Trump's Beards

All afternoon long, I had to hear stories about how Ivanka and Melania apparently convinced Trump to reverse course on his separation policy. Don't believe it. I have no idea what Melania's politics really are or what message she was trying to send with her "I really don't care, do U" jacket, although I think the fact that she only wore it in DC meant the message was probably directed there.

What I do know is that we are still waiting, nigh on two years now, for that press conference that will prove that Melania herself was not working here illegally as a model before she met the Donald. And I know that her parents are apparently also in this country as part of the very "chain migration" process that Trump decries on an almost daily basis. I also know that the DOJ has now instructed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review immigration cases going back to the 1990s looking for people who may have falsified information on their naturalization forms. I wonder if the USCIS be looking at Melania's file.

In addition, I don't think its too much of a stretch to say that Ivanka was more concerned about the political damage being done to Trump by this child separation policy than she was about the actual child abuse that the government was enabling. What is clear is that her media advisor is simply superb at always making sure Ivanka gets credit for anything that smacks of empathy and compassion coming from the Trump administration, despite her virtual silence while the abuses are occurring.

What makes these stories so ridiculous is that Trump has hardly ameliorated his position. It's still not clear whether child separation will actually start up again in another three weeks. And if they do not, the alternative is indefinite detention for the children along with their families. There is no plan for reuniting the already separated children with their families. But there are now plans to create internment camps that will hold from 20,000 to 100,000 people. And Trump's blood libel against immigrants reached a new level of vitriol today. If this is the result of Ivanka and Melania ameliorating Trump's worst instincts, I'd hate to see what happens when they urge him to get tough.

Melania and Ivanka are just beards for Trump, trotted out to cover up the fact that Trump himself has no empathy, no compassion, and no moral compass. So when Melania goes out to comfort these separated children, maybe someone might mention her own questionable legal status and how her family enjoyed the benefits of "chain migration". And when the media writes the next story about how Ivanka was responsible for some Trump change in policy, they might also might mention that it was usually preceded by absolute silence about the horrors the Trump administration was inflicting beforehand and that there is virtually no real evidence other than sources in the White House that she effected anything.