This country has suffered terribly, burdened by a president uniquely unwilling to listen to the experts on what it would take to suppress the virus and make a real comeback. All of us assumed that Trump’s impatience had to be due to the fact that he planned on winning reelection on the back of a hot economy, and he saw it circling the drain by the end of March.

It is still a viable theory.

But now that some of Trump’s taxes are out via the New York Times, and now knowing that Trump is literally teetering on the edge financially, while also knowing that Trump’s money is heavily invested in travel and leisure activities – hotels, golf, restaurants at those resorts, the question has to be asked. Did Trump demand that the economy open because he needed it to save himself financially?

As you ponder the question, consider how much we know about Trump spending all that presidential time at his resorts and billing the shit out of the government each time he did so. Consider him billing his own campaign huge amounts to rent offices in Trump Tower. Consider the money “missing” from his campaign (just a week ago, everyone was reporting that the campaign is broke). Remember that he floated the idea of having the G7 at his Doral club?

We all figured that he’s just that greedy. If there was a dime to be made by doing something strange, he’d do it. But we couldn’t have known that he so desperately needed it. Once you ponder the possibility, it gets very scary.

We aren’t the only ones asking, Bob Cesca at Salon is asking the same question:

We already knew his zealous reopening obsession was about keeping the stock market afloat long enough 1) to keep his portfolio in good standing, and 2) to haul his ponderous bulk into a second term. But reopening too soon could also have been about those crappy golf resorts. The hospitality sector has taken a severe beating this year, thanks to COVID and Trump’s inability to rise to the challenge, and that can’t be good for his already failing resorts.

…  In other words, the president of the United States is so freaked out about falling deeper into debt that he may very well be making life-and-death decisions for the entire nation based on the failing financial status of his janky resorts.

We get it. The desire to get the economy open to win reelection is not mutually exclusive with getting it open to keep himself afloat. But if his own desperate financial straights played even a significant part of his rationale, he will properly go down as one of history’s monsters.

This country is the richest nation on Earth and yet we’ve lost over 200,000 lives so far. In part it is because we’re led by a man who can convince 40% of the country to act against their clear interest. As these people acted against their interest, eschewed masks, opened bars, etc., some of those deaths – indeed maybe many – might be due to the fact that Trump needed the money.

That is not only sobering but horrifying.

****

Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak