Here are a few photos of Donald Trump in China last week, meeting one-on-one with China’s Xi Jinping. The sheer amount of catastrophic-trainwreck stories happening this month has been ceaseless, so much so that I’m considering spamming all of the New York Times “breaking news” alerts to protect my peace and keep my blood pressure from spiking constantly. All of this to say, I don’t have the energy to even cover half of the crazy bullsh-t coming out about this deeply evil man and his equally evil supporters. For what it’s worth, Trump’s approval numbers have never been lower. They’re, like, historically low for the modern presidency. Most of that is because of the domestic economy and the enormous surge in gas prices, which has brought inflation across the board. Obviously, Trump doesn’t give a f–k.
Donald Trump downplayed still-rising gas prices amid the war in Iran, telling reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, May 19, that Americans’ financial woes pale in comparison to the possibility of Iran expanding its nuclear program.
“We have to do something with Iran. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” the president said Tuesday, speaking in front of a construction site for his White House ballroom project. “You want to see the world exploded? You want to see a problem? This is peanuts.”
“I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while,” he added. “It won’t be much longer.”
Global gas prices have soared since the start of the war in February, increasing by more than 50% in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. Trump has proposed a temporary suspension of the gas tax to help offset consumer strain.
The president’s comments on Tuesday are consistent with earlier remarks about his administration’s approach to the war. Asked ahead of a scheduled visit to China last week whether rising costs tied to the conflict have affected his thinking, Trump responded: “Not even a little bit.”
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” he said, adding that preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon is “the only thing that matters.”
Calling $7-a-gallon gas “peanuts” would be enough to sink any other presidency in history. But not this one. This would also be enough to sink any other presidency – Trump got his acting Attorney General to pinky-swear promise to end any and all audits of the Trump-family’s finances from now into perpetuity.
The Justice Department has granted President Trump, his family and businesses immunity from ongoing inquiries into their taxes, a potentially lucrative arrangement that could shield the president from significant financial liability.
The provision, quietly inserted on Tuesday as a supplement to a remarkable deal that also created a $1.8 billion compensation fund aimed at benefiting Mr. Trump’s allies, protects the president, his relatives and his businesses from pending audits and tax prosecutions.
The one-page document, signed by the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, said that the government would be “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing” pending tax claims against Mr. Trump, his family members and businesses.
The provision invited immediate criticism as tax experts raised the possibility that it was illegal.
That the addendum to the deal was posted, without fanfare, on the department’s website belied its bare-knuckled audacity. It revealed the determination of Mr. Trump and his appointees to ram through maximalist measures with minimum outside scrutiny at a moment when they still have uncontested control of government.
If you voted for a con artist, sexual predator, tax fraud, sh-tty businessman and demented madman, this is exactly what you signed up for. Even the actual mob is probably shocked by what Trump is doing.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
