It is October and soon people will pay money to visit haunted houses in order to have the living sh*t scared out of them, something that some of us have never understood and never will. This year, there is an additional reason to save one’s money and just sit at home and tremble in fear. The Intercept brings us a horror story scarier than anything associated with Halloween could ever approach.

Donald Trump came very close to naming Ivanka as head of the World Bank. Careful, hold on to something tight if you’re feeling dizzy. It actually did happen.

The “official story” is pretty mundane. In January of 2019 Jim Yong Kim, then head of the world bank resigned somewhat unexpectedly, allowing Trump to fill yet another critical position. The official story, according to the Intercept is embarrassingly but relatively benign:

As the White House moved to select its new leader, one name very dear to the Trump’s heart kept floating around: his daughter Ivanka Trump. That never came to fruition, though, with Ivanka later telling reporters that though her father had raised the subject, she declined to pursue the position as she was “happy with the work.”

Wow. How very self-aware and mature of Ivanka, realizing that she was unqualified and quite happy being co-president of the United States with the man who loved her… never mind. But the official version is nowhere near as scary as compared to what actually happened:

But two sources, not authorized to speak publicly, tell The Intercept the talk of Ivanka at the helm went far beyond the realm of Beltway chatter: Trump very much wanted Ivanka as World Bank president, and it was Mnuchin who actually blocked her ascent to the leadership role.

“It came incredibly close to happening,” said one well-placed source.

Representatives for Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the World Bank or the Trump Organization.

The line above, the “did not respond to comment,” seems to say quite a bit. It is not difficult to put out a statement such as “The story is patently absurd. Ivanka was never seriously considered…” And yet we hear nothing, a deafening silence.

About fifteen years ago, maybe twenty, there was talk of naming Bono, the lead singer of U2 as head of the World Bank. The rumor had some teeth to it despite the fact it made no sense at the time. But Bono sounds eminently more qualified for the position than Ivanka. At least Bono has dealt extensively with various governments about debt forgiveness and extending aid to poor countries. Ivanka designed jewelry.

It is really difficult to swallow that Mnuchin, a carrion that became a billionaire picking the meat off already long-suffering real people, is often seen as a hero in the administration. Yet it is fact. We presume that it is because Mnuchin is the guy in the administration who was at least as rich as Trump (validating his very being to Trump) and the guy with the money in the United States Treasury.

Just continue to read this story, over and over, you will tremble far more than at some cornfield haunted maze.

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