There's an arms race in the Middle East that makes all the wrong people rich.
I could write all day about that.
This story, however, is about how the so-called president lied (I know!) and profited from doing what he does best, re-branding something other people did with his name. Bruce Reidel at Brookings:
Last month, President Trump visited Saudi Arabia and his administration announced that he had concluded a $110 billion arms deal with the kingdom. Only problem is that there is no deal. It’s fake news.
I’ve spoken to contacts in the defense business and on the Hill, and all of them say the same thing: There is no $110 billion deal. Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts. Many are offers that the defense industry thinks the Saudis will be interested in someday. So far nothing has been notified to the Senate for review. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the arms sales wing of the Pentagon, calls them “intended sales.” None of the deals identified so far are new, all began in the Obama administration.
And yesterday's "traffic controller reform signing ceremony" was the same. Not a congressional bill, not an actual thing. Just another piece of paper drawn up by Bannon or Priebus, and a fake ceremony for the TV cameras so that Celebrity Apprentice, White House Edition would have something scripted for airing. Wapo:
Creating the impression of a bill signing, Trump was surrounded by the lawmakers after his remarks as he signed a decision memo and a letter to Congress outlining his principles for the air traffic control plan.
But winning congressional approval could still be an uphill battle for Trump.
It's as if he doesn't know how to actually do any real thing. Or he's so addled mentally that his staff has him convinced that his signature actually makes laws. He really thinks he killed Obamacare with a House vote. When does the MAGA crowd realize their emperor is nuuuude?
