In addition to tossing aside national security concerns in service to Donald Trump's cover up, House Speaker Paul Ryan put a cherry on his treachery by giving Trump’s D.C. hotel a gratuitous plug on Fox & Friends.
On Trump’s favorite morning show, Ryan gazed out from the Capitol with cohost Ainsley Earhardt:
RYAN: This is the coolest view in town because we’re up here on top of Capitol Hill. And you basically can see everything from here. And see, the Washington Monument’s the tallest thing. But see the second tallest structure here in Washington, that tower? You know what that is? … That’s the Trump Hotel. When I brought the president and the first lady out here to show them the view, he said, “Hey, that’s my hotel.” It was pretty cool.
If Ryan had Americans’ interests at heart, he’d be demanding Trump divest from his Washington Hotel, not helping to promote it. Think Progress explains:
Trump is the only modern president to refuse to divest from his business interests upon taking office. He leases the hotel building from the federal government — an unusual arrangement that “effectively gives the tenant control of the landlord,” as CNN puts it.
But there are multiple conflicts of interest created by the president running a lucrative business just blocks from the White House. Foreign governments can also curry favor with him by spending money there — a conflict the Founding Fathers tried to address with the Constitution’s emoluments clause.
As Ryan spoke, a lower-third banner “asked,” “IS THERE A PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN RYAN’S FUTURE?”
Apparently, when it comes to Ryan’s political ambitions (presidential or otherwise), ethics, national security - not to mention a wannabe despot and possible traitor in the White House – all take a far back seat.
Watch the Trump swamp get smellier above, from the January 30, 2018 Fox & Friends, via Think Progress.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
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