Watching Vice President Mike Pence twisting and contorting himself as he tried to cover for his boss and still remain a Christian was interesting. When Donald Trump makes a suggestion, it carries with it the same strength as “do you want to clean your room? Now?” The president told Vice President Mike Pence it would be a good idea for him turn Air Force Two into a taxi.
Trump suggested Pence stay at the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland. The only problem was that the VP was on an official visit 180 miles away in Dublin. Americans’ next in line to the presidency tried to convince people it was the best option. In essence, the president made Pence complicit with the president breaking the Emoluments Clause, a tactic mob bosses use.
A member of the self-described “Squad,” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called both men out on the corruption and waste of taxpayer money, according to Vox:
‘Since corruption isn’t popular policy, racism works as the cover for the con. That’s why addressing racism isn’t a “distraction” – it’s key to understanding the hustle against working people. Culturally, racism is used as the unspoken cudgel against pro-working class policy. /2’
She continued:
‘The corruption of Trump – of many admins – wouldn’t be politically possible without relying on sympathy for racist policies. That’s what Reagan’s Black “welfare queen” was all about, too. If people think they’re “paying for someone else,” they’ll dismantle their own healthcare.‘
Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) called it “sooooooo corrupt:”
‘Hey @VP @mike_pence: You took an oath to the Constitution, not to @realDonaldTrump. Funneling taxpayer money to @POTUS by staying at this Trump resort is sooooooo corrupt. Also, I hope you don’t encounter bedbugs. Many people say there are lots of bedbugs at Trump properties.’
Attorney General William Barr will spend $30,000 at the Washington, D.C. hotel for a Christmas party. Yet, Pence has kept his family out of the corruption limelight until now. It appeared that his brother Representative Pence (R-IN) dropped more than $43,000 at the president’s Motel 6s.
The vice president’s chief of staff Marc Short had to lie for the bosses, too:
‘It’s a facility that could accommodate the team. Keep in mind, the Secret Service has protected that facility for [Trump], too, so they sort of know the realities; they know the logistics around that facility.’
Short argued that since Pence was traveling with his mother, sister, and wife the resort was the right location:
‘I don’t think it was a request, like a command. I think that it was a suggestion. It’s like when we went through the trip, it’s like, well, he’s going to Doonbeg because that’s where the Pence family is from. It’s like, ‘Well, you should stay at my place.’
Pence said he was paying for his family. The average room cost $300 a night, but the most expensive was $700 a night. Of course, there was the cost for U.S. security, meals, and the taxi — flying back and forth from the golf resort in Doonbeg to Dublin.