A reminder that Mar-a-Lago is Trump’s private, for-profit resort with a six-figure initiation fee. Tonight it is hosting an RNC fundraiser, the rental fees from which will profit the president personally. The fundraiser at this writing remains closed press.It remains odd that we all know this blatant grift is happening, but the entire Republican Party from Rep. Paul Ryan on down are absolutely insistent that nothing be done about it.
While Trump's fundraising weekend was closed to the press, he was apparently in fine form, complaining yet again that his own government isn't investigating past election opponent Hillary Clinton enough while expressing jovial admiration for, again, authoritarian-minded world leaders.
In the closed-door remarks, a recording of which was obtained by CNN, Trump also praised China's President Xi Jinping for recently consolidating power and extending his potential tenure, musing he wouldn't mind making such a maneuver himself.
"He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's great," Trump said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."This is another one of those "jokes" that most presidents wisely refrain from telling, what with the mood of the country having been on edge about such things since George Washington himself entered the office.
More to the point, Donald Trump continues his habit of speaking admirably for the world's autocrats when they do autocratic things. He "jokes" about the Chinese President taking the Putinesque approach of installing himself as unremovable, permanent leader of his country; he explicitly praises Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte for Duterte's campaign of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and users, while pushing inside the White House for the American government to duplicate those polices through expansive use of the death penalty; he praises Turkish leader Erdogan as Erdogan curtails press and political rights in his country; his admiration of "strong" Russian leader Putin is seemingly unremitting.
Trump is not a man known for having a keen grasp of the world. It's not likely he could find most countries on a map, if he has not explicitly attempted to do business there; he is forever forgetful of his own policy positions and is seemingly completely unable to grasp the details of Republican bills even as he advocates for them. But authoritarian leaders taking steps to curb freedom in their nations—now that reliably gets his attention, and his praise.
That, for some reason, punctures his narcissistic bubble and lodges itself inside his brain.
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