#EndorseThis: Colbert On Trump’s Rampant Violation Of Presidential Norms

#EndorseThis: Colbert On Trump’s Rampant Violation Of Presidential Norms

How does Donald Trump get away with all the outrageous things he does — and fails to do? Why should he be able to conceal his tax returns, which so many previous presidents and candidates disclosed, including even a crook like Richard Nixon, when every one of Trump’s appointees will have to provide their taxes to the U.S. Senate? As Stephen Colbert explains, Trump is legally exempt from such mundane burdens, which the Late Show host compares to a restaurant that requires all employees to wash their hands after using the toilet — except the chef.

Such is the difference between a norm and a law, a distinction that also permits Trump to refuse to place his assets in a real blind trust, as his predecessors did in order to avoid conflicts of interest. Trump can flout this norm too because until now, Americans have reasonably assumed that presidents would not attempt to use their office to enrich themselves or their families. In this case, to assume really does “make an ass of you and me,” observes Colbert. “And you know who will be grabbing that ass.”

It’s actually an educational video, with jokes, on a disturbing topic that is — unfortunately — certain to become even more relevant over the next few years.

 

 

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