Jon Stewart has shown that Trump’s fraud, and the fraud committed by other wealthy people, is far from a victimless crime.
Stewart said: “How can he not be so angry about overstatements in the real world? Because they are not victimless crimes. First, banks were repaid at lower interest rates. Although, let’s be honest, who cares? But secondly, money is not infinite. A loan that goes to the liar does not go to someone who gives a more honest assessment, so the system is incentivized for corruption. And this is part of a different case of Trump fraud, but avoiding taxes hurts all of us. Donald Trump’s shenanigans cost New York City. And let’s be honest, this is money that New York City could have used to build more Walgreens.
Stewart later hit an important double standard, “The [bleep] Authorized arrogance. I don’t know if you know this, but most people can’t commit fraud and don’t expect to face repercussions, even though everyone does it. Try getting a car loan by saying you have ten times more money than you actually do. Or claim 20 dependents when you have no children. Or let’s say you make slightly less money to qualify for food assistance. I guarantee you, there are not only financial consequences for those lies, but criminal ones as well. But don’t tell that to the investment community. Because in their minds, in the pursuit of profit, there is no rule that cannot be bent, there is no principle that cannot be weakened, as long as you and your [bleep] friends earn. And the only immoral practice – apparently, the only immoral practice in the capitalist system is to use that money for people who might need it.”
Video:
For more stories like this, sign up for our The Daily newsletter.
Jon Stewart was right. The idea that Trump’s crimes were victimless is complete nonsense. Trump is accused of inflating his assets to obtain 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 that every person who lived in the state in the decades Trump cheated was also defrauded.
If a poor person runs errands to earn an extra $100 and is on Social Security disability, Republicans will cry fraud, but they have no problem with someone like Donald Trump defrauding an entire state of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Trump’s crimes have not been victimless, and the mindset of too many conservative elites demonstrates why Trump must be held accountable.
A special message from PoliticusUSA
If you are in a position to donate exclusively to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here.
We are honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we respond only to our readers and will not compromise on that core, core value of PoliticusUSA.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the 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.
Professional rewards and subscriptions
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association