Trump’s Washington
How President Trump is changing government, the country and its politics.
Good evening. Tonight, I’m looking at how President Trump, ever a transactional businessman, has demanded foes and allies alike show him the money. We’re also covering a worrying trend for Democrats. We’ll start with the headlines.
| President Trump stepped up his attack on the Federal Reserve as he demanded that one of its governors resign. We’ve got more on that below. A federal judge denied the government’s request to unseal grand jury testimony from the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, a motion made as President Trump tried to dispel criticism from his supporters. Senators from both parties, alarmed by Trump’s moves to withhold funding approved by Congress, have teamed up to safeguard next year’s spending bills. The deportation of a 6-year-old has put a spotlight on ICE’s detention of families. |
 |
| President Trump insisted on securing a $200 million payment in negotiations with Columbia University on top of the policy changes it had already committed to make. Hiroko Masuike / The New York Times |
Pay up
By Jess Bidgood
Seven months into the second Trump administration, the president has picked fights with colleges, law firms, trading partners and private businesses, threatening them with investigations, tariffs or other consequences as he seeks to enact his agenda.
And he has also offered them a simple way out of their Trump-instigated troubles, one that would hardly seem out of place in the clubby, mob-connected Manhattan he came up in: Pay up.
And so they are. One by one, the president’s foes — and even some of his purported allies — are agreeing to spend big on his terms, either so they can go about their business or avoid something worse. Some of the president’s critics see it as nothing less than extortion.
New reporting from my colleagues shows that Trump personally interceded as his aides negotiated with Columbia University, insisting they secure a $200 million payment on top of the policy changes it had already committed to make.
And it’s not just Columbia.
Editor’s Note: Read more.. but, I wonder where these stolen, illegal “payments” from universities end up — in Trump’s pocket, a super mega slush fund for Trump?????
Continue/Read Original Article Here: On Politics: Pay up
Discover more from DrWeb's Domain
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
