King Henry Trump
Time for an excommunication
Donald Trump announced this week that he would soon receive a shiny new bribe from the royal family of Qatar, a tricked-out $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that will serve as Trump’s Air Force One and when he leaves office, eventually we hope, the so-called “palace in the sky” will retire to the Trump’s presidential library for his personal use.
This is clearly illegal. The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution clearly states,“[No] Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” However, Trump fancies himself a king and governs as if he’s his own sovereign state — Trumplandia.
Of course, Trump claims this obvious bribe isn’t a bribe, but he’s a known liar. It’s what he does. It’s part of his lifestyle. The White House spin is that this is Qatar’s generous gift to the Defense Department — “FREE OF CHARGE,” Trump stated in his tiresome all-caps. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, but President Grover Cleveland, who oversaw its dedication in 1886, didn’t put it in his backyard after his term ended.
Sure, the government could use an Air Force One upgrade. The current Boeing 747s that bear the Air Force One designation whenever the president travels in them are both more than 30 years old, but it’s probably not the best time for such luxuries when Trump is asking America’s children to sacrifice for his senseless trade war. If he thinks a child can get by with just three dolls and five pencils, then surely he can manage with a Boeing 747 that’s older than Trump’s current professional liar, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
But this is how you behave when you think you’re king.
Back in Tudor England, it was a given that anyone hoping to curry favor with King Henry VIII would send him extravagant gifts. In 1516, the Duke of Ferrara send the 24-year-old king an assortment of exotic animals, including a dark gray courser (let’s call it a horse) and a leopard. There were possibly some trained falcons, as well.
Henry also appreciated simple gifts of pure gold. The bishops, chaplains, lords, and knights would present him with velvet or leather purses stuffed with gold. The dukes and earls were fancy enough to hire goldsmiths who made him gold saddles and swords.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey gave King Henry the massive Hampton Court Palace in 1529. Wolsey had spent seven years and 200,000 crowns (about $76 million in today’s money) constructing the grandest palace in England for his own corrupt use, but he’d fallen out of favor with the king after failing to convince Pope Clement VII to let Henry ditch his first wife. Wolsey thought this lavish, desperate gift might save his life, but he was arrested that same year and later died from dysentery, which was probably preferable to a public execution for treason. Henry kept the palace, of course, which I visited in 2010.
Donald Trump is about as mentally stable as King Henry, a key point that New York Times reporter Eric Lipton seems to miss when he writes, “Corruption requires explict quid pro quo. It is not corrupt to take an action that aligns with the interest of a person who gives you a gift, unless the official action was in direct response to that gift — a bribe. Terms matter.”
This is only the dictionary definition of “corruption” if Trump wrote the dictionary (by way of ghostwriter Tony Schwartz). The actual terms here are that Trump is notoriously fickle and disloyal. He has no real ideology other than his own personal enrichment, so his “interests” will naturally align with whoever keeps paying him sufficient tribute. That’s why the Qatari royal family is giving the mad MAGA king this airborne palace that he openly admired during a guided tour in February. This isn’t even a gift. It’s an investment.
Another trait King Henry and Trump share is hiding their blatant cash grabs behind official business, dressed up as a higher moral purpose. When the Pope refused to annul Henry’s first marriage, the king separated himself from the entire Catholic Church, installed himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved all Catholic monasteries, priories, convents, and friaries. He seized their wealth and confiscated their land and buildings, which were sold off at fire sale prices to families who fully supported King Henry’s policies. As much as 1.3 million pounds (more than 500 million today) was funneled to the Crown.
The supposed “Reformation” might’ve occurred so that Henry could replace his queen with a newer model, who he’d later murder, but he ultimately made a fortune that he squandered on foreign wars and his many Extreme Palace Makeover Edition projects.
Trump has demanded his own Oaths of (MAGA) Supremacy from colleges and and arts organizations. He’s pressured major law firms into pledging $1 billion in free legal work to Trump. CBS is close to reaching a settlement with Trump in his absurd $20 billion lawsuit against the network for its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Now, he’s got a $400 million luxury jet, for which he won’t pay a penny in taxes.
Since Trump returned to the White House, more than 120,000 federal workers have lost their jobs. Retirement savings have taken a needless beating. House Republicans are set to gut Medicaid.
Meanwhile, Trump’s coffers keep expanding. He’s living like a king.
He may be living like a king, but which one will he die like? Quite a few kings were executed by their fed up subjects, others murdered by nobles, and still others imprisoned and died in prison - either outright murdered or tortured or starved to death. Or maybe like George III, who went mad, although I don't know what he actually died of. My point is - it ain't always good to be king.
And he should read the the parable of Lazarus, a poor man (named for one of Jesus' best friends) and of a rich man (not even named). In life, the rich man failed to help the poor man, and when he died, he went to hell, but Lazarus went to heaven.
You know, when I was reading Mantel's "Cromwell trilogy" I was approaching the end of the last book, and though I knew how it ended, while turning the last few pages, there was a part of me rooting for the protagonist to make it. I read slower and slower, to prolong my enjoyment in the moment, as if there were only a few bites left of a delicious meal.
I've found in these last couple of months that I am taking more time at home, making sure I'm seeing friends, talking with family, enjoying the things I've worked for, and lamenting some of the things that I haven't yet been able to do, change, make. Reading this, I wonder, is it all about to go away? Are the numbered days of relative comfort, about to disappear like so many unnamed migrants into a forever slave-prison? Now that we're sending planes of people to be rendered to Lybia, where humans are trafficked to the highest bidder, what is left? Will there be a fight? Are these the final days of peace? Or are they already behind me?