Donald Trump is even more of a Saudi puppet than we thought

Dear Palmer Report readers: it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against Trump. Click here to donate $25 or $50.

We really didnโ€™t need more concrete evidence that Trump is bought and sold by one-percenters, and yet here we go. Vice reports that Trumpโ€™s first 2016 campaign chairman and now convicted criminal, Paul Manafort, orchestrated a scheme to let the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia edit one of Trumpโ€™s stump speeches focused on energy. He did this in conjunction with Thomas Barrack Jr., himself a Republican megadonor who led Trumpโ€™s inaugural committee, which is also under scrutiny for allegations of corruption. As stated in the piece by Vice, this was done โ€œall in what appears to be an attempt to allow nuclear-tech sharing that could have led to a lucrative deal for Barrack, to finance the construction of nuclear power plants in the Middle East.โ€

Naturally, a few questions logically follow. Was Trump in on this? If so, was he getting a kickback? How have the UAE and Saudi Arabia influenced Trump with this and other potential improprieties? Has this happened with other nations or groups? My thoughts: If Trump wasnโ€™t in on it, Iโ€™d be surprised. Trump would likely not risk something like this without getting a cut. Saudi influence in particular has been a flashpoint with Congress, as Trump repeatedly gives way to Saudi interests at the cost of American interests. Trumpโ€™s unusual defenses of dictators the world over, not just Mohammed Bin Salman and other Saudi Royals, might have deeper roots than previously thought.

This revelation, that Trumpโ€™s team and by extension Trump himself, let foreign powers edit a speech of his as a presidential candidate is shocking. Democrats need to take this information and run with it. Itโ€™s a clear-as-day example of Trumpโ€™s disinterest in American wellbeing and compulsion to self-serve at the costs of hundreds of millions of people. Listen up Democrats: this is gold and you canโ€™t let this slip through the cracks. Imagine the Republican response if Bernie Sanders had a speech about healthcare edited by the Norweigians.

The New York Times reports that Barrack has to-date gained around $1.5 billion from Saudi and UAE transactions since Trumpโ€™s nomination in 2016. Imagine if Trump asked for even a few percent commission from these deals, which were probably possible in part because of Barrackโ€™s close association with Trump. Thankfully, this information was obtained by the House Oversight Committee, part of 6000 pages of newly released documents, and should be a sufficient push for more investigations. I just hope House Democrats can parlay this revelation into a media disaster for Trump.

Dear Palmer Report readers: it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against Trump. Click here to donate $25 or $50.