Sunday morning – the dust is beginning to settle… a tiny bit.
Last Sunday evening (Sept 27), the NY Times published Trumps tax returns from the last 18 years. He paid little or no taxes, and made highly doubtful claims for $72 million in refunds of previously paid taxes. Trump has refused to reveal these to the public, claiming they were being audited by the IRS. This was a lie, as he had plenty to hide. The returns revealed Trump's massive debt of $421 million. His unidentified creditors must be paid back within the next 4 years. Who are these creditors? We know they are not US banks, as they refuse to do business with him after 6 prior bankruptcies. That leaves foreign banks or wealthy lenders. Tops on the list of suspects are Deutsche Bank, Vladimir Putin, or Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Owing that money to any lender, much less a foreign lender, much less a leader of a foreign government, has always been grounds for denying a security clearance.
Tuesday (Sept 29) was the so-called presidential candidates debate. Trump's downright ugly behavior turned it into a shambles, a national embarrassment. He threatened insurrection if the election doesn't result in him winning. Trump behaved like a wounded & cornered wild animal – a danger to himself and all those around him.
Friday (Oct 2), we learned that Trump and his wife are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which he has falsely claimed was of no impact and should be ignored. Later that same day we learned he was taken to a hospital, to treat the life-threatening viral infection that he refused to recognize as a threat to the nation.
Saturday (Oct 3), various press conferences and communications revealed conflicting reports of how sick Trump was, what his treatments were, and when he learned of his positive Covid-19 diagnosis. It was accompanied by a trickle of reports that 7 other White House or political insiders also tested positive for the virus. The confusion and panic among the White House staff was shocking. I wondered what would happen if there had been a true national emergency, such as a large military attack on the USA.
Today, I'm exhausted from all this chaos. And these events were only from the past week.