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From Benjamin Wittes at Lawfare:
The Situation: A Used Plane That Needs Workwww.lawfaremedia.org
My concerns are probably not what you think they would be.
I haven't read the legal opinion on the subject co-written by our esteemed attorney general, Pam Bondi. It's apparently not public yet. But in any event, I'm not all that fussed about the legality of the deal.
I'm worried that Trump"of all people"is being ripped off by foreigners. . . .
First, the plane is 13 years old. You read that correctly. A piddling little Middle Eastern autocracy is trying to bribe our president with a used plane. Now my sense of national pride has taken a few hits over the last several years. I used to believe all that shining city on a hill garbage, for example; now I'll settle happily for a city that does not betray its friends and allies and kiss the asses of its enemies and whose people don't end up bankrupt and oppressed and dying of measles.
But guys, there are limits. According to ABC News, "The plane will initially be transferred to the United States Air Force, which will modify the 13-year-old aircraft to meet the U.S. military specifications required for any aircraft used to transport the president of the United States, multiple sources familiar with the proposed arrangement said."
In other words, we're getting a used vehicle that needs a whole lot of work. That's frankly beneath the national dignity of even our degraded status.
Trump, the anti-Santa:
No Extra Dolls For You, Little Girlcharliesykes.substack.com
"They made a trillion dollars with Biden selling us stuff. Much of it we don't need. Somebody said, 'oh, the shelves are gonna be open.' Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more." --Donald Trump, April 30, 2025
I hesitate to speak for Trump voters, but I'm skeptical that this is what they thought the Golden Age would actually mean.
And yet there was our billionaire president--surrounded by the golden gaud of his Trumpified Oval Office-- telling the masses to go without, do with less, and pay more for it.
"Let them have cake," suggested Marie Antoinette. "Let them have two dolls," suggested Donald Trump, as his tariffs slouch toward what looks to be an especially stingy Christmas.
FTA: