David Brooks – The New York Times:
The Donald Trump Jr. we see through the Russia scandal story is not malevolent: He seems to be simply oblivious to the idea that ethical concerns could possibly play a role in everyday life.
Emphasis mine. This is the core failing of not only Trump Jr., but of Trump Sr., as well. What’s struck me about the man now holding our highest office is his lack of an apparent moral or ethical center. His motivation blows with the winds of profit.
The Trumps have an ethic of loyalty to one another. “They can’t stand that we are extremely close and will ALWAYS support each other,” Eric Trump tweeted this week. But beyond that there is no attachment to any external moral truth or ethical code. There is just naked capitalism.
This is not the core failing of Trump detractors. I’ve not heard or read anyone condemn the Trump family for their loyalty to one another. It is, in a word, expected. They are a tight-knit family. It may be their only endearing quality.
Brooks’ conclusion is sound: Trump’s central motivation is self-aggrandizement, whether through monetary profit, celebrity, or elected office. Donald Trump is a party of one, the party of “me,” and his oath of office was a lie.
#Trump #fraud
A Random Stroll 