Drug Dealers

In a campaign stop, poorly disguised as one on behalf of Pennsylvania GOP House candidate Rick Saccone, President Trump did what he did best- ridicule. Business Insider reports

Trump was particularly energetic in attacking the media, leveling a profane taunt toward NBC's Chuck Todd, whom the president has nicknamed "Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd."

"He is a sleeping son of a bitch, I'll tell you," Trump said Saturday.

He went after CNN, too, for its coverage of his recent decision to accept a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump called the network "fake as hell CNN. The worst. So fake."

Trump also railed against top Democrats rumored to be considering a presidential bid in 2020. He suggested that the media would be disappointed with a Democratic victory, as Trump's presidency has been a boon for television ratings.

"Could you imagine covering Bernie? Or Pocahontas?" he said, using a derogatory nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. "How about that? Can you imagine having to cover Elizabeth Warren for four years?"

Trump also slammed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and attacked Rep. Maxine Waters as "a very low-IQ individual," but said he'd be delighted if Oprah Winfrey ran against him so he could defeat her.

Besides going nearly full-bigot, the evangelicals' favorite American addressed the drug crisis when he

praised other countries for imposing the death penalty or life in prison for drug dealers, saying the United States should consider similar penalties.

"I think it's a discussion we have to start thinking about. I don't know if we're ready -- I don't know if this country's ready for it," Trump said.

He said those convicted of killing just one person in shootings and stabbings at times face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. But, he said, someone can "kill 5,000 people with drugs because you're smuggling them in and you're making a lot of money and people are dying," and go without serious punishment.

This isn't the first time President Grump has had this brainstorm (video below from 3/1/18). Newsweek tells us

“Some countries have a very tough penalty, the ultimate penalty, and they have much less of a drug problem than we do,” Trump said during an appearance at a White House summit on opioids last week.

Singapore officials have reportedly briefed White House officials on their country's drugs offense punishment laws. 

Trump has previously expressed admiration for Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial crackdown on drugs dealers, which human rights groups say has led to thousands of extrajudicial killings by security services and police.

Shortly after taking office, Trump reportedly praised Duterte in a phone call for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem.” 

This strategy would be among those few instances in which a more aggressive federal government would do more harm than good. Successful litigation against Purdue Pharma and other powerful drug dealers, the manufacturers of opiates, would be more effective (let alone more humane) than life sentences or execution of drug dealers.  Fortunately, as with most of Donald Trump's ludicrous ideas, this one is unlikely to be implemented by the federal government or the states. That is assuming, of course, that Mr. Trump is not rewarded with a second term.








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