Trump Damage Report – 4/11/2017

The imminent destruction of Social Security, frenemies with Russia, competitive Kansas, chemical amnesia, historical conservatism, Putin’s complicity, palace tax, and more in your daily Trump Damage Report for Tuesday, April 11th, 2017.  A continuous dumpster fire.

• Trump is considering annihilating Social Security, by removing the program’s dedicated funding stream by eliminating the Social Security payroll tax, The Intercept reports.  Social Security is an earned benefit that is solvent, does not add to the deficit, and is self-funded through the payroll tax. By killing of the primary revenue stream for the program, it makes it possible for Trump and Trumpist Republicans to claim that it adds to the deficit, and thereby is worthy of killing.  Not too long ago, the incomparable George Carlin warned us by saying “and now, they’re coming for your Social Security money. They’re coming for your [expletive] retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street.”
• Trump recorded a robocall in an effort to support the Republican candidate running for his life in the typically deep red Kansas special election, The Hill reports.  The margin is extraordinarily close, and the Democrat is currently expected to come very close to winning.  In Kansas.  Although, with an approval rating just shy of ringworm, Trump making robocalls for the GOP in the area might not be the best strategy.
• Jeff “Ominous Banjo Music” Sessions is bringing back The War on Drugs, according to an article by The Washington Post today.  Sessions has brought on into his inner circle of advisers Mr. Steven H. Cook, the high priest of mass incarceration who proselytized that the justice system has been working as intended by doling out life sentences for drug use, despite the fact that America imprisons a higher percentage of its population than literally any other nation in the world.
• Senator John McCain, who has yet to publicly express any apology for introducing our planet to Sarah Palin, today accused Russia of having cooperated with Assad on the reprehensible chemical weapons attack that left more than 80 dead, the Chicago Tribune reports.  McCain says that the US should take out Syria’s air force as a part of stopping Assad from perpetrating further crimes against humanity.
• Bloomberg reports that the so-called “Russian Reset” by Trump is in jeopardy as a result of intelligence sources that strongly point to the fact that Russia knew Assad was about to use chemical weapons.  If true, it would make Putin complicit in the war crime.
• A Russian hacker wanted by American authorities was arrested today in Spain, whose wife told the interviewers that the arrest “was made in connection with a virus which appears to have been created by my husband and is linked to Trump’s victory”, according to the BBC.  The hacker is purported to be Russian spam kingpin also known by the alias of Peter Severa.
• Net Neutrality is under constant, perpetual attack by Trump, Trump-enabling congresscritters, and the Trump FCC Chairman, due to multiple rules changes and the latest legislation threat to unravel net neutrality entirely, according to a report by the Huffington Post.  Soon, not only will ISPs be able to sell your internet browsing history to interested parties, but they’ll also be able to restrict your ability to view certain webpages, charge you extra for services like streaming Netflix, and wholly segregate content on the internet behind pay-to-play schemes.
• The poorly credited peanut farmer, President Jimmy Carter, had some pretty harsh words about the current state of America under Trump, saying that the United States is currently an “oligarchy with unlimited political bribery”, in an interview with Rolling Stone.  This is not quite accurate. An oligarchy is the sound governing over a nation by a small group of people. Ours is closer to a Plutocracy, which is rule by the rich, typically inherited wealth like Trump’s.  Alternatively, we are a kleptocracy, wherein the rulers express interest is in extracting the maximum amount of money from the nation-state for personal gain.  Based on the appointment of Rick Perry, Ben Carson, and Betsy DeVos to Trump’s cabinet, we also have strong elements of Idiocracy – rule by the stupidest people available in the political arena.
• ProPublica reports that the former George W. Bush administration official responsible for initiating an agency-wide purge of gay people, James Renne, is now busy at work in the Trump administration at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
• During a press conference, Melissa McCarthy impersonator and future heart attack victim, Trump Pressgibbon Sean Spicer referred to Russia as our ally, Shareblue reports.  He did this right before saying that Russia stands with Syria, North Korea, and Iran.  With friends like these…
• Not to be outdone, but during the same press conference, Spicer tried to contrast the brutality of Assad by saying “Someone who is despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons”, Politico reports.  In this world in which we live, there are places which have as great monuments to a horror we can never, ever allow humanity to forget, showers that have no drains. Spicer should go see them.
• Qusay Trump tells a British newspaper that Trump was convinced to strike Syria based on an impassioned plea from his sister, Ivanka, NBC News reports.  No word yet on whether or not Trump will act on the 48 children shot by guns every day in America, though we’d strongly encourage cable news to start publishing gruesome images of the damage the NRA has done to our country through lobbying for zero gun regulations.  It might make Ivanka misty-eyed, and then we’d see some progress.
• Senate Minority Leader and full political spine implant recipient Chuck Schumer says that if Trump doesn’t release his tax returns, it’s going to make tax reform much harder, The Washington Post reports.  Turns out, most people are going to look at Trump’s suggested tax changes and say, well goodness, he’s doing this to directly benefit himself, if they have no idea what his own tax situation is.  We look forward to eventually seeing Trump’s tax returns, and how much of his holdings are in rubles.
• A pre-eminent historian of conservative history has penned for The New York Times an exhaustive examination of the origins of conservative thought – and it’s untimely demise at the hands of Trump.  In it, Rick Perlstein calls Trump “a surreal and an intellectual embarrassment.”
• A Palm Beach County, Florida official is proposing a special tax be levied against the orange menace for the massive spike in costs associated with Trump’s frequent vacationing at his winter palace, The Hill reports.  Trump has visited six times since his inauguration, taking more vacation days than any other in recent history and hammering taxpayers across the nation for his golfing trips.
• Politico reports on the reason that the Trump administration has so many vacancies.  The primary takeaway?  Trump, like a third-world authoritarian, demands loyalty to his person rather than the country.  In a system described as medieval feudalism by multiple officials speaking on grounds of anonymity, Trump micromanages the selection of candidates for positions once every week, and weighs merit and accomplishment as secondary to expressions of loyalty.

TAXPAYER COST FOR TRUMP’S LIFESTYLE TO DATE, AS OF APRIL 11TH, 2017: $103,885,713.90

That’s all for the Tuesday report this week – we hope. Like us to make sure you get the next Trump Damage Report in your feed. Share with friends who ought to know what Trump is up to, and if you enjoyed our report, hit Like and Share.

Above all, and as always, stay vigilant.