{"id":1116,"date":"2020-09-03T13:37:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T13:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/?p=1116"},"modified":"2020-09-03T13:37:57","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T13:37:57","slug":"september-3-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/?p=1116","title":{"rendered":"September 3, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some people get into \u2018public service\u2019 because of a real desire to serve people and are actually motivated by altruistic reasons.\u00a0 I think we can take that off the table in Trump\u2019s case.\u00a0 Remember, he was able to get deferments during the Vietnam War due to \u2018bone spurs\u2019 and the fact is, his own father belittled his brother, Robert, when he wanted to join the Air Force.\u00a0 Unlike a family like the Kennedys, there is no long line of \u2018public service\u2019 in the Trump family.\u00a0\u00a0 In addition, Trump followed in his father\u2019s footsteps in viewing the world as a zero-sum game \u2013 I win, you lose.\u00a0 His real estate career is littered with hundreds of lawsuits, stiffed contractors and 6 bankruptcies.\u00a0 And then there is the parade of people who have worked with Trump who sing the same song \u2013 Trump is out for himself, period!\u00a0 So much for altruistic reasons for his desperate attempt to stay in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that he craves adulation and absolutely relishes in having a stadium full of people worshipping him.\u00a0 That might be part of it but the fact is, he could retire to his mansion, Mar A Lago, in Florida and the elite members of his golf club would still fawn over him as would people whenever he showed up on a post presidential speaking tour.\u00a0 He could still get adulation even if he weren\u2019t president and could do so without having to put up with a lot of the grief that now goes with his job.\u00a0 Consequently, I don\u2019t think this is the real driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think there are two potential and somewhat related reasons why Trump is so desperate to stay in the White House.\u00a0\u00a0 Trump has already been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in criminal matter that sent his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to prison.\u00a0 His financial dealings are being investigated by the New York Attorney General\u2019s office, partly as a result of allegations from Michael Cohen about how Trump inflated and deflated the value of his assets depending upon what he was trying to accomplish. \u00a0The Trump Foundation was forced to liquidate due to inappropriate use of money that was supposed to be used for charitable purposes.\u00a0 The Trump University was forced to settle a lawsuit for duping students.\u00a0 And let\u2019s not forget the 6 bankruptcies along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump lives in an environment where shady financial dealings are the norm.\u00a0\u00a0 Just look at the people around him.\u00a0 Paul Manafort, convicted and sentenced to prison for financial crimes.\u00a0 Multiple people in his administration have been found have ethics violations and financial conflicts of interest.\u00a0 Most recently, Elliot Broidy, who was in charge of the Trump inauguration festivities, will likely be charged by the DOJ for financial crimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line is there is a long history of questionable financial dealings by Trump, Trump businesses and Trump associates. \u00a0\u00a0I am sure that Trump is acutely aware that if he loses the election, he will be just an ordinary citizen and the DOJ policy of \u2018you can\u2019t indict a sitting president\u2019 will no longer be applicable.\u00a0 I personally believe that Trump is so desperate to stay in office because he knows that is the only legal protection he has for he and his family.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other, and perhaps more disturbing, reason that Trump is so desperate to stay in office, is that once he leaves office, investigations which he will no longer be able to stonewall by refusing to comply with lawful subpoenas issued to he, members of his family and his associates, will ultimately reveal the true extent of his connections to Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One has to wonder why Trump has been essentially silent on the recent poisoning of a Russian dissident, one of Putin\u2019s strongest critics, and the reports of bounties being paid to the Taliban to kill US soldiers.\u00a0 No president in modern history would have remained silent against such egregious behavior by one of our adversaries.\u00a0\u00a0 The only thing that makes any sense whatsoever is that there is some connection between Russia and Trump that has yet to surface.\u00a0\u00a0 Trump is acutely aware that if he is just \u2018Joe Citizen\u2019, it will be much more difficult to keep this under wraps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line is that I believe Trump is so desperate to stay in office because it is highly likely that once out of office, he and his family will be indicted and prosecuted for financial crimes, some of which may well involve Russian money laundering.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s my belief.\u00a0 Altruistic motives make zero sense in Trump\u2019s case.\u00a0 Need of adulation doesn\u2019t seem like a strong enough reason to do what Trump is doing.\u00a0\u00a0 Desperate men do desperate things and we are witnessing that each and every day leading up to this election.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/heathercoxrichardson.substack.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"