I guess it’s not altogether surprising, given that the most famous political figure to emerge from Rhode Island in modern political history was the notoriously corrupt (and violent) Buddy Cianci, the long-time mayor of the city that I grew up in. But as a member in good standing of the Rhode Island diaspora, can I confess to feeling a bit embarassed that the holy trinity of Trump administration ignominy have connections to the smallest state?
Take freshly indicted former Trump campaign honcho Paul Manafort. Manafort may be a native of that other box-shaped New England state, but he cut his political teeth in Little Rhody. Back in the 1980s, Manafort was a campaign adviser to then-governor Ed DiPrete. DiPrete, incidentally, was notoriously corrupt: The Republican governor awarded state contracts to the highest bidder. He ended up copping a plea to charges of bribery, extortion, and racketeering. (By the way, if you find yourself in Cranston, a working class enclave next to Providence, drive by Walt’s Roast Beef, and take a look at the dumpster in its parking lot. DiPrete once tossed his garbage there—along, accidentally, with a $10,000 bribe. The distinguished governor then did some dumpster diving to recover it.)
Then there’s Mike Flynn, a native of Middletown, Rhode Island, and a graduate of my home state’s esteemed public university. (Joining such luminaries as Christiane Amanpour, another URI grad.) Flynn, of course, worked the shortest stint as National Security Adviser in American history—he lasted barely three weeks in the job. And he’s now widely thought to be in legal peril over his relationship with the Turkish government.
Rounding out the trifecta is Sean Spicer, the Barrington, Rhode Island, native, and hapless former White House press secretary. There’s no suggestion of criminal activity on Spicer’s part—just the general sense that he wasn’t quite up to the job.
Did I ever mention that I was born in Boston?
