With the congressional midterm elections just six months away, Republicans know they face the real possibility of losing control of the Senate, as well as the House. So, why are they doing something as stupid as pushing a bill to spend $400 million on Donald Trump’s golden ballroom?
Americans are getting hit with a steep rise in gasoline prices because of Trump’s military misadventure in Iran. They are paying more for all kinds of products and seeing their businesses hurt by Trump’s ridiculous tariffs. And a majority are recoiling from Trump’s draconian, heartless, mindless assault on immigrants.
Trump’s policies, personality and corrupt practices are becoming a drag on the GOP and a lot of Republican members of Congress are likely to lose their jobs in November because of voters’ revulsion at all things Trumpian. Yet, rather than putting some distance between themselves and the president, almost all Republicans are standing by their man — or, more aptly, kneeling before their king.
And now, they are choosing to align themselves with his decision to take a wrecking ball to the East Wing of the White House. Not only are congressional Republicans proposing to stick American taxpayers with the bill for Trump’s vanity project, many of them are parroting Trump’s new claim that the ballroom is absolutely necessary to protect the president from assassination attempts. Apparently, from now on, American presidents will never leave the White House compound to mix with the common folk and anyone who wishes to be in the great man’s presence will be required to come to court at Trump’s mini Versailles.
Between the Iran war and the gilded, gigantic ballroom, it is hard to say which one the voters dislike the most, but neither is a winner at the ballot box. Nevertheless, Republican senators and representatives are either staying silent and obedient or enthusiastically endorsing their president’s most unpopular schemes.
It does not seem smart, but stupid is as stupid does.
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