Although the Trump administration and his supporters have tried to dismiss the economic crisis as collateral damage from the pandemic, he is undeniably partially responsible. The rhetoric of the right deflects away from such realities, even though Trump’s “strong economy” was and is part of the foundation of his presidential campaign and platform.
Last night, in nothing other than a tweet, President Trump again abused the power of his office and broke the law in order to enrich his friends and family. Unfortunately for President Trump, such actions, like the “use of public office for private gain,” either for oneself, a friend, or relative, is illegal. Whether the president is aware of that or not is unclear.
“Whether the goal is to suppress Democratic votes, delay the delivery and processing of ballots, merely to cast doubt on the integrity of our elections, or something else entirely, the effect remains the same. President Trump and his administration is actively trying to create a scenario that gives them some form of legitimacy to contest the results of the November election. Even writing that sentence feels wrong, as this is no longer simply political strategy, it is criminal conspiracy, and it has been for quite some time.”
Oddly enough, the narrative coming from the Trump administration about voter fraud is not at all new. In late November of 2016 President Trump tweeted that he would have also won the popular vote, “if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” Even though he provided no evidence for that claim then, it became a cornerstone of the rhetoric of his administration.
The phrase, quid pro quo, directly translates from Latin as “something for something.” In modern English this Latin phrase is used to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other. Ever since the story first broke regarding President Trump’s scandalous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump has vehemently denied that there was any sort of quid pro quo. However, the Trump Administration’s acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, admitted in a press conference last Thursday, October 17, 2019, that President Trump withheld aid from Ukraine as part of a quid pro quo.
From relatively small crimes such as copyright or intellectual property law infringement to large crimes such as violating the United States Constitution, Trump has done them both. In October of last year, the Prince Estate requested that the Trump Campaign “cease all use” of Prince’s songs after Trump used them on pre-Election Day rallies. On October 15, 2018 The Prince Estate received a response from Trump’s Campaign that noted they would not play any of Prince’s music in connections with its activities going forward.
The Political Historian 