Category: Trump

Trump’s Golf Game: “He Cheats Like a Mafia Accountant”

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“Great day with the #President. A gracious host. And, he shot a 68!
My recommendation, try the Trump Burger!”
Kevin O’Leary,
Self described Chairman of O’Leary Ventures and Beanstox, 5 X Emmy Shark Tank’s
Mr. Wonderful, Wine Maker, Watch, Crypto, AI & Guitar Guy, Photographer & Chef
Twitter/X post, January 12, 2025.

Yesterday, Donald Trump enjoyed a round of golf with one of his biggest fans, Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame where he’s best known for treating contestants with rough handling disdain. Although O’Leary is only a cento-millionaire he’s a billionaire in self-satisfied narcissism and, as such, a self-satisfied MAGA enthusiast, particularly his enthusiasm for tax cuts, regulation decimation, banking regs in particular – basically anything that interferes with his pursuit of as many more cento-millions that are available.

In any event, O’Leary’s assertion that Trump shot a 68, on standard par 72 golf courses that would be four under par, a score that would be welcomed by most professional tour golfers. In truth, Trump is not a poor golfer, he has the ability to score in the mid-80s. As a former golfer I can attest that moving from scores in the mid-80s (roughly shooting 13 over par, on average) to a sub-par round of 68, especially Trump’s age (78) is spectacularly unlikely for all but the best players in that age range, for example, Gary Player or Lee Trevino. Trump is neither of those except in his delusional brain salad.

“Donald Trump is the worst cheat ever and he doesn’t care who knows,” Rick Reilly says as he describes a man he has known for 30 years. “I always say golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man. And golf reveals a lot of ugliness in this president.

Rick Reilly, author Commander in Cheat, How Golf Explains Trump

It will not surprise Trump aficionados, of course, that Trump is a notorious golf cheat, known far and wide as among the most determined cheaters ever to don a polo shirt: simply google “notorious golf cheats.” His own hometown newspaper, The Palm Beach Post, ran a 2023 story, Donald Trump and golf: Fancy resorts, A-list partners, cheating at highest level, well worth reading. Among a wellspring of examples, he kicks errant shots back onto the fairway; he brazenly reports his scores on, for instance, a par five hole as a four although his golf partners counted at least nine shots; he tosses and kicks his shots out of sand traps; he improves his golf balls’ positions on the fairway; he also has his caddies cheat for him. How does he accomplish much of this? He has a supercharged golf cart so he can reach his shots before his partners!

In short, according to sportswriter and golfer, Rick Reilly, who came out of retirement to write Commander in Cheat, Trump cheats “like a Mafia accountant.” His misrepresentations go beyond just merely kicking a ball out of a sand trap, Reilly further reports: “I kept seeing on [Trump’s] Twitter feed: ‘I’m a champion. You should vote for me because I’ve won 18 club championships.’ Whoa! That’s a lie because [he] already told me how [he] did it. Whenever [I] open a new course, [I] play [the very first round] by [myself] and declare [myself] the first club champion.’”

Summing up, Donald Trump scoring a 68 would be a biblical miracle. And Kevin O’Leary telling the truth about it would be as well. . .

Trump’s Press Conference: More BS About Inflation

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“We have inflation at a level we’ve never had before.”
Donald Trump, News Conference, January 7, 2025

Inflation today is at 2.7%. Historically speaking (and-in-every-other way speaking) the rate of inflation that Trump inherits from President Biden is gobsmackingly below “a level we’ve never seen before.” [Note: Whenever Trump uses the phrase “a level we’ve never seen before” he is – in order of precedence- either lying, or unaware/uneducated about the topic, or in a Diet Coke induced trance. Of course, all three a simultaneously possible.]

Without much need for explanation, see the chart below. In the mid-1900s during the First World War the highest inflation rate is at its 100 year record high (20%). Then, along came World War 2 and another series of backbreaking inflation rates. The 1970s-early 1980s brought high inflation due primarily to the Arab Oil Boycott, the Iranian revolution, and “stagflation” (characterized by high inflation, low economic growth, and high unemployment). Since the 1990s, however, inflation has been somewhat tame, and in the 2000s mostly below 2.5% (which is generally the Federal Reserve’s “target rate”).

Trump’s “highest inflation” view of things is as fabricated as anything he’s, well, ever fabricated. He used it successfully though; pounding on that theme on the campaign trail constantly. Polling found that high inflation was among the strongest reasons he succeeded in 2024. In fact, though, from 2010 inflation has been a pussy cat. Yet, at today’s press conference Trump still cannot let go of his upside-down view of inflation, unless he was referring to the historic high of his own rate of dishonesty . . .

What Would Christmas Be Without a Cheery Message from Donald Trump?

Michael Matheron1 Comment
Avatar

Donald Trump’s Christmas started out well enough on TruthSocial when, at 9:47 a.m., he posted:

“MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!”

I was certainly surprised. I;ve been following for more than a year his holiday-themed messages to America and they do not shine like a bright light. In fact, they are uniformly the nasty diatribes of a man whose damnable attributes are well known. So, I was not surprised that bu 7:43 p.m. he posted this:

“Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics, who are constantly trying to obstruct our Court System and our Elections, and are always going after the Great Citizens and Patriots of the United States but, in particular, their Political Opponent, ME. They know that their only chance of survival is getting pardons from a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing. Also, to the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden. I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky “souls” but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL! We had the Greatest Election in the History of our Country, a bright light is now shining over the U.S.A. and, in 26 days, we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

It would’ve been disappointing if he had not posted that. Therre would have been a missing holiday missive in my collection . . .

Trump Plagiarized Adolf Hitler in Immigration Rant, Here’s the Proof!

Michael Matheron1 Comment
Uh Oh!! One thousand times. UH OH!

Trump has been ranting lately, most notably in his debate with Kamala Harris, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Missouri are “eating the dogs, the people who came in, they’re eating the cats.” This most recent of Trump’s immigration fables turns out to be balderdash, of course. And, as usual, MAGA enthusiasts have fallen for it, disbelieving the reports exonerating Haitians, apparently dismissing JD Vance’s admission that he, who first reported this imaginary story, had made it all up, unapologetically.

In any event, an enterprising group of Tik Tok users employed AI to discover that Trump had plagiarized his comment about the Haitian-dog-cat controversy directly from one of Adolf Hitler’s speeches. He too was vexed by immigration, especially from Haiti whose citizens yearned for peaceful and bountiful lives in Nazi Germany, and of course, for the wiener schnitzel and beer. Below is the sordid proof of Trump’s plagiarism:

Trump plagiarism

Whether Trump will face disciplinary action, or criminal indictment for his flagrant infringement of Adolf Hitler’s copyright is the question of the day. He certainly has violated Hitler’s rights to ownership of his own words. Plagiarism, as defined, can be considered a violation of copyright law if it infringes on the original author’s copyright, patent, or trademark. In this case, the copyright owner can sue the plagiarist in federal court.

Adolf Hitler. age 135, with
his lawyers in Brasília.

Also, in some cases, plagiarism can be considered a felony under state or federal law. For example, if a plagiarist copies and earns more than $2,500 from copyrighted material, he/she may face up to $250,000 in fines and up to ten years in jail. The value of Trump’s use of Hitler’s words could be determined to be in excess of $2,500 as it has brought him value due to the absolute delight that MAGA supporters drew from attack on immigrants (the Springfield Haitians, by the way, are in the United States legally). Also, Trump continues to use the phrase at the drop of a hat.

Whether this event will draw Adolf Hitler out of retirement in Brazil to bring suit, or to make a criminal complaint remains to be seen. He has been understandably reclusive for the past 79 years. It will be interesting to see, because it isn’t wise to aggravate Adolf Hitler. My money’s on Hitler.

Trump, Cannot Sell Shares in Trump Media (DJT) . . . Yet . . .

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“Market watchers have debated whether Trump would sell shares, with some suggesting an exit could indicate he is prioritizing personal profits and alienating loyal followers who have poured money into the stock.” Barron’s, Trump Media Shares Soar After Trump Says ‘I’m Not Selling’, September 13, 2024.

“No, I’m not selling… I don’t want to sell my shares. I don’t need money… I absolutely have no intention of selling.” Donald Trump, Twitter, September 13, 2024

Trump’s assurances have a poor track record, as we know. This particular assurance to not sell shares in his Trump Media stock will be severely tested as of next Thursday, September 19. Here’s why.

Firstly, his assertion that he won’t sell his shares because he “doesn’t need money” is untrue. Trump always needs money; he’s always been raising money to, for example, fend off bankruptcy of his casinos in the 1990s. And now? Civil judgments against him, and tthe legal bills accompanying them are in the neighborhood of $600 million. In addition, financing his appeals of various legal actions against him by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith and others cost tens of millions of dollars. Many of these bills are being paid for not ot of his own pocket but by the RNC which is run by his daughter-is-law Lara Trump which has led to a short fall of donated funds available to his presidential campaign. So, yes, he needs money.

Secondly, he doesn’t care who he fleeces to raise money. In fact, he’s been trying to fleece the MAGA herd since day one. And, conveniently, they keep coming back for more. This is a guy who has sold his supporters digital trading cards, gold colored sneakers, and commemorative coins. So, despite the fact that a goodly number of those supporters have invested in DJT, he’ll not hesitate to fleece them by, for instance, selling large lots of shares and thereby causing the price to fall, perhaps causing a large drop from its present anemic price. Recall, he needs money.

Here’s his estimated DJT position:

Total Shares = 194,000,000; Trump owns 60%. = 116,400,000 shares; = 7,708,008,000 billion at its 2024 high $66.72/share, BUT that’s shrunk by more than 70% to 1,978,800,000 billion at today’s share price of $17/share. An on paper loss of some 5,730,000,000 billion. Trump is not pleased, we might suppose.

The Crucial “Lockup Period”

The trading debut of DJT initiated what’s known as a lock-up period, a standard procedure for newly public companies in which certain shareholders, like those who own 5% or more of shares or who serve in a high-level management role, mandating that they cannot sell shares until a predetermined date. At DJT these insiders include Trump himself; DJT board members (i.e., Donald Trump, Jr., David Nunes, and other Trump confidants);  co-founders, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss*, both former contestants on The Apprentice; and others.

The company’s latest prospectus filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlines three factors that would trigger the lock-up period to conclude:

  • The end of the first six months of DJT stock trading as its own entity on September 29, or
  • Trump Media shares trading above $12 for any 20 of 30 trading sessions on September 19, or
  • a transaction, like a merger, in which all shareholders have the opportunity to trade in their Trump Media holdings at the same price, or
  • an affirmative vote by DJT’s Board of Directors

That means the earliest possible date Trump can sell is Sept. 19 if Trump Media shares remain above the $12 threshold, otherwise his selling date will open is on Sept. 25. Note, however, that “”Insiders might still be prevented from selling their shares after the lock-up period expires. That can happen when an insider has access to material, nonpublic information, where the sale of shares would legally constitute insider trading.”

I expect that he will sell whenever he can do so legally, although should he sell large blocks of DJT over few days the stock price would likely fall precipitously. He might still make hundreds of millions at lower shre prices, as would other insiders, yet Trump would take a public relations hit, especially if his MAGA supporters took a beating on their own desperate sell orders. A better strategy would be to sell more slowly, or not sell at all and, instead, seek a loan or loans against his holdings, yet, who is eager to loan him money on any collateral. Poor Trump, he needs an intelligent strategy and tactics. And he’s remarkably stupid. We’ll see what happens after September 19th.

Food for Thought – Continuing Angst Over Food Prices . . . as Food Inflation Falls

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“Hardworking Americans are suffering because of the Harris-Biden administration’s dangerously liberal policies . . . Prices are excruciatingly high, and the cost of living has soared – leaving those on a fixed income unsure of how they are going to afford a basic standard of living in the future.”
Trump campaign statement prior to tonight’s MAGA rally in Asheville, NC

Continuing his trailblazing record of lying per minute (L/M), Donald Trump will tonight convince his MAGA acolytes that inflation is running at high speed. This in the face of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report today that inflation is moderating as it has done for the past year. BLS sums it up:

“In July, the Consumer Price Index [CPI] rose 0.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 2.9 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted.” 

Given the inflation panic afoot in the country, particularly among the always misinformed and generally undereducated MAGA crowd, the truth is clear: after peaking in 2022 and 2023 CPI has dropped over the past year to approximately 2.9%. Frankly, the inflation scare during the Biden administration was the result of unrelenting lying by the MAGA/GOP, and, of course, COVID’s negative economic impact, an extraneous and extraordinary event that has by and large worked its way through the economy as, for example, supply gluts diminish.

The COVID inflation 2-year “blip”


And below is CPI by sector, through July 2024 (note the overall trajectory and, apropos of this posting, the food sector, which, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service, peaked at 11.4% two years ago (year-over-year)(YOY), now sits at 2.2% YOY.

In fact, the overall CPI is nearing the Federal Reserve Board’s so-called “target rate” of 2%, and stock market mavens are so very pleased because inflation’s decreasing trend of late signals to them that the Fed next move may be to reduce interest rates, which – WHOOPEE! – will help reverse the equity markets’ recent swoon. Nonetheless, inflation hysteria haunts many American families, often at mealtime.

How did the now dissipated surge in overall food prices occur over the last few years (falling from August 2022’s 11.4% to today’s 2.1%)? The reasons, as with all food sector inflations, are familiar, although the COVID pandemic was an unusual event, and the principal driver of inflation throughout the economy. Food inflation factors, 2020-2024, include:

  • Supply chain issues due to COVID disruptions throughout the world
  • Economy-wide inflationary pressures, particularly in housing and services, and for a time, food 
  • Wholesale food prices, as suppliers raised prices, controversially, many label this price gouging 
  • Weather conditions, droughts reduce crop yields by causing crops to fail, and forced cow-calf producers to sell cows, which cause to tighter beef supplies and higher price; and extreme summer heat that damages crops, such as olive trees, soybeans, rice, potatoes and cocoa.
  • Supply disruptions in major food producing countries, particularly in war torn Ukraine, a European breadbasket
  • Rapid recovery of consumer demand, particularly in restaurant food
  • Animal disease outbreaks, avian flu substantially affected egg prices (and still does)

Eat, Drink, Be Merry, Inflation Be Damned

As we see, despite perceived food inflation causing gnashing of Americans’ teeth, their food costs have gone downhill, and the decline has occurred for long enough to have been noticeable to consumers. This is especially true for food at home, nonetheless, inflation remains troublesome at the businesses where food price inflation is the highest, restaurants of all kinds.

Let’s unpack this: where Americans eat is an personal and economic choice, and their choices are, according to especially right-wing economists, supposedly determined by price. Therefore, the “rational” economic choice would be to eat where one can eat most inexpensively, i.e., at home. And food at home prices have moderated since January 2023, with today’s BLS report revealing that food CPI is at 2.2% (YOY), with food at home inflation falling to 1.1% for July (YOY). Food away from home – a segment of the inflation-hot service economy – sits at 4.1%(YOY). The economically rational choice would be to eat at home, would it not? Indeed.

According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service July 2024 forecast, Food Price Outlook, 2024 and 2025:

“The level of food price inflation varies depending on whether the food was purchased for consumption at home or away from home.

  • The food-at-home (grocery store or supermarket food purchases) CPI was unchanged from May 2024 to June 2024 and was 1.1 percent higher than June 2023; and
  • The food-away-from-home (restaurant purchases) CPI increased 0.4 percent in June 2024 and was 4.1 percent higher than June 2023.”
Note the significantly higher rate of inflation growth for food away from home.

The CPI discrepancy between the choice of home prepared meals and restaurant meals is large, and this was not always true. As the chart indicates, beginning in 2011, restaurants, including fast food entities, claimed a large and growing share of consumer spending, except for the period when COVID adversely affected restaurants and families ate at home. A USDA report also observed, “Food-away-from-home expenditures accounted for 58.5 percent of total food expenditures in 2023—their highest share of total food spending observed in the series.”

So, the right-wing economists argument that consumers will make rational choices when prices are high seems to come up short when applied to food choices. We have inclinations to rational thought, nonetheless, we have impulses as well, and we simply enjoy going out to eat, especially when we perceive economic hard times. This despite the fact that we are manifestly not in a swooning economy. Perceptions, though are important. Thus we do the non rational things as a way to soothe those perceptions, and, ironically, we feed the very price inflation we perceive. It doesn’t help that media and the MAGA crowd push false messages, particularly Trump and company. As for me, I’ve convinced myself that what I need is an inflatedly large rib eye steak, at an inflatedly expensive restaurant. Tonight.

A New Poll Indicates that Someone May Be Gaining on Trump in Areas Where He Pummeled Biden

Michael Matheron1 Comment

“Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.” Satchel Paige

With Kamala Harris now the presumptive Democratic party presidential candidate, Trump has been loudly flailing attacking her in his old familiar ways: her biracial ethnicity, her laugh, her husband. All these dreadful assaults have fallen on mostly deaf ears, except from among the MAGA/GOP elites and his campaign staff. Of course, his rabid MAGA voting bloc loves it, and view his racist, bigoted, and nonsensical outbursts as grist for the mill. They love their right-wing magician-in-chief, the one who replaces complexity with ground level simplicity.

He’s rarely tried to engage her on substantive issues, lying about what she has done (for example, she did not lead a coup d’etat against President Biden), and for what she has not done (Harris was not the “immigration czar” of the Biden administration). Most importantly, he’s lost his “go to” attack tools he used so effectively against Biden, his age, his mental acuity, and his “sleepy Joe Biden” schtick. That has stripped him nearly naked before the force that is Kamala Harris.

A new poll by Morning Consult (pay wall) suggests that Trump’s ratings have significantly fallen since Harris entered the race. When asked a battery of questions respondents shone a spotlight on Trump’s favorite line of attack on Biden:

  • Health:  “in good health,” Harris 71% – Trump 52%; importantly, Trump’s rating is 6 percent less than when Biden withdrew;
  • Mental Acuity:   “mentally fit,”  Harris 64% – Trump 48%; a 5 percent drop from before Biden withdrew;
  • Candidate’s Age: “too old,” Harris (59) 12% – Trump (78) 51%; 7 percent more from before Biden withdrew.

The New Republic reported:

“Voters also said they were more concerned about Trump’s erratic behavior worsening with age should he retake the White House in November. Roughly 82 percent of polled voters said that Trump’s “poor decision making” and “erratic behavior” was a major concern, while roughly three-quarters of polled respondents listed his inability to communicate effectively with the American public, U.S. officials, and foreign officials, as well as a weakened perception of strength on the international stage, as other points of “major concern.” Another 49 percent and 44 percent of polled Americans described the potential onset of illness and death as major concerns, respectively.”

Markedly, Trump’s in trouble. Those single percentage point differences in a close race could flip the election to Harris. With Biden on the ticket, Trump polled across the board as the favorite, although by a few toss up percentages in the battleground states. With Harris, Trump, in a those states is now in a real horse race. And Harris has the momentum.

And note the irony here: the very same tactics Trump used against Biden may now be used by Harris against him, Trump’s age, his health, his mental acuity. Trump is arguably in a position where he may need to reach out to undecided and independent voters who have abandoned him since Harris entered the fray to bring them back into the MAGA fold. And that’s not to mention Nikki Haley’s coterie who can Harris can attract. And Trump’s bad news is America’s good news.

What Would An Attempt on His Own Life Be Without Donald Trump’s Contemplative Musings?

Michael Matheron1 Comment

Trump’s Truth Social post following his very bad day started out well enough. If one was hoping for some jib to humanization, his first phrases hinted at something we’ve never witnessed before from his postings, a sense of the moment and a call for sincere unification: “As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by . . .” He apparently exhausted himself with the effort:

As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts — The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a decades old photo in a line with her then husband does not count), and the Georgia “Perfect” Phone Call charges. The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!

@realDonaldTrump Donald Trump Truth Social 10:41 AM EST 07/15/24

We should not be surprised. He’s a singularity, an irresistible force, immune from everyday – decent – emotions. It would’ve been an apt time to follow up on his opening unification theme, but we learned that he’s immovable as he jumped immediately and immodestly from “move forward in Uniting our Nation” to his idea of unification. His sense of national unification is self-referential only. His list of unifying prerequisites is entirely so, for example, his usual list, “dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts — The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C.” and on and on. Being shot apparently doesn’t move him to self-examination, no sitting humbly before death. How empty must he be?

In a stunning irony, at the end of his cris de coeur he wrote, “Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System.” Yet, there is no mention of the weaponization of our society, and at a moment when he must still have felt the sting of the gunshot and the sensed the whizz of the bullet from one of those very real weapons. The only weaponization he cares about, deeply, is the judicial weapon aimed at himself in a land where accountability is still – if only barely – holding on.