Sunday, February 9, 2020

Thief-in-Chief

Tomorrow [well, day after tomorrow], President Donald Trump will face New Hampshire voters in a primary election he will win in a walk. Given the president’s systematic takeover of most Republican state parties, he’s ensured himself little more than token opposition, and in some places, none at all.
That this is how Trump chose to operate in the primaries should be no surprise. Since long before he descended the golden staircase in the Trump Tower lobby, Americans have known who and what Donald Trump is: Someone who extracts as much as he can from others by whatever means necessary.
Donald Trump is a thief. He steals from Americans’ pockets and he steals America’s spirit.
Before he won the White House, Trump and his organization were notorious for stiffing small firms out of money for work honestly and honorably performed. His charity was forced to shut down because investigations concluded Trump and his family utilized the funds for their own purposes.
The larceny didn’t end there. Since taking office, Trump has lined his own pockets with taxpayers’ (and donors’) money by ensuring that numerous events are held at his eponymous properties. The Trump Hotel in Washington, DC is host to both unsavory characters and myriad Republican politicos.
When Trump is “relaxing” in New Jersey or Florida, everyone in his entourage is charged for the privilege of staying there. Just last week it was reported that the president is charging his own Secret Service detail – the organization whose members are obligated to take a bullet for him - nearly $650 a night.
The president’s thievery doesn’t stop at the merely financial. In three long years in office, Donald Trump has robbed us of something much more valuable and harder to replace: Our spirit and belief in America. The American economy may be going strong, but Trump as president is hollowing out the heartland and our hearts
There is a psychological and political cost every day Trump is in office. His capacity for lying puts the worst fabulists in the world to shame. Tracking his mendacity is a full-time job, one that individual Americans have neither the time nor the energy to track.
At what cost? Those voters who are most essential to ensuring Trump is turned out of office this fall are also the most likely to be so disgusted by his behavior that they’ve tuned out all the noise – both Trump’s and that of his would-be opponents.
The anger, resentment and ugliness take a toll on everyone – even those who claim Trump as a hero and savior of a wayward nation. The endless outrage, the undermining the credibility of our elections and institutions and the stoking of hot-button issues prevents us from seeing what’s really going on – and that’s exactly how Trump needs it to be.
Trump, like all strongmen, is actually brittle and thin-skinned. His power comes only from robbing others of their ability and agency to stand up to him. Republicans in the United States Senate serve as a prime example. If the 52 members who voted to acquit Trump of abusing his office really believed he did nothing wrong, the viral nature of this president is potentially terminal for the Republic.
For these reasons, and many more, a group of current and former Republicans founded The Lincoln Project. We have a simple mission: Defeat Donald Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box on Nov. 3.
We have put aside our partisan stripes for the good of the country that has provided us so much opportunity. That prosperity, though, will be short-lived indeed if Donald Trump spends a second term in office. Day in and day out, The Lincoln Project is working to remind voters that we are better than this as a nation.
On Election Day, we will look back and say that it was voters – from across the political spectrum and across the country - that told the Thief-in-Chief enough is enough.
Reed Galen is an independent political consultant and adviser to the Lincoln Project. He left the GOP in 2016. He previously worked for President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can follow him on Twitter @reedgalen. Jennifer Horn is a communications strategist and served as Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party from 2013-2017. In 2008, she was the first Republican woman nominated to federal office in New Hampshire. You can follow her on twitter @nhjennifer. The views expressed are those of the writers.
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