Jon Stewart showed that Trump’s fraud, and the fraud committed by other wealthy people is far from a victimless crime.
Stewart said, “How is he not this mad about overvaluations in the real world? Because they’re not victimless crimes. First, the banks got paid back at lower interest rates. Although, let’s be honest, who gives a shit? But second, money isn’t infinite. A loan that goes to the liar doesn’t go to someone giving a more honest evaluation, so the system becomes incentivized for corruption. And this is part of a different Trump fraud case, but avoiding taxes hurts all of us. Donald Trump’s shenanigans cost the city of New York. And to be honest, let’s be frank here, that is money the city of New York could have used to build more Walgreens.
Later Stewart hit on an important double standard, “The [bleep] Entitled arrogance. I don’t know if you know this, but most people just can’t commit fraud and expect to face no repercussions, even if everyone’s doing it. Try getting a car loan by saying you have ten times as much money as you really do. Or claim 20 dependents when you have no children. Or say you make slightly less money to qualify for food assistance. I will guarantee you, there are not just financial consequences for those lies, but criminal ones. But don’t tell that to the investment community. Because in their minds, in pursuit of profit, there is no rule that cannot be bent, there is no principle that cannot be undercut, as long as you and your [bleep] friends make money. And the only immoral practice –apparently, the only immoral practice in the capitalist system is to use that money for people who may need it.”
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Jon Stewart was right. The idea that Trump’s crimes were victimless is total BS. Trump is accused of inflating his assets to get loans and then deflating the value of those same assets to avoid taxes. Fraud is not a victimless crime. When fraud is committed, another party or parties are defrauded. In Trump’s case, the state of New York was defrauded, which means every person living in the state for the decades that Trump cheated was also defrauded.
If a poor person does some errands to make an extra $100 and is on Social Security disability, Republicans will scream about fraud, but they have no issue with someone like Donald Trump defrauding an entire state of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Trump’s crimes were not victimless, and the mindset among too many conservative entitled elites that it was demonstrates why Trump needs to be held accountable.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
