March 25, 2019

The grifting never stops. 1600 Pennsylvania broke the story that the Trump Organization's "Store" is selling soaps and other merch "inspired by" the Trump Hotel (and bribe intake building) in Washington DC.

The most egregious are the soaps, with the words "Trump Hotels" and a cartoon image of the White House.

Mother Jones makes an understatement:

One ethics expert did not sugarcoat it:

Although the president is excluded from some ethics rules, "one would hope just like prior administrations you would have a president in office who doesn’t want to give people the appearance he’s profiting off his position", Jessica Tillipman, a government ethics expert at George Washington University Law School, told The Independent.

Branding the apparent personal profiteering from his office as "bizarre and wrong", Ms Tillipman said Mr Trump's ethics conduct was unlike previous administrations.

"Never did we see President Obama, or President Bush, or President Clinton, or the other President Bush, or Reagan, creating merchandise to benefit themselves personally that profits off his name and position as the president of the United States,” she added.

That's "so-called" president. He's really just a grifter with small hands.

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