Too much grift...even for MAGA Republicans?

It took a Qatari ‘gift’ for Trump's GOP to suggest that accepting anything gilded in gold doesn't look (or smell) great for a president who has placed a cap on pencils

After all the cruelty, all the racism, all the incompetence, all the lawlessness, and all the betrayal of our democratic allies, Donald Trump’s downfall with his most obsequious backers and apologists (e.g., Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer, red state Senate Republicans) may turn out to be the unremitting corruption. His nonstop grifting seems to have done more to separate him from his most devoted sycophants than anything else. You should not be surprised.

“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,” Laura Loomer tweeted. “But I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”

Not to be outdone, Erick Erickson unleashed a screed:

This is my problem with taking the plane from Qatar. It’s not that it’s a bribe. It’s not that it’s corrupt. We’ll get to Boeing here, but my objection to taking this 747-800 from Qatar is not that it’s an attempt to bribe the president. It is not it’s corrupted. It is not that it’s a violation of the emoluments clause. My problem with taking this plane from Qatar is I do not think the president of the United States of America should sit and fly on a plane purchased with the same money used to murder American citizens.

Former presidential rival Nikki Haley jumped in as well, to receive her own slow clap:

Accepting gifts from foreign nations is never a good practice. It threatens intelligence and national security…Especially when that nation supports a terrorist organization and allows those terrorist regimes to live on its soil. Regardless of how beautiful the plane may be, it opens a door and implies the President and US can be bought. If this were Biden, we would be furious.

Why now, why this?

Remember, the MAGA media swarm is consumed with racism, xenophobia, anti-liberal venom, and hatred of the rule of law (e.g., pesky little details such as recognizing the winner of an entirely legitimate election). When Trump frees the Jan. 6 traitors, his fans cheer. When he pulls brown people off the street to ship them to a foreign hellhole, the base erupts in applause while his cabinet try to outdo one another’s embarrassingly transparent praise. Slam the judiciary that get in his (their) way? Bonus points! Attack universities and progressive lawyers? Even better, as far as MAGA radicals are concerned.

Throwing people off medical insurance to pay a fraction of the cost of tax cuts for billionaires makes most of his dutiful flock happy as clams. (They had a momentary panic attack when Trump started musing about a millionaire’s tax.) When Trump blows up at democratic allies and parrots Putin’s propaganda, many in the MAGA-sphere feel their savior is somehow returning the nation to glory.

But propose accepting a “gift” from Qatar in the form of a $400M Air Force One that Trump’s library gets to keep (what library has a jet plane?), and suddenly Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky gets nervous. “I don’t think it looks good or smells good,” he offered. No?!

Republican lawmakers’ reaction ranged from furrowed brows (Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri: “It would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America”) to something approaching revulsion. It raised “questions” for the perpetually “concerned” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Even the dim bulb Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) could sense something was just a squidge not right about the offering: “I wish somebody would offer me a $400 million plane to get back and forth on.” Worse, it touched a nerve for those Republicans who were a wee bit worried about the Qataris’ close relationship with Hamas. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida declared: “I’m not flying on a Qatari plane. They support Hamas,” he said. “I don’t know how you make it safe.” (Ignore the non-sequitur; he is right about the conclusion.)

Even worse, Republican have started to get their dander up about the great crypto grift. After detailing Trump’s crypto rollout that netted him billions, Ben Shapiro sounded a lot like Democrats. “This raises the question of influence peddling. If you basically buy a bunch of Trump meme coins and then funnel money to organizations associated with President Trump so you can have dinner with Trump. That doesn't look great,” he said. Wow—is it that obvious?

Apparently. For the first time, Republicans are “concerned” that the MAGA base, who has bought every lie and excuse they and Trump have doled out, may figure out Trump is all about…himself. “I promise you, if these issues begin to dog his administration, Republicans will lose Congress. It’s that simple,” Shapiro added. “Republicans are this close to losing Congress anyway. And then whatever President Trump hopes to do, whatever agenda we all voted for will be DOA. The investigations will never end. There will be more impeachments. All of that will happen.”

Put differently, Trump grift is so nauseating that it might help end the MAGA grift (e.g., Medicaid cuts to pay for tax cuts for the superrich, stripping Americans of civil rights). Now is the time for Democrats to widen the gap between Trump and Republicans, who are becoming alarmed at the prospect of big losses in 2026. With MAGA media dogging Trump, it is time for political jujitsu.

Democrats—who have struggled to come up with adequate responses to Trump’s authoritarian nightmare—came up with a brilliant idea. Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced on Monday they are seeking a vote on a measure targeting the gift. After all, the Constitution says the president needs permission from Congress to accept foreign emoluments.

Ranking Oversight Committee Member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) weighed in as well. “The Constitution is perfectly clear: no present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state without Congressional permission,” he tweeted.

Let’s have that vote. Please. Get Republicans on record, for a change. Start with a vote on the Qatari plane. Up or down on Trump’s golden plane. Next up: a vote on crypto grift, which is another variety of foreign emolument, given all the foreign purchasers.

We might find a new bipartisan spirit of anti-corruption zeal! You’re right…let’s not get carried away. Still, if conscience is absent, sometimes political self-interest is the greatest motivator. With democracy on the line, anything is worth a try.