This is the sort of thing that’s just flat-out petty, so no one should be surprised to see it coming from Chuck Schumer. This is the guy who just week ago was threatening Supreme Court Justices if they didn’t vote the way he wants them to on cases. It’s the kind of guy he is.
The media have been making an issue of this for the past several days, demanding that the president tell them: Will you commit not to take any of the funds for your businesses?
Trump demurred, which was the right thing to do. His priority right now has to be fighting the virus and trying to keep the economy from completely imploding, not worrying himself about what’s happening with his own personal businesses. That should be the media’s focus too, but we all know they’re not happy unless they’re turning every story into a Trump scandal.
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So while Democrats did have to give up most of their ridiculous demands for the bill, Schumer insisted that Trump Organization companies be banned from receiving any help, and he’s running around this morning doing victory laps over this:
No deal text yet, but Sen. Schumer says there’s a provision that could have a huge impact on the Trump Org: “Prohibit businesses controlled by the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, + heads of Executive Departments from receiving loans or investments from Treasury”
— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) March 25, 2020
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Now you might wonder: Why wouldn’t I support such a provision? Isn’t it a “bad look” or whatever if the people mentioned above take the loans?
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The reason is simple: Very few of the people mentioned own large business empires, and none own any as large as the one the president owns. In other words, this provision was put in for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to make sure no company owned by Donald Trump receives any help.
But isn’t that a good thing, you ask? Isn’t it untoward for the president to be voting himself help?
Let me answer that question by asking you one: Who is hurt by the Trump Organization getting a loan of the sort that’s available to every other business in America? If Trump had signed legislation that made help available to only him, or to a limited group that included him, I would say that’s completely unacceptable.
But that’s not where we are. This package passed because people need the help to keep their jobs. For all the Democrat complaining that the money is “going to big business,” it’s going to businesses of all sizes for the purpose of preventing layoffs.
The Trump Organization has more than 22,000 employees. That includes hotel staff, construction workers, retail employees, golf course attendants and many more. If Trump companies suffer because of the slowdown in the economy brought on by the coronavirus, it is these people whose jobs will be in jeopardy – not Donald Trump. He’s going to be fine either way.
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But by denying the Trump Organization the opportunity to even apply for these loans, Schumer puts those 22,000 people at risk through no fault of their own. All they did was take jobs with a company owned by a man Chuck Schumer doesn’t like, and now they’re going to pay the price for the political grandstanding Schumer felt the need to undertake.
I suppose it won’t be popular to take the position that President Trump’s companies should have access to the same help as everyone else’s. But given the reason the loans exist in the first place, they absolutely should have that access. The Trump Organization taking one of these loans does no harm to you or me. The Trump Organization being denied access to these loans if it needs them might do a lot of harm to 22,000 people – most of whom are not rich.
This was nothing more than a mean-spirited act on Chuck Schumer’s part, disguised as a nod to good government. And it’s not surprising at all, because that’s the kind of person Chuck Schumer is.
