls between mainstream culture and her Native American heritage. Her later books in English were among the first works to bring traditional Native American stories to a widespread white readership. Wrote a libretto and songs for The Sun Dance Opera which was the first American Indian opera which was composed in romantic style based on Sioux and Ute themes. Co-founded the National Council of American Indians in 1926 to lobby for rights to United States citizenship and civil rights where she served as its president until her death in 1938.

42. Tennessee

While Andrew Jackson achieved national fame by becoming the hero of New Orleans, his presidency ushered in the spoils system, decentralized banking, and the Trail of Tears. His legacy has been a source of controversy ever since.

Figure 1: Andrew Jackson– president from 1829-1837 who gained national fame through his role in the War of 1812, most famously when he won a decisive victory over the main British army at the Battle of New Orleans albeit some weeks after the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed which had no bearing on the New Orleans crisis as the British government considered the Louisiana Purchase illegitimate. Had the British forces captured the city, then the Louisiana Purchase would’ve been declared a dead letter and the North America political map would’ve looked very different today since the fate of the US or the Western world as we know it may well have hung on this battle’s outcome. Invaded Florida in 1818 which led to the First Seminole War and the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, which formally transferred Florida from Spain to the US. As president, he denied the right of a state to secede from the union or to nullify federal law during the Nullification Crisis as well as threatened the use of military force if South Carolina (or any other state) attempted to do so. Administration marked the ascendency of the spoils system, a practice in which a political party gives government jobs to its supporters, friends and relatives as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party and one which eventually led to a presidential assassination in 1881. Vetoed to recharter the Second Bank of the United States which would lead to the Panic of 1837 which caused a 7 year recession. Signed the Indian Removal Act which relocated a number of native tribes in the South to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and gave rise to the Trail of Tears. Was the main founder of the modern Democratic Party as well as remains its iconic hero but was always a fierce partisan, with many friends and many enemies. Though seen as a champion of the common man in his day, he remains one of the most studied and most controversial Americans of the 19th century.

Davy Crockett became famous in his lifetime for his larger-than-life that were popularized in stage plays and almanacs. Even in death, he continues to credited with acts of mythical proportion.

Figure 2: Davy Crockett– folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician commonly referred to as “King of the Wild Frontier” who represented Tennessee in the US Congress and served in the Texas Revolution where he died during the Battle of the Alamo. Gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling while growing up in East Tennessee becoming famous in his own lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs. As a congressman, he vehemently opposed many of Jackson’s policies, most notably the Indian Removal Act which led to his defeat in the 1831 elections, though he’d win another term 2 years later before losing for good in 1835. His loss in 1835 prompted his angry departure to Texas shortly thereafter. After his death at the Alamo, he continues to be credited with acts of mythic proportion and is one of the best known American folk heroes. Trademark is his coonskin cap and his saying, “Always be sure you are right, then go ahead.”

In 1821, Sequoyah completed his independent Cherokee syllabry which made literacy in the Cherokee possible. This is one of the few times in recorded history that a member of a pre-literate people has independently created an effective writing system.

Figure 3: Sequoyah– Cherokee silversmith who in 1821 completed his independent creation of a Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible marking one of the few times in recorded history that a member of a pre-literate people independently created an effective writing system. After seeing its worth, the Cherokee nation quickly began using his syllabary and officially adopted it in 1825 with their literacy rate quickly surpassing that of the surrounding European-American settlers.

“The miscegnation laws of the South only operate against the legitimate union of the races; they leave the white man free to seduce all the colored girls he can, but it is death to the colored man who yields to the force and advances of a similar attraction in white women. White men lynch the offending Afro-American, not because he is a despoiler of virtue, but because he succumbs to the smiles of white women.”

Figure 4: Ida B. Wells– journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist, Georgist, and an early leader in the Civil Rights Movement as well as one of the founders of the NAACP. Born into slavery, she’s best known for documenting lynching in the US in the 1890s as well as showing that it was often used as a way to control and punish blacks who competed with whites or try to exercise their political rights like voting, rather than being based on black criminal acts as whites usually claimed particularly when it came to sexual relationships pertaining to black men and white women (which she found were mostly consensual). Organized a black boycott of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago with Frederick Douglass and other leaders over its failure to collaborate with the black community on exhibits to represent African-American life. Was active in women’s rights and the women’s suffrage movement, establishing several notable women’s organizations. Was skilled and persuasive rhetorician and traveled internationally on lecture tours.

43. Texas

“Let us reject any among us who seek to reopen old wounds and to rekindle old hatreds. They stand in the way of a seeking nation. Let us now join reason to faith and action to experience, to transform our unity of interest into a unity of purpose. For the hour and the day and the time are here to achieve progress without strife, to achieve change without hatred—not without difference of opinion, but without the deep and abiding divisions which scar the union for generations.”

Figure 1: Lyndon B. Johnson– president from 1963-1969 who assumed office following John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Designed the “Great Society” legislation upholding civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development, public services, and his “War on Poverty.” Along with a growing economy, his War on Poverty helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during his presidency. His civil rights legislation banned racial discrimination in in public facilities, interstate commerce, the workplace, and housing, while his Voting Rights Act outlawed certain requirements in southern states used to disenfranchise African Americans. In 1965, he signed the Immigration and Nationality Act which reformed the country’s immigration system and removed all racial and national origin quotas. Was renowned for his domineering, sometimes abrasive, personality and the “Johnson treatment”—his aggressive coercion of powerful politicians to advance legislation. Though he escalated the Vietnam War in 1964 which led to his eventual political downfall, most experts believe that it would’ve happened anyway no matter who was in charge. While he began his presidency with widespread approval, his support declined as the public became upset with both war and the growing violence at home. His civil rights legislation led to a mass exodus of the white Democratic South to the Republican Party as well as the collapse of the New Deal coalition (though he knew this would happen but supported civil rights anyway which is a very admirable thing for a politician to do). Presidency was said to be the peak of modern US liberalism after the New Deal era. His domestic policies and the passage of many major laws, affecting civil rights, gun control, wilderness preservation, and Social Security have led some historians to rank him favorably.

“Fellow citizens, in the name of your rights and liberties, which I believe have been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath.”- from 1860 when Texas decided to secede. Sam would later lose his post as Governor of Texas over this. Man, this guy can’t catch a break.

Figure 2: Sam Houston– politician and soldier best known for his role in bringing Texas into the US. Prior to his Texas years, spent time with the Cherokee Nation, fought in the War of 1812, and was a Tennessee politician who seen by many as Andrew Jackson’s protégé (despite their differing views on the treatment of Native Americans) and was eventually elected governor. But he later resigned after his first wife left him shortly after their wedding and made public statements embarrassing to him where he went in exile with the Cherokee to the Arkansas Territory where he became an honorary member of the tribe. While he was in Washington D. C. to expose government agent fraud against the Cherokee, he beat an Ohio congressman with a hickory cane on Pennsylvania Avenue which resulted in a high profile trial. Secured Texan independence from Mexico with his victory at San Jacinto and was twice elected president of the Texas Republic before annexation. Was the only governor within a Confederate state to oppose secession and refuse an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, which resulted in his removal from office by the Texas secession convention. However, to avoid bloodshed, he refused a Union army offer to put down the Confederate rebellion and decided to retire to Huntsville, Texas where he died before the American Civil War was over. Was the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through popular election as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state.

“Now comes the picture of mass defeat, the most awesome spectacle of the war. It is in the bent bodies of old women who poke among ruins seeking some miserable object that will link their lives with the old days. It is in the shamed darting eyes of the defeated. It is in the faces of the little boys who regard our triumphant columns with fear and fascination. And above all it is in the thousands of beaten, dusty soldiers who stream along the roads towards the stockades. Their feet clump wearily, mechanically, hopelessly on the still endless road of war. They move as haggard, gray masses, in which the individual had neither life nor meaning. It is impossible to see in these men the quality that made them stand up and fight like demons out of hell a few shorts months ago.” – from To Hell and Back

Figure 3: Audie Murphy– one of the most decorated combat soldiers in WWII who received every military combat award for valor available from the US Army as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Received a Medal of Honor for valor demonstrated at age 19 for single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition. Born into a sharecropper family with an absent father and a 5^th grade education, he lied about his age to enlist in the Army where he saw action in the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Battle of Anzio, and in 1944 was part of the liberation of Rome and invasion of southern France. Also fought at Montélimar, and led his men on a successful assault at the L’Omet quarry near Cleurie in northeastern France in October. After the war, he enjoyed a 21 year acting career, playing himself in a movie adaptation of his 1949 memoirs To Hell and Back. Was also a fairly accomplished songwriter and bred quarter horses. His suffering from PTSD led him to sleep with a loaded handgun under his pillow and look for solace in addictive sleeping pills but he only spoke candidly about it in an effort to draw attention to the problems of returning veterans from Korea and Vietnam. And called on the government to give increased consideration and study to the emotional impact of combat experiences and to extend health care benefits to veterans. As a result, legislation pertaining to PTSD was introduced 5 months after his death in a plane crash in 1971. Was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors and a plain headstone of an ordinary soldier just like he wanted.

Howard Hughes might seem handsome in this one. And yes, he might fly big planes, make big spectacle movies, and date some of thie most gorgeous women in Hollywood. But remember this is Howard Hughes who's not all together there. Stay away from him.

Howard Hughes might seem handsome in this one. And yes, he might fly big planes, make big spectacle movies, and date some of the most gorgeous women in Hollywood. But remember this is Howard Hughes who’s not all together there. Stay away from him.

Figure 4: Howard Hughes– business tycoon, entrepreneur, investor, aviator, aerospace engineer, inventor, filmmaker and philanthropist who was known as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world. As a maverick film tycoon, he gained prominence in Hollywood from the late 1920s, making big-budget and often controversial films like The Racket, Hell’s Angels, Scarface, and The Outlaw. Formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932, hiring numerous engineers and designers and spent the rest of the 1930s setting multiple world air speed records and building the Hughes H-1 Racer and H-4 Hercules (now better known as the “Spruce Goose”). Also acquired and expanded Trans World Airlines (TWA) and later acquired Air West, renaming it Hughes Airwest. However, he’s best remembered for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle in later life, caused in part by a worsening obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic pain. Also known for dating famous women such as Billie Dove, Faith Domergue, Bette Davis, Ava Gardner, Olivia de Havilland, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney. Launched the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that was formed for biomedical research in 1953 which still stands and continues his legacy. When he died, his reclusive activities (and possibly his drug use) made him practically unrecognizable with his hair, beard, fingernails, and toenails long, his tall 6ft 4in frame at 90lbs, and the FBI having to use fingerprints to conclusively identify his body. His estate has been contested ever since for his original will has never been found.

44. Utah

Called by his Mormon followers as the “American Moses” Brigham Young led the Mormon pioneers in an exodus through the desert to what they saw as a promise land. Well, in this photo, he’s certainly pulling the Moses bears look quite well. Also had 55 wives and 56 children whereas Moses only had one.

Figure 1: Brigham Young– Mormon leader and settler of the western US who was second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death in 1877 who founded Salt Lake City and served as Utah’s first governor. Also founded the precursors to the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. Best referred to as “American Moses” for leading his Mormon pioneer followers in an exodus through a desert to what they saw was the promised land. Dubbed by followers as the “Lion of the Lord” for his bold personality and was also commonly called “Brother Brigham.” Was a polygamist and was involved in controversies regarding black people and the Priesthood, the Utah War, and the Mountain Meadows massacre where his followers killed an Arkansas party comprising over 120 men, women, and children over 6.

“My will is easy to decide,/For there is nothing to divide./My kin don’t need to fuss and moan —/”Moss does not cling to a rolling stone.”
My body? — Oh! — If I could choose,/I would to ashes it reduce,/And let the merry breezes blow/My dust to where some flowers grow.
Perhaps some fading flower then/Would come to life and bloom again./This is my last and final will./Good luck to all of you.” – from “My Last Will” (1915)

Figure 2: Joe Hill– labor activist, songwriter, cartoonist, and IWW member whose most famous songs include “The Preacher and the Slave,” “The Tramp,” “There is Power in a Union,” “The Rebel Girl,” and “Casey Jones—the Union Scab,” which express the harsh and combative life of itinerant workers, and call for them to organize their efforts to improve working conditions. Coined the phrase, “pie in the sky.” In 1914, he was accused of murdering 2 guys in a Salt Lake City grocery store on the basis of gunshot injury that he claimed he got in a fight over a woman (which didn’t check out until nearly a century later). Nevertheless, he was convicted in a controversial trial. After an unsuccessful appeal, political debates, and international calls for clemency from high-profile figures and workers’ organizations, he was executed anyway by firing squad. He’s been memorialized in several folk songs while his life and death have inspired books and poetry.

Looking sharp, Butch Cassidy. May not look like Paul Newman but not bad. Of course, you and Sundance won’t have it very good in Bolivia.

Figure 3: Butch Cassidy– notorious train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch gang in the American Old West who, after pursuing a career in crime for several years in the US, was forced to flee with the Sundance Kid and his girlfriend Etta Place due to pressures being pursued by the Pinkerton Detective Agency. They first fled to Argentina and the Bolivia, where he and the Sundance Kid were most likely killed in a shootout in November 1908.

“You can plan all you want to. You can lie in your morning bed and fill whole notebooks with schemes and intentions. But within a single afternoon, within hours or minutes, everything you plan and everything you have fought to make yourself can be undone as a slug is undone when salt is poured on him. And right up to the moment when you find yourself dissolving into foam you can still believe you are doing fine.” – from Crossing to Safety

Figure 4: Wallace Stegner– novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian who’s often called “The Dean of Western Writers” as well as won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and a National Book Award in 1977. Most famous novel is Angle of Repose that was based on the letters of Mary Hallock Foote. Though he explained his use of unpublished archival letters briefly in the beginning, his use of uncredited passages taken directly from Foote’s letters caused a continuing controversy. Served as a government scientist and was an advocate of water conservation in the west and wrote a forward in a Sierra Club book that was used in the campaign to prevent dams in Dinosaur National Monument and helped launch the modern environmental movement. Co-founded the Committee for Green Foothills, an environmental organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the hills, forests, creeks, wetlands and coastal lands of the San Francisco Peninsula.

45. Vermont

Chester A. Arthur may not be the greatest US president. But when James A. Garfield got assassinated by a crazed office seeker, he championed the civil service reform he once opposed. Certainly no fool. Also had amazing walrus whiskers.

Figure 1: Chester A. Arthur– president from 1881-1885 who succeeded James A. Garfield upon the latter’s assassination. While his early career in politics earned him a negative reputation as a stooge for New York’s political machine as member of the Stalwart faction, he surprised his critics by embracing the cause of civil service reform by advocating and later enforcing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act which was the centerpiece of his administration. This legislation brought an end to the spoils system which corrupted American political system for decades and eventually led to the Garfield assassination in the first place. Though forced to retire at the close of his term because of ill health, he earned praise among contemporaries for his solid performance in office. Also presided over the rebirth of the US Navy, banned polygamy, yet signed the Chinese Exclusion Act which effectively banned Chinese immigration and the Dawes Act which called for an allotment system that proved detrimental to Native Americans. Journalist Alexander McClure later wrote, “No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired … more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe.”

Here’s an 1875 engraving of Ethan Allen leading the attack on Fort Ticonderoga with his Green Mountain Boys. The land he and his brothers purchased would soon become the town of Burlington where Bernie Sanders was mayor.

Figure 2: Ethan Allen– farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, soldier, and politician who’s best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga early in the American Revolution along with Benedict Arnold. His land speculation involving the New Hampshire Grants (present day Vermont) during the late 1760s got him embroiled in legal disputes which led him to form the Green Mountain Boys whom he led in a campaign of intimidation and property destruction to drive New York settlers from the Grants. After the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, he led the Boys in a failed attempt on Montreal that resulted in his capture by British authorities. Was released in a prisoner exchange in 1778 and returned to his previous business as usual (like driving New York settlers out of Vermont). While he was active in efforts by Vermont’s leadership for recognition by Congress, he also participated in controversial negotiations with the British over the possibility of Vermont becoming a separate British province. Wrote accounts of his exploits in the war that were widely read in the 19th century, as well as philosophical treatises and documents relating to the politics of Vermont’s formation. Business dealings included successful farming operations, one of Connecticut’s early iron works, and land speculation in the Vermont territory. The land he and his brothers purchased include tracts that eventually became Burlington, Vermont.

Alexander Twilight achieved distinction as the first African American to graduate from an American college as well as hold elected office. And he was the only black state legislator in the country during the antebellum period. Has nothing to do with vampire romance novels despite the name.

Figure 3: Alexander Twilight– educator, Congregational minister and politician who is best known as first African American known to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an American college or university which he received from Middlebury College in 1823. Became the principal of the Orleans County Grammar School in 1829 where he designed and built Athenian Hall which was the first granite public building in Vermont. In 1836, he was elected to the Vermont General Assembly becoming the first African American legislator and the only one ever elected to a state legislature before the American Civil War.

Though Joseph Smith would found the Mormon Church which would eventually have 15 million members. However, he was killed by a mob while in jail before the Mormons got to Utah. So that is why he’s on for Vermont.

Figure 4: Joseph Smith– religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement who, at 24 published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religious culture that continues to the present. In western New York that was said to be the site of intense religious revivalism during the Second Great Awakening, he said to have experience a series of visions including one in which he saw “two personages” (presumably God the Father and Jesus Christ) and others in which an angel named Moroni directed him to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a Judeo-Christian history of an ancient American civilization. His book of Mormon is what he said was an English translation of what was on those plates in 1830. That same year, he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian church with members later being called either “Latter-Day Saints” or “Mormons.” The next year he and his followers moved west, planning to build a communalistic American Zion, first gathering in Kirtland, Ohio and establishing an outpost in Independence, Missouri intended to be Zion’s “center place.” However, the collapse of the church-sponsored Kirtland Society and violent skirmishes with non-Mormon Missourians caused him and his followers to establish a new settlement in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he became a spiritual and political leader. However, in 1844, he and the Nauvoo city council angered non-Mormon by destroying a newspaper criticizing his power and practice of polygamy. While imprisoned in Carthage, Illinois, he was killed by a mob storming the jailhouse. Published many revelations and other texts that his followers regard as scripture. Teachings include unique views about the nature of God, cosmology, family structures, political organization, and religious collectivism. Followers regard him as a prophet comparable to Moses and Elijah and is considered the founder of several religious denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ.

US State Mount Rushmore: Part 8 – Oklahoma to South Carolina

Posted by historymaniacmegan on April 25, 2016

While some states might have so many famous faces to choose from, others don’t since they don’t tend to have large populations to begin with. North Dakota was one of the most difficult by far since there aren’t a lot of famous people from that state. And at one time I was considering putting Lawrence Welk until I found the guy from Texas Instruments. Nevada was another example that I almost went with Pat Nixon until I found that Louise Bryant grew up there. Anyway, in this selection I bring you some more Mount Rushmores I compiled from Oklahoma to South Carolina. From Oklahoma where the wind blows sweeping from the plains, I bring you a Cherokee with a wry sense of humor with a penchant in political satire, a Depression Era folksinger whose songs inspired later generations, a major black literary figure, and an Olympic gold medalist who had his medals taken away from him for stupid reasons. After that, it’s on to Oregon where you’ll meet a prolific jazz singer, a radical journalist, a chemist turned peace activist, a radical journalist who helped Warren Beatty win an Oscar, and a well-renown psychologist. Then, we go to my home Keystone state of Pennsylvania where we’ll acquaint ourselves with one of America’s first renaissance men, a marine biologist who warned of the dangers of pesticides, a medical scientist who stopped a major epidemic, and America’s first big time songwriter. Next, it’s off to Rhode Island where we have a yankee doodle boy on Broadway, two brothers who became distinguished naval officers, and a soldier who wrote a letter to his wife. Finally, we come to Palmetto State South Carolina where you’ll encounter a man whose ideas drove a nation apart, a woman who founded a college in Daytona Beach, a godfather of soul, and an FBI agent who was so great at his job that he earned the ire from J. Edgar Hoover.

36. Oklahoma

“The thing about my jokes is that they don’t hurt anybody. You can say they’re not funny or they’re terrible or they’re good or whatever it is, but they don’t do no harm. But with Congress — every time they make a joke it’s a law. And every time they make a law it’s a joke.”

Figure 1: Will Rogers– Cherokee cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, newspaper columnist, social commentator, radio personality, and stage and motion picture actor known as “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son” and was the Jon Stewart of his day as well as the highest paid Hollywood movie star. Began in vaudeville where his rope act led to success in the Ziegfeld Follies and the first of many movie contracts. Traveled around the world in which he provided Americans first-hand accounts of his travels, made 71 movies, and wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns. His earthly anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians, government programs, and a lot of other controversial topics in a way appreciated by a national audience with no one offended. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms were widely quoted with “I’ve never met a man I didn’t like,” his most famous. Died in a plane crash in Alaska with Wiley Post.

“I ain’t got no home, I’m just a-roamin’ ’round,/Just a wandrin’ worker, I go from town to town./And the police make it hard wherever I may go/And I ain’t got no home in this world anymore.” -from “I Ain’t Got No Home”

Figure 2: Woody Guthrie– singer-songwriter and musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children’s songs, ballads and improvised works. Frequently performed with the slogan “This machine kills fascists” displayed on his guitar. “This Land Is Your Land” is his best known song and has many recordings archived in the Library of Congress. Has been acknowledged as a major influence by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, his son Arlo, and others. Many of his songs are about his experiences in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression when he traveled with displaced farmers from Oklahoma to California and learned their traditional folk and blues songs, earning him the nickname “Dust Bowl Troubadour.” Was associated with US Communist groups throughout his life, though was seemingly not a member of any. In spite of spending his later years suffering from Huntington’s Disease that would later kill him, he served as a figurehead in the folk movement, providing inspiration to a generation of new folk musicians.

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids — and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” -from Invisible Man (1952)

Figure 3: Ralph Ellison– novelist, literary critic, and scholar best known for Invisible Man which won the National Book Award in 1953. Also wrote Shadow and Act, a collection of political, social, and critical essays, and Going to the Territory. The New York Times said that the best of these essays in addition to the novel “among the gods of America’s literary Parnassus.” More manuscripts were discovered in his home after his death resulting in publication of Flying Home and Other Stories and Juneteenth which was a 368-page condensation of more than 2000 pages written by Ellison over a period of 40 years. And 300 pages of his manuscript for that novel were lost in a 1967 fire at his house. His Invisible Man explores the theme of man’s search for identity and place in society as seen from an unnamed African American man during the 1930s as well as the alienating effects of North and South racism.

While Jim Thorpe won his gold medals in the 1912 Olympics, he was soon stripped of them not because of steroid use, but because he earned money playing baseball. Also, I think being Native American might have something to do with it.

Figure 4: Jim Thorpe– Sac and Fox athlete who’s considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football (collegiate and professional), and played professional baseball and basketball. Lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was paid for playing 2 seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the stupid bullshit amateurism rules that were in place (and racism). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals 30 years after his death. Was nominally the first president of the American Professional Football Association (APFA) from 1920-21, which would become the National Football League (NFL) in 1922. Played professional sports until he was 41. Voted the Greatest Athlete of the 20^th Century in an ABC poll.

37. Oregon

“Two weeks ago today,/My daddy went away,/And promised me to write every night./Now you know how they are,/When they get away so far,/They just can’t treat a gal right,/Now all I do is sit and wait,/Thinkin’ his love has turned to hate.”-from “Mail Man Blues” (1924)

Figure 1: Lee Morse– jazz and blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress whose greatest popularity was in the 1920s and 1930s as a torch singer (though her career began in 1917 and ended with her sudden death in 1954). Known for her strong, deep singing voice and vocal range, which often belied her petite frame and possessed a contralto vocal range, and one of her trademarks was her unique style of yodeling. Her early recordings labeled her as “Miss Lee Morse” so the public wouldn’t mistake her for a guy. Recording over 200 songs over her career she was one of the most recorded female singers of the 1920s. But her career declined due to alcoholism, illness, and her boyfriend dumping her for a stripper. Was also moderately successful as an actress on the Broadway stage and made 3 one-reel films. Most famous song is “If You Want the Rainbow.”

Linus Pauling is the only man in world to have ever won two unshared Nobel Prizes. The first was in Chemistry for his research in chemical bonding. His second was in Peace for his activism against weapons of mass destruction. His only regret was that his wife Ava wasn’t awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with him since she was deeply involved in peace work.

Figure 2: Linus Pauling– chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator who published more than 1200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics and was one of the founders of the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology. Was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his scientific work in chemical bonding and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace activism calling for an end of nuclear weapons testing and war itself, making him the only person to be awarded 2 unshared Nobel Peace Prizes, only one of 4 individuals to win more than one Nobel Prize, and the only one of 2 to be awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields. Also worked on DNA’s structure. As been listed among the greatest scientists of all time.

Despite being brought up in a life of privilege, John Reed would be well known for his radical politics as much as his journalism. After he died, he was buried near the Kremlin wall, became an international symbol of Bolshevism, and was the subject of a movie directed and starring Warren Beatty.

Figure 3: John Reed– journalist, poet, and socialist activist, best remembered for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days That Shook the World. Died in Russia in 1920 with wife Louise Bryant by his side, and was buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, one of only two Americans to have been given this honor in Russia. For the Communist movement to which he belonged, he became a symbol of the international nature of the Bolshevik revolution, a martyr buried at the Kremlin wall amidst solemn fanfare, his name to be uttered reverently as a member of the radical pantheon.

Elias Porter was notable psychologist whose findings contributed to Carl Rogers’ client-centered therapy. His primary contributions were in areas of non-directive approaches, relationship awareness theory and psychometric tests.

Figure 4: Elias Porter– psychologist whose primary contributions to the field were in the areas of non-directive approaches, relationship awareness theory and psychometric tests. His career included military, government, business and clinical settings as well as helped contribute to Rogers’ client-centered therapy which has proven to be an effective and popular treatment.

38. Pennsylvania

“I think opinions should be judged of by their influences and effects; and if a man holds none that tend to make him less virtuous or more vicious, it may be concluded that he holds none that are dangerous, which I hope is the case with me.” -from a letter to his father in 1738

Figure 1: Benjamin Franklin– Founding Father and renown polymath who was a leading author, printer, journalist, publisher, political theorist, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. Was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity as well as invented lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. Also facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphia’s fire department and a university. Earned the title of “The First American” for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. Was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. Became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia publishing the Pennsylvania Chronicle, Poor Richard’s Almanack, and the Pennsylvania Gazette. Played a major role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and became a national hero in America when, as an agent for several colonies, he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. As an accomplished diplomat, he was he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations with his efforts securing support for the American Revolution by shipments of crucial munitions proving vital for the American war effort. As the British postmaster for the colonies, he set up the first national communications network. Played a major role in the development of the Declaration Independence which he signed as well as the US Constitution. His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers.

“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.” -from Silent Spring (1962)

Figure 2: Rachel Carson– marine biologist, conservationist and nature writer whose book Silent Spring and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Began her career as an aquatic biologist in the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s when her 1951 bestseller won her a National Book Award, recognition as a gifted writer, and financial security. Her next book The Edge of the Sea and the issued version of her first book Under the Sea Wind, were also bestsellers. These books comprise of a sea trilogy that explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths. Best known for Silent Spring which highlighted the environmental problems that she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides (which were verified by experts) and brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. While her book met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides, and it inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Nothing happens quite by chance. It’s a question of accretion of information and experience … it’s just chance that I happened to be here at this particular time when there was available and at my disposal the great experience of all the investigators who plodded along for a number of years.”

Figure 3: Jonas Salk– medical researcher and virologist who discovered and developed the first successful polio vaccine which was considered one of the most frightening public health problems in the world at the time with annual epidemics increasingly devastating in the postwar US. When news of the vaccine’s success was made public on April 12, 1955, Salk was hailed as a “miracle worker” and the day almost became a national holiday. Campaigned for mandatory vaccination, claiming that public health should be considered a “moral commitment.” His sole focus had been to develop a safe and effective vaccine as rapidly as possible, with no interest in personal profit. When asked who owned the patent to it, Salk said, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” Founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which is today a center for medical and scientific research. Spent his last years searching for a vaccine against HIV.

“Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,/Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;/Sounds of the rude world heard in the day,/Lull’d by the moonlight have all pass’d away.” -from “Beautiful Dreamer” (1862)

Figure 4: Stephen Foster– songwriter called “the father of American music” primarily known for his parlor and minstrel music. Wrote over 200 songs; among his best-known are “Oh! Susanna”, “Camptown Races”, “Old Folks at Home”, “My Old Kentucky Home”, “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, “Old Black Joe”, and “Beautiful Dreamer,” many of which remained popular more than 150 years after he wrote them and are thought to be autobiographical. Has been identified as “the most famous songwriter of the nineteenth century,” and may be the most recognizable American composer in other countries. Compositions are sometimes referred to as “childhood songs” because they are included in the music curriculum of early education. While most of his handwritten music manuscripts are lost, copies printed by publishers of his day can be found in various collections.

39. Rhode Island

“Give my regards to Broadway, remember me to Herald Square,/Tell all the gang at Forty-Second Street, that I will soon be there;/Whisper of how I’m yearning to mingle with the old time throng;/Give my regards to old Broadway and say that I’ll be there ere long.” – From “Give My Regards to Broadway” (1904)

Figure 1: George M. Cohan– entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer who began his career in vaudeville as a child performing with his parents and sister in an act known as “The Four Cohans” and later wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the standards “Over There”, “Give My Regards to Broadway”, “The Yankee Doodle Boy” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Displayed remarkable theatrical longevity, appearing in films until the 1930s, and continuing to perform as a headline artist until 1940. In the decade before WWI, he was known as “the man who owned Broadway” and is considered the father of American musical comedy. Originated his famous curtain speech: “My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you.”

No, this isn’t the guy who played Chandler from Friends. This is Commodore Matthew Perry who played a leading role in the opening of Japan in the 1850s. Also played a key role in modernizing the US Navy.

Figure 2: Matthew C. Perry– commodore in the US Navy and commanded a number of ships. Served in several wars, most notably in the Mexican–American War and the War of 1812 as well as played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Was very concerned with the education of naval officers and helped develop an apprentice system which helped establish the curriculum at the US Naval Academy. Became a leading advocate of modernizing the US Navy in the advent of the steam engine as well as came to be considered “The Father of the Steam Navy.”

“We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop.”- Dispatch to William Henry Harrison after the Battle of Lake Erie (1813). Of course, he’s Matthew Perry’s better looking brother. But he didn’t live too long since he died of yellow fever in Trinidad.

Figure 3: Oliver Hazard Perry– naval commander who served in the West Indies during the Quasi War with France, the Mediterranean during the Barbary Wars, and in the Caribbean fighting piracy and the slave trade. But is best known for his heroic role in the War of 1812 during the Battle of Lake Erie, earning the title “Hero of Lake Erie” for his leadership materially aiding the successful outcomes of all nine Lake Erie military campaign victories, and the fleet victory was a turning point in the battle for the west in the War of 1812. Remembered for the words on his battle flag, “Don’t Give Up the Ship” and his message to General William Henry Harrison which reads in part, “We have met the enemy and they are ours; …” So seminal was his career that he was lionized in the press (being the subject of scores of books and articles), has been heavily memorialized, and many places and ships have been named in his honor. Post war years were marred by controversies.

“But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the brightest day and in the darkest night—amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours—always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.
Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again.” – from a letter to his wife (1861). He doesn’t come back.

Figure 4: Sullivan Ballou– lawyer, politician, and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War best remembered for that eloquent letter he wrote to his wife Sarah one week before he fought in the First Battle of Bull Run where he was killed, which was found in his trunk and may never have been mailed. It was reclaimed and delivered to his widow by Rhode Island’s governor. Reading this letter is guaranteed to make you cry.

40. South Carolina

John C. Calhoun was the kind of politician who was a political cancer on the US government during the antebellum period. His strong defense of slavery and his advocacy on nullification would influence southern secessionists. Among our American politicians in history, I would put Calhoun as one of the worst.

Figure 1: John C. Calhoun– statesman and political theorist who’s best known for his strong defense of free trade and slavery, his distrust of majoritarianism, and for leading the South toward secession from the Union. As Vice President, he had a difficult relationship with Jackson due primarily to the Nullification Crisis and Peggy Eaton Affair. Nicknamed the “cast-iron man” for his ideological rigidity built his reputation as a political theorist. His concept of republicanism emphasized approval of slavery and minority rights, with the Southern states the minority in question. Supported states’ rights and nullification, through which states could declare null and void federal laws viewed as unconstitutional. Called for a concurrent majority whereby the minority could sometimes block proposals that it felt infringed on their liberties via filibuster. Was a strong proponent of slavery, which he defended as a “positive good” rather than as a “necessary evil.” His positions are credited with influencing Southern secessionists and starting the American Civil War.

Rising from poverty by getting an education, Mary McLeod Bethune would go on to found a school that would become Bethune-Cookman University. As president of her school, she maintained high standards as well as attracted tourists and donors by demonstrating what educated African Americans could do.

Figure 2: Mary McLeod Bethune– educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian and civil rights activist best known for starting a private school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida. Attracted donations of time and money, and developed the academic school as a college which became Bethune-Cookman University of which she was president from 1932-1942 and 1946-47 and was one of the few women in the world to serve as a college president at that time. Born of slave parents and started working in the cotton fields at the age 5, she took an early interest in becoming educated and was able to attend college with the help of benefactors. At her school she maintained high standards and promoted the school with tourists and donors, to demonstrate what educated African Americans could do. Was also active in women’s clubs, which were strong civic organizations supporting welfare and other needs, and became a national leader. As the member of the Black Cabinet, she advised FDR on concerns of black people and helped share his message and achievements with black voters in the north (since Southern blacks had largely been disenfranchised since the turn of the century).

“Wo! I feel good, I knew that I wouldn’t of/I feel good, I knew that I wouldn’t of/So good, so good, I got you”-from “I Got You” (1966)

Figure 3: James Brown– singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and bandleader known as the founding father of funk music and a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance. Referred to as the “Godfather of Soul” he influenced the development of several music genres in a career that spanned 6 decades. Best known songs are “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “I Got You,” “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” “Please, Please, Please,” “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” and “Living in America.” Also built a reputation as a tireless live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra.

Called, “Little Mel” because of his short stature, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis led manhunts that tracked some of the highest profile criminals of the Great Depression. And the only thing that could get in his way is J. Edgar Hoover’s bruised ego.

Figure 4: Melvin Purvis– law enforcement official and FBI agent called “Little Mel” due to his short stature but is noted for leading the manhunts that tracked such outlaws as Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger. However, while his feats brought him considerable fame, J. Edgar Hoover once demoted him because he was jealous of the publicity he was getting, only to call him back when his replacement was shot by Baby Face Nelson. Served in the US Army as an intelligence officer during World War II, reaching the rank of colonel, assisting with compiling evidence against Nazi leaders during the Nuremburg trials.

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The Lone Girl in a Crowd

The thoughts and perceptions of an aspiring writer on life and the world around her

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