It’s hard not to laugh when anyone in Washington accuses President Trump of ushering in a gang of grifters, as if before Trump the city had been full of ethical people selflessly sacrificing for the common good.
Washington Post columnist Max Boot, the personification of all that is pure and bald, wrote Monday on conservatism devolving into a “racket,” with Trump and his associates serving as the ultimate beneficiaries.
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“The grifter in chief is Trump himself,” wrote Boot in corny fashion. ”He marketed himself as a fabulously successful businessman. Except — oops — the New York Times revealed that he received much of his wealth from his father — more than $400 million — and that he had more than $1.1 billion in losses from 1985 to 1994. … So it turns out that Trump is a big loser.”
The clever burn about Trump not being as rich or successful throughout his life as he claims is always peculiar when you consider that he’s done, and is doing, quite well. (Who’s going to pay Boot a licensing fee to put his name on a luxury hotel?)
Boot said the origins of conservatism as a racket trace back to 1996, the year Rupert Murdoch created Fox News “to monetize right-wing outrage.” (Oops! Boot was fooled for 20 years?) I’m sure that line pleased Boot’s other bosses at CNN, where he works and which competes with Fox, a fact that notably went undisclosed within the column.
But in the Trump era, always look critically at the accusations lobbed by the self-anointed anti-Trump “former Republicans” and you’ll invariably find that they’re the guilty ones.
Boot “left” the Republican Party the instant it became profitable for him and anyone else in the national political media to rail against the GOP’s new leader. He was only hired by the Post in January 2018. That gig started earning him segments on CNN, then a paid contract. Now, this former Iraq War enthusiast routinely pushes the buttons Democrats and the national media require from any “former Republican.” Two weeks ago, he called Attorney General William Barr a criminal. Last month, he heralded Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown as “one of the most successful politicians in U.S. history,” then asked him “how to beat President Trump.” Ahead of the midterms, Boot called on voters to oppose all Republicans.
This is someone who for decades was a Republican, but who now miraculously sees the liberal light and has taken the exact opposite position he used to hold … on nearly everything.
You could understand and believe a Republican who simply doesn’t care for Trump or the Republicans who support him. Such a person’s sincerity would be demonstrated by his consistent application of the principles he’s always held, and one could verify this by watching him accuse Trump of betraying those principles.
But to make the complete transformation from stalwart war-machine Republican to dummy for Democrats? California Democrats? That is the definition of grift.
Boot made a business decision based on ubiquitous media hatred for Trump. He’s cashing in, capitalizing on Washington based on a swindle. He’s a grifter. And he’s not alone in the media.
Trump didn’t bring anything new to Washington. The Max Boots have been here all along, thinking about whatever they need to say next to collect a paycheck.
