[Matsu]

I haven't followed the entirety of the legal circus that surrounds Trump Inc, but in the times I have tuned in, a few of his private entanglements seem more problematic than others. They fall broadly into the category of routinely manipulating real estate valuations in order to secure investment/investors and lying about project financing. In a just society this would send people to jail, but in ours it exists on a continuum where in practice it's all a bit relative. Big money shapes regulation in its own interest, and rides a nuanced line. When they inevitably step over the lines they've drawn themselves... well, they redraw... they bury the little guys in bullshit and paperwork... they only settle with those who can compete in the market for billable hours. Trump is right when he suggests that he's not alone in his abuses, but those other guys didn't run for president. He did. And since then, I'd argue he's been annoyed at the spotlight it's put on him and his past. I'm sure he fully expected it to all go away - in the past it always had - but now he's practically daring lawmakers to enforce those laws he could easily flaunt as a private citizen. In his view the presidency was supposed to make it easier to avoid prosecution, and for a time it did...