Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Mon Sep 02, 2019 5:57 am
Wouldn't the simplest explanation be that Trump just wants the economy to be ok during his tenure? I would think the fact that he's a businessman would add weight to that explanation. So even if he is greedy and self-serving (which both seem true), his interests are aligned with America's, right? Or at the least, he's kicking the can down the road like everyone else excepting Volcker. Am I missing something?
Yes, a President's personal fortune should absolutely 100% be aligned with that of the Nation. I would go so far as to say his or her portfolio should be like Jack Bogle's was, 100% USA domestic. Nothing ex-US. Aligned with the USA, but no hint, fear, or even possibility that the portfolio should ever be seeking special situations created by the President himself while in office, especially which pit one group of investors against another.
The thing missing is that Trump refused to place his assets in a blind trust before he took office as Presidents before him have done, therefore he didn't create a firewall which prevents even the appearance of conflict of interest. As any corporate communications manager / crisis manager will tell you, the very appearance of wrong-doing can be as bad as the actual fact. The appearance can damage a brand or company even in the absence of any actual wrong-doing.
So once again, Trumpster harvests more bitter self-sown fruit, then basically blames others for the astringent taste. This idea is all over social media, and he is profiting off of his tweets through proxies. I am sure we'll hear more from the SEC after he leaves office. They've got to be quietly archiving trade data just before and after major tweets and tantrums and looking for patterns and network associations. That's what they do.
I want to know to whom he really owes money. Which NY mobsters? Which Russian mobsters? But he refused to disclose his portfolio and tax returns, as other Presidents have done. What has he been hiding? Really, for God's sake. I'll tell everyone here what I own, by % basis. In fact, I have. Why can't the President? He can't it would be incriminating.