{"id":43887,"date":"2020-01-26T15:01:46","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T23:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=43887"},"modified":"2020-01-26T15:34:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-26T23:34:10","slug":"trumps-inner-mob-boss-emerges-with-alarming-new-threats-to-politicians-and-the-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=43887","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s Inner Mob Boss Emerges with Alarming New Threats to Politicians and the Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most prominent and disturbing elements of Donald Trump’s character (or lack thereof) is his tendency to embrace the language and behavior of mafia dons. He regards himself as an infallible and unchallengeable force who demands total obedience and blind loyalty. This weekend Trump displayed that mob boss fixation on several occasions.<\/p>\n

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The recording<\/a><\/strong> of him telling Lev Parnas to “take out”<\/em> U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovich was chilling to hear. Trump gave orders to Parnas, a shady figure with ties to Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainian politicos, to “Get rid of her! Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump’s apologists in Congress and on Fox News dismiss this as being within the President’s power to fire an ambassador. That’s true, but then either he fires her or he instructs his Secretary of State to do so. Parnas has no government role or authority to terminate the employment of an American diplomat. So what did Trump mean and why would he assign this mission to such a fringe player who is currently under felony indictment?<\/p>\n

Similarly, Trump threatened the whistleblower<\/a><\/strong> who reported Trump’s extortion of Ukrainian President Zelensky, as well as the whistleblower’s White House source[s]. Trump alleged that they could be considered spies and warned “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”<\/em> That’s an overt death threat aimed at someone who legally protected from such retaliation.<\/p>\n

On Sunday morning Trump also aimed a threat<\/a><\/strong> at House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff, saying that he “is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man. He has not paid the price, yet…”<\/em> Here Trump is baselessly alleging that Schiff is both “corrupt”<\/em> and “sick,”<\/em> two traits that are more recognizable in Trump himself. And what “price”<\/em> does Trump have in mind that he’s implying Schiff will soon be paying?<\/p>\n

This is typical behavior from Trump. And it manifested again in another Sunday tweet wherein he implied his interest in sabotaging National Public Radio (NPR) by eliminating their federal funding. This attack was triggered<\/a><\/strong> by an NPR reporter’s interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Mary Louise Kelly asked Pompeo a couple of perfectly fair questions about Ukraine that he wanted to avoid. He became angry and erupted in a profanity laced outburst which she reported.<\/p>\n

This led to Fox News host Mark Levin tweeting his disapproval of Kelly and asking “Why does NPR still exist,”<\/em> and “Why are we paying for this big-government, Democrat Party propaganda operation?”<\/em> Trump replied that it was “A very good question,”<\/em> setting the stage for potential budget cuts to the public radio broadcaster.<\/p>\n

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A very good question! https:\/\/t.co\/8z6uQLKz8M<\/a><\/p>\n

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n