Donald Trump and the Debt Ceiling: Stupid or Evil?

The latest from America’s tweeter-in-chief:

And now the eternal question: stupid or evil? Does Trump really have no idea that tying it to the VA bill would have just meant the VA bill failed? Does he really have no idea that the main holdup is among Republicans? Does he really have no idea that a big reason for this holdup is that his own OMB director rallied the lunatic troops into action until he was finally reined in a few weeks ago?¹ Does he really have no idea that McConnell and Ryan haven’t even seriously discussed this with Democrats yet?

Or does he know all that stuff and he’s just lying about it? In this case, I’m going to vote for stupid. I think he truly has no idea how this stuff works.

¹Mulvaney was all-in on the proposition that Democrats should agree to huge spending cuts in return for raising the debt ceiling. This has now become a rallying cry among ultras in the House. It’s unclear why they think Dems should do anything but laugh at this.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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