The Rules Of Trumpistan

There are a few axiomatic rules that you can count on here in Trumpistan:

- Every accusation is a confession.
- If you're trying to determine if something was done out of stupidity or evil intent, flip a coin.
- Never trust a word he says.
- The worst and most stupid explanation usually turns out to be the correct one.

That last one is particularly of interest to me, because of a story that Josh Marshall has been trying to track down at TPM.  The basic fact appears to be that PPE, ventilators and other medical equipment that is being ordered by states and hospitals is getting confiscated when it arrives in the country. The assumption is that FEMA was seizing it, and - perhaps, see rule #2 - sending it to the hardest hit areas.

Except the hardest hit areas, are urban centers and Trump doesn't care about cities.  Not enough Trump voters there. And those areas continue to assert that they aren't getting the supplies they need.

The are basically three questions.

1) Just how much of these supplies have been confiscated?
2) By whom?
3) And why?

Now let's return to Rule 4 of Trumpistan: The worst and most stupid explanation usually turns out to be the correct one.

Under normal circumstances, one would assume that FEMA or some other entity like HHS was seizing these supplies and sending them where they are most needed, like NY/NJ, Louisiana and Michigan. However, all three of those states (and California and Washington where the seizures were first reported) have Democratic governors.  And even Florida has a shipment of thermometers seized.

Since it's Trumpistan, there is no telling who seized these supplies and for what purpose.

It's worth recalling Jared Kushner's statement that the federal emergency stockpile was "theirs" and not the states.  We have a situation where states were told to fend for themselves, then the Feds come in and seize their supplies anyway.

It's impossible not to entertain the possibility that Trump and/or Kushner is using their ability to seize medical supplies for their personal or political advantage.  Trump is systematically firing Inspector Generals who might discover if this is being done for corrupt purposes.

And why wouldn't it be? Trump sought to bend the Justice and State Departments to his re-election needs.  He was impeached for that, but his acquittal was basically a green light to keep doing crimes to stay in office.

Obviously, until we know the answers to the first two questions, we can't know that there is any corruption going on.  We do know that corruption is the currency of Trumpistan. "Is it irresponsible to speculate? It's irresponsible not to."