The grift that keeps on giving

To the editor:

In Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” a vain king hires a pair of con artists to weave a magnificent outfit that they claim can only be seen by the wise. The king organizes a parade to show off his magical threads and the townsfolk, not wanting to appear dumb, go along with the farce. However, when an innocent child shouts that the king is naked, the crowd breaks out in laughter; unfazed, the clueless king continues to march, head held high.

While the above is a fairy tale, the American people are living a very real, mirror-image nightmare of Andersen’s yarn. In our story, the vain king is the con man, his clothes are real and only the foolish see the king as a wise, strong leader. It shouldn’t take the clear-eyed honesty of a child to recognize Donald Trump for what he is: a grifting, ineffective empty suit. The cost of living continues to soar, Israel violates Trump’s “ceasefire” in Gaza 10 times per day with impunity and Trump’s 28-point peace plan for Ukraine has been labelled “Make Money, Not War” by the Wall Street Journal. 

The conservative WSJ reported that the deal — hatched by billionaires Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Kirill Dmitriev — is more about divvying-up valuable resources in Ukraine, the Arctic and outer space than it is about ending the bloodshed wrought by Russia’s invasion.

So, in what other ways has the empty suit busied himself since taking office Jan. 20? Other than play golf every weekend, cut food benefits and healthcare subsidies to America’s poor, pardon his criminal buddies, enrich himself with underhanded cryptocurrency deals and cozy-up to despots like Saudi Arabia’s MBS, not very much.    

Joseph Cannisi