by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Donald Trump, a blowhard whose status as a billionaire is well within the margin of error and whose power rests more within the confines of his lungs than it does his cranium, nevertheless likes to think of himself as rich and powerful - and to surround himself with true billionaires who actually are rich and powerful. Those individuals gravitate to Trump because they know that he can be easily flattered and influenced - if not purchased outright - by cash donations.
Donald isn't shy about asking his rich friends to stuff his pockets. In April of this year he invited a large group of oil company executives to a dinner at Mar-a-Lago where he pressed them to make a billion-dollar contribution to his campaign. The meeting was labeled "a roundtable discussion on energy security," but the message seemed clear that a quid pro quo was afoot and that if the oil companies would take care of Trump, he, in turn, would take care of them. News reports indicate that Trump specifically promised the group that he would slash Biden's tax credits for electric vehicles and he committed to spending less government money on developing wind power. Some oil company "wants" were discussed as well including their desire for the government to end the pause on new natural gas export permits, and expanding the number of off-shore drilling lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Supreme Court says that money is speech, but it is also obviously influence.
This past week there have been a couple of US-based billionaires in the news as they genuflected and sucked up to Trump. Each, by virtue of their business interests, could benefit financially by cultivating ties to the Republican presidential nominee.
First, obviously, is Elon Musk, the world's richest person. Musk, who owns SpaceX, a company which has put most of the planet's communications' satellites into space, and which occasionally provides a taxi service to-and-from the International Space Station, now seems to be running Trump's political ground game in Pennsylvania and has been attending and speaking at Trump rallies. Musk, who one commentator referred to as "an out-of-control pogo stick" because of his tendency to jump up-and-down on stage at the Trump rallies, has also begun sponsoring a lottery that gives one million dollars a day to a swing state resident who is registered to vote and who signs a generic petition saying that he or she favors the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution. The legitimacy of that lottery is being decided in court today.
Musk also owns the media platform, "X" (formerly Twitter), which of late has become little more than a right-wing echo chamber for the Trump campaign.
But clearly Musk is sharing his wealth in an effort to strengthen the election chances of Donald Trump, and clearly Musk, a businessman, sees that effort as something that will bear fruit at some point. Elon Musk has many contractural ties with the US government.
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of Amazon.com, Prime streaming services, Blue Origins (a space flight company), and The Washington Post newspaper, was also in the news this week. Bezos, the world's second richest human, has many lucrative government contracts of his own and benefits directly from his dealings with the US Postal Service and the nation's space program. This week when his newspaper, The Washington Post, the nation's premier political newspaper and one that is based in the capital city of the United States, was preparing to endorse Vice President Harris for President, Bezos personally stepped in and announced that the paper would no longer be endorsing presidential candidates. Bezos, the businessman, could not afford to run the risk of offending Donald Trump, a man who could potentially become President again and could then negatively impact Bezos's business interests.
Influence. It's as good as cash in the pocket.
Bezos, unlike Musk, did take a financial hit over his editorial interference in his own newsroom. Several Post employees spoke out against their boss, and a couple resigned, and at one point yesterday it was reported that 250,000 individuals had cancelled their subscriptions to The Washington Post. (Looks like our Prime rates may be about to go up!)
Vlad Putin has his own cadre of filthy rich oligarchs, and he plays them to his advantage, and while Donald Trump is clearly not the sharpest crayon in the box, he does pay attention to how the men (it's always men) he perceives as strong leaders do things. Trump knows that political power has a value, and people who want to avail themselves of his power will pay for the privilege.
The oligarchs prey on the government and its treasury through useful idiot politicians, and then, sooner or later, the rest of us pay the bills.
