By Billy Webster
While our Trump-worshiping congressman was busy spending taxpayer dollars to put his face on billboards all over the district, his fantasy superhero had quite a week.
First, the former commander-in-cheat claimed on Truth Social to be ‘honored’ to be club champion at his Trump International Golf Course. In fact, over the years Trump has claimed victory in 18 club championships … all on golf courses that he owns. In fact, he has never won a club championship or tournament of any kind except on a golf course that he owns. He once won a club championship that he didn’t even play in.
Former celebrated Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, who has known the president for three decades, responded to Trump’s claim by challenging him to compete on a golf course that he doesn’t own. In his book, Reilly wrote that Trump “doesn’t just cheat at golf, he cheats like a three-card monte dealer. He throws it, he boots it, and he moves it. He lies about his lies. He fudges and foozies and fluffs”.
We all know – even those of us who play no golf – that ‘he who cheats at golf, cheats at life.’ Ipso facto.
The second thing that the former president did this week is to defile the Bible by posting Trump bibles on sale for $59.99. I’m sure that there is a Veg-o-Matic or a set of Ginsu knives thrown in if you buy two. And shipping is free if you act in the next 24 hours. Is there any doubt that the man who likens himself to Jesus Christ will be using the proceeds from his Bible scam to pay the hundreds of millions in civil penalties resulting from his current lawsuit hell? Dante would be challenged to identify which of the nine circles of Hell Mr Trump actually belongs in. His transgressions, from rape to insurrection, are so numerous that there is likely a Mr. Trump in all nine. Especially for a man who, when asked his favorite Bible verse, could quote not a one.
Third – and the biggest scam of all – Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of the struggling media platform Truth Social, began its journey as a public company on Tuesday under the ticker symbol “DJT.” It is interesting but not surprising to note that the last Trump company to go public, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts in 1995, used the same “DJT” ticker symbol. It went bankrupt in 2004. There are other Trump companies that have cheated investors out of their savings by declaring bankruptcy: Trump Entertainment Resorts declared bankruptcy in 2009; Trump Taj Mahal Casino in 1992; the Trump Plaza Hotel in 1992; Trump Castle Hotel and Casino in 1992; and the Trump Shuttle (airline) was turned over to bankers in 1990 so Trump could avoid personal bankruptcy.
I am no stock-picker, but I will go out on a limb here and say that the only people – person actually – that will profit from this IPO is Donald Trump himself. His investors will, as usual, lose all their money.
It is fair to wonder why all of this matters. After all, Trump’s approval ratings have risen during the pendency of his almost 90 indictments, both civil and criminal. There is a base of support that seems unmoved by the big transgressions…
As we move into the final months of this election and the old wisdom that “politics is about addition, not subtraction,” cheating at golf, desecrating the Bible, cheating investors … those things are all subtraction.
Maybe the big things like an insurrection don’t matter to Republican voters, but cheating at golf does.
Maybe big things like using Nazi-era language to condemn immigrants and journalists don’t matter to evangelical Christians, but commercializing the Bible might.
And maybe big things like stealing top secret documents for personal gain don’t matter to more affluent voters, but losing money in the stock market due to financially non-viable investments might.
And a postscript regarding our congressman, Timid Timmons, who is guilty by association on all fronts discussed above … he now has rock star Democratic opposition from Kathryn Harvey, chair of the Spartanburg Democratic Party. Kathryn is smart, energetic, super active in our community and passionate about the things that matter to voters in the 4th Congressional District, especially women’s reproductive rights. Go Kathryn Go!!
Billy Webster is an educator, entrepreneur, and civic leader. He has been appointed to various positions by two presidents – George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, serving in the Agency for International Development, The Department of Education, and the White House, among other postings. A resident of Spartanburg, Webster has served on numerous boards for organizations serving the Upstate.