There are six days left in the Trump presidency and, assuming no further coup attempts, on Day Seven Donald Trump can go back to being a private shyster rather than a public one.
If you needed a reminder of how Donald Trump operates and has always operated, you need not look further than his relationship with his brother in cognitive decline, Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani gave everything to Trump, most notably, the last remaining shred of his public professional credibility and his dignity. Giuliani barnstormed around the world, first cooking up absurdities about Joe Biden’s son in far-off places that led to Trump’s first Ukraine-based impeachment and then parachuting into states across the U.S. to push Trump’s utterly ludicrous election fiction that he was cheated.
The more public airtime Giuliani got, the more ridiculous he looked. But he was Trump’s guy and seemed sure to be reaping a financial reward for selling his soul and his sanity for his old pal.
It was all part of the Trump World grift, overcharge and then slide the bill over to someone else, preferably the taxpayer. But not so fast! The Washington Post reported this delicious, umami-filled treat on Trump’s move to … stiff Giuliani!
Trump has instructed aides not to pay Giuliani’s legal fees, two officials said, and has demanded that he personally approve any reimbursements for the expenses Giuliani incurred while traveling on the president’s behalf to challenge election results in key states. They said Trump has privately expressed concern with some of Giuliani’s moves and did not appreciate a demand from Giuliani for $20,000 a day in fees for his work attempting to overturn the election.
At the very same time, Trump’s considering Giuliani for his impeachment defense team! Trump is, of course, gonna Trump. And Trump has made a career out of cheating people. This is, after all, the same president whose club, Mar-a-Lago, billed taxpayers $3 for water during his trips to his own club, not to mention for votive candles, floating candles, decorative palm trees, strip steak, and on and on.
Credit: The Slate (Photo Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
