BUSTED! — The Weekly Opine

New York Attorney General Letitia James just cemented Tump’s status as a fraud and caricature. And cemented her own status as someone not to mess with. (Photos credit MSNBC screenshots, The Weekly Opine)

Better to be broke? Imprisoned?

The walls are closing in on Trump. Myriad legal troubles, zeroing in like homing pigeons, are starting to find their mark. Trump’s civil cases, adjudicated at a rapid pace in recent months, have resulted in settlements against Trump that, including ongoing compounding interest, will soon total over half a billion dollars. And the IRS may come calling for another $100 million the Trump organization reportedly owes the government. And he owes the New York Times $400,000. The guy is a total deadbeat.

As it stands right now, Trump owes E. Jean Carroll $88.5 million (pre-interest). He owes the state of New York $355 million (pre-interest). Factoring in interest Trump is on the hook for $453 million, a figure that compounds daily while the appeal process plays out. Oh, and his numbskull sons, Don Jr. and Eric, both must pay $4 million (pre-interest).

Costly appeal

New York state law forces anyone appealing a financial judgment to deposit the dollar amount of the judgment plus 10-20 percent in an escrow account. If unable to come up with the cash Trump can try to obtain a surety bond. Good luck finding a bond issuer willing to lend him a significant amount of the judgment, which would allow Trump to put up much less money upfront. Trump has approximately 30 days to come up with the money or he may be unable to appeal either the E. Jean Carroll or the New York State verdicts.

Considering that Judge Engoron’s ruling prohibits Trump from applying for loans in New York, he is in a desperate bind. What surety bond company will put up the money to back Trump, given his history of not paying the government, banks, attorneys, contractors, subcontractors, laborers and students at now-defunct Trump University? His best hope is that the Saudis or Russians bail him out. (Meaning Trump, if elected president, would assuredly govern with the best interests of Saudi Arabia and Russia at the forefront.)

The (not) businessman

A tired refrain from formerly normal, white-collar Republicans, who considered themselves more refined than MAGAs, was they voted for Trump because he’s a businessman. (Blue-collar MAGAs, equally unable/unwilling to discern the truth that the Trump brand is the hoax, employed the same uninformed “businessman” rationale).

If Trump is forced to sell Trump Tower Chicago, the removal of his name from the building would cause celebration among many Chicagoans. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Yet, anyone paying just a wee bit of attention can see it from a country mile; Trump is not a good businessman, he’s a crooked businessman. Trump squandered the fortune inherited from his father. He then limped into his NBC “Apprentice” deal which provided a much-needed financial boost and reinvigorated the Trump brand. Licensing deals flowed, with the name Trump plastered on myriad consumer products.

But, due to his penchant for stupidity, Trump could not resist saying Mexicans are “bringing drugs [and] crime [and] they’re rapists” while announcing his presidential candidacy in 2015. License deal partners, like a Midwesterner escaping winter and removing their heavy coat upon arriving at a sunny resort, shed the Trump brand lickety-split.

By the time Trump entered the White House he was on shaky financial ground again, which led to his shameless disregard of the Emoluments Clause that says presidents cannot use the office to enrich themselves.

Meanwhile, the vaunted businessman implemented ill-advised tax cuts for the wealthy, which contributed to the U.S. debt soaring to record levels under the Trump administration, increasing by $8.4 trillion. Quite the businessman.

Who will be first?

When the party is over, and guests begin to say goodbye, we all know the last one to leave ends up helping the host clean up the mess.

So, who will be the first sycophant to cry uncle and attempt to put MAGA-land behind them? Lindsey Graham? Mitch McConnell? (McConnell occasionally feigns disgust with Trump but does so unconvincingly.) How about Lyin’ Ted Cruz or Little Marco Rubio? Or Tim-Tom Scott? Will the first to bail out be the most uncool Millennial in America, toady Vivek Ramaswamy?

Would Marjorie Taylor Greene, seeing signs the sky is falling, evacuate from the Fuhrerbunker? Or will she, as Eva Braun did, stand by her man until the end, neck-deep in Trump’s self-inflicted quagmire.

Last Thursday’s demolition of Trump was a reminder that the rule of law still counts in our democracy. Old Glory never looked better. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

And whither clergy, and other self-anointed Christians, who cannot even see that they’ve lost their way in the wilderness? They claim to be Christians but have a fundamental misunderstanding of Jesus. During Bible study these frauds conveniently ignore that Jesus spoke vehemently against violence-inciting, intolerant, criminal monsters like Trump. Will some public-figure Christians ask forgiveness for previously standing with Trump, and then publicly denounce MAGA-ism?

Will the cowardly Kevin McCarthy - a wusses wuss - regain some semblance of manhood and speak out against Trump? (I doubt it.)

And what of Fox Lies, an outfit that knows a thing or two about landing on the wrong side of a huge financial judgment? The liars at Fox behave as unapologetic self-preservationists. Fox Lies lies incessantly when it’s financially convenient and only tells the truth when it’s expedient.

Guessing here that Fox will turn against Trump if a tidal wave of MAGAs become demonstrably disgusted with continually being asked to send Trump money, with no return on investment. (Even within the cult at Jonestown many crazed, loyal Jim Jones followers finally recoiled when Jones told them to drink cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.)

GOP D-Day

Republicans have a decision to make, and they are running out of time. Stick with Trump and end in unprecedented disaster for the Grand Old Party, with chaos and defections that will cement the destruction of the party of Lincoln. Or, tack back to normalcy and dignity. As the rapper Black Sheep says, “You can get with this, or you can get with that.” (Clarity is a beautiful thing.)

As an Independent, I will vote only for Democrats this fall and feel confident about democracy’s chances of emphatically defeating the criminality that defines addicted-to-Trump Republicans.