Yes, Don Jr. Is an Idiot. But That’s Also the Primary Defense of Don Sr.

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

Even the New York Post has turned against Don Jr.:


Actually, this is the Post doing its best to defend Trump Sr. If everyone can be convinced that Junior’s Russia meeting was merely the work of a pea-brained buffoon, then it means there’s no real story here. It’s just the family idiot trying to impress dad.

Of course, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also in this meeting, and they weren’t there to talk about Russian adoptions. They were there hoping to get dirt on Hillary Clinton provided by the Russian government. And unlike Don Jr., Manafort was a political pro and Kushner is currently a top White House advisor. What are the odds that they didn’t pass along any of this to Trump Sr.?

Hard to say, but the “Junior is an idiot” defense is supposed to keep us from even asking. Needless to say, the genius of this approach is that Don Jr., is, in fact, an idiot. It’s one of the few opinions that unites our sadly divided country.¹ But we should all be wary of going too far down this road. Maybe this whole affair really is just the crayon scribblings of the family dolt, but we don’t know that yet. We have many months of investigation to go.

¹Another one: Anthony Weiner is an idiot.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate