This just in:  The guy who wrote Art of the Deal is a fraud.  Very few people dispute this nowadays.   Trump has yet to negotiate breakfast, much less some international trade deal.

And yet…he seems to be doing quite a bit when it comes ruining our country by nearly every measurable standard.

How can he be doing this…when he can’t negotiate his way out of a paper bag?

Loopholes.

These are legal means for accomplishing something when the normal route is blocked.

Let’s look at 4 of them.

The Executive Order: A rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law.

Trump is signing 4.27 executive orders per month (Obama: 2.9/mos; Bush: 2.91/mos).  While most of his don’t get much notice, he is signing a lot of orders that open up the environment for exploitation along with some racism and islamophobia issues.  He seems to be using them to turn back Obama executive orders.

National Security.  The president can do just about anything if he claims it is a national security issue.  This is how he can impose tariffs when no economist in the world thinks it makes sound economic reasoning.  He is allowed to impose tariffs up to 25%.  So…Canada won’t give him free maple syrup so he claims “national security” and taxes their exports.

Pardons.  The president can pardon anyone he wants for whatever reason.  We often judge presidents by who they choose to bestoy this on.  Trump is threatening to pardon himself.  He’s been giving hints for months that anyone that stays loyal to him through the Mueller investigation may get a pardon.

Supreme Court Appointment.  Out of the entire country filled with qualified candidates, Trump’s pick for a Supreme Court position is a late entry.  Kavanaugh was added to Trump’s short list once it became clear that the Mueller probe was going to send Trump to jail for the rest of his life.  Why Kavanaugh?  This is a guy that has written that a president should not be bothered with legal proceedings against him while he is in office.   In short, Trump is trying to hire his own lawyer, one that will dismiss any charges the Mueller investigation may bring against him.

Now, there are those that will say, “These are not loopholes!  These are legal and every president uses them.”

I would agree.  But…let me give you an example of “abuse” vs. “use.”

In California, cars must stop for people in crosswalks.  This is intended to not kill people crossing the street.  However, I can stop traffic for a brief protest by walking out into the crosswalk and forcing cars to stop as I stand there holding up a sign.  This is an “abuse” of the crosswalk rule.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim