5 ms·

Yes I think we ought to view it as a scandal.

tropo 8y ago
It seems you think that the president and his family must not engage in any sort of business. Are there any exceptions to that? I don't see anywhere in the US Constitution where a vow of poverty is required. If this were the case, then we could only elect professional politicians at best... or maybe just the homeless. They'd have to be orphaned and single of course, to ensure that family members can't pursue any economic activity either. Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer and Ronald Reagan was an actor. Government workers sometimes flew on Pan Am, an airline which served peanuts and played movies starring Ronald Reagan. Do you think we ought to view it as a scandal? Both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan stood to profit from this.
- torpfactory 8y ago
  Yeah it's fine if the president has business interests as long as their political decisions aren't influenced by their finances. If Jimmy Carter was influenced by good deals for his peanut farm, that would be a scandal too. Companies are choosing to patronize the President's hotel business with the goal of receiving preferential treatment.
  - burfog 8y ago
    OK, so then you must not object to T-Mobile at the Trump hotel, because there is zero evidence that: a. Trump's political decisions were influenced by T-Mobile or any other hotel customer b. T-Mobile or any other company chose the hotel with the goal of receiving preferential treatment I can't even find evidence that Trump got involved in the merger deal. The closest I can find is some insinuations based on the fact that Trump met the CEO of SoftBank back in 2016. The amount of revenue (not profit) is only about 1/20000 of Trump's wealth, which is equivalent to under $10 for a normal person. That is practically nothing. It doesn't even go into Trump's pocket. Most will go to supplies and wages and rent, so it's more like the amount being under $1 for a normal person. That would be a joke of a bribe. The place is a fancy hotel in DC. That is exactly the sort of place you'd expect to be used by corporate executives who need to meet with government officials in DC. It would be news if the executives stayed at a Motel 6, or if they picked a hotel in Pennsylvania.
- BubRoss 8y ago
  195,000 USD on a hotel bill while lobbying the person that owns the hotel.
  - tropo 8y ago
    Adjusted for inflation, that is probably just a day worth of peanuts for Pan Am. It's also far less than the cost of having Bill Clinton give a speech in Moscow to bankers who are lobbying his wife in the State Department. That happened.
    - BubRoss 8y ago
      That's just pure whataboutism
      - tropo 8y ago
        Your claim of "whataboutism" is a tired old attempt to dismiss your own hypocrisy. It's not fooling anybody. The moment you mention it, you have confirmed what is obvious: you don't actually care about the issue, except to get in a dig at the president, and would not hold other presidents to the same standard.
        BubRoss 8y ago
        This is textbook whataboutism, no one is saying the other is not corruption, no one is saying other instances are ok. I don't know why you think the discussion is a scale with weight on two sides, with one side being a 'winner'. Crime and bribery are wrong, period.
  - burfog 8y ago
    If there is a 5% profit on that, and Trump has $3.9 billion, then this is 1/400000 of his wealth. That is like a profit of $0.01 to $1.00 for a normal American. (who would have $4000 to $400,000 total, including the value of any car or house) So it is like the pocket change that people often leave behind in a cup when they buy donuts and coffee. Could I bribe you with a dime? It's most unimpressive, isn't it? Such a bribery attempt would likely backfire due to being an insult.

It seems you think that the president and his family must not engage in any sort of business. Are there any exceptions to that? I don't see anywhere in the US Constitution where a vow of poverty is required. If this were the case, then we could only elect professional politicians at best... or maybe just the homeless. They'd have to be orphaned and single of course, to ensure that family members can't pursue any economic activity either. Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer and Ronald Reagan was an actor. Government workers sometimes flew on Pan Am, an airline which served peanuts and played movies starring Ronald Reagan. Do you think we ought to view it as a scandal? Both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan stood to profit from this.

torpfactory 8y ago
Yeah it's fine if the president has business interests as long as their political decisions aren't influenced by their finances. If Jimmy Carter was influenced by good deals for his peanut farm, that would be a scandal too. Companies are choosing to patronize the President's hotel business with the goal of receiving preferential treatment.
- burfog 8y ago
  OK, so then you must not object to T-Mobile at the Trump hotel, because there is zero evidence that: a. Trump's political decisions were influenced by T-Mobile or any other hotel customer b. T-Mobile or any other company chose the hotel with the goal of receiving preferential treatment I can't even find evidence that Trump got involved in the merger deal. The closest I can find is some insinuations based on the fact that Trump met the CEO of SoftBank back in 2016. The amount of revenue (not profit) is only about 1/20000 of Trump's wealth, which is equivalent to under $10 for a normal person. That is practically nothing. It doesn't even go into Trump's pocket. Most will go to supplies and wages and rent, so it's more like the amount being under $1 for a normal person. That would be a joke of a bribe. The place is a fancy hotel in DC. That is exactly the sort of place you'd expect to be used by corporate executives who need to meet with government officials in DC. It would be news if the executives stayed at a Motel 6, or if they picked a hotel in Pennsylvania.
BubRoss 8y ago
195,000 USD on a hotel bill while lobbying the person that owns the hotel.
- tropo 8y ago
  Adjusted for inflation, that is probably just a day worth of peanuts for Pan Am. It's also far less than the cost of having Bill Clinton give a speech in Moscow to bankers who are lobbying his wife in the State Department. That happened.
  - BubRoss 8y ago
    That's just pure whataboutism
    - tropo 8y ago
      Your claim of "whataboutism" is a tired old attempt to dismiss your own hypocrisy. It's not fooling anybody. The moment you mention it, you have confirmed what is obvious: you don't actually care about the issue, except to get in a dig at the president, and would not hold other presidents to the same standard.
      - BubRoss 8y ago
        This is textbook whataboutism, no one is saying the other is not corruption, no one is saying other instances are ok. I don't know why you think the discussion is a scale with weight on two sides, with one side being a 'winner'. Crime and bribery are wrong, period.
- burfog 8y ago
  If there is a 5% profit on that, and Trump has $3.9 billion, then this is 1/400000 of his wealth. That is like a profit of $0.01 to $1.00 for a normal American. (who would have $4000 to $400,000 total, including the value of any car or house) So it is like the pocket change that people often leave behind in a cup when they buy donuts and coffee. Could I bribe you with a dime? It's most unimpressive, isn't it? Such a bribery attempt would likely backfire due to being an insult.