As we write, people—very rich people—are being actively solicited to hand over between $1 million and $30 million to Mick Mulvaney, a man who’s never before managed money professionally. Why would they do so? Well, of course, for the “advantage over everyone else” provided by Mulvaney’s penetrating insights into “how Washington works,” like this one:
I don’t pretend, simply because I served as White House chief of staff for 15 months, to know the president more deeply than anyone. But I’m familiar with his manner and style and know a little about how he thinks….
A few [ideas] that we floated to Mr. Trump would’ve had him publicly confront Speaker Nancy Pelosi about her decision to leave town instead of continue discussions. He was livid: “Dammit, Mick, I am the president of the United States. I am not going to pull off that kind of petty crap….”
The president knew the time for showmanship and the time for serious discussion. And no occasion is more fit for seriousness than a national transition of power at the highest levels…. I have every expectation that Mr. Trump will be, act and speak like a great president should—win or lose.
Oh, you mean, like this?
Calling the outcome of the election “this egregious assault on our democracy,” he said his supporters should “walk down to the Capitol….”
“You will never take back our country with weakness.”
Ah, yes, grace, generosity, true presidentiality personified. Truly, Mulvaney has his pulse on things. Money well spent, if I may speak for the investors in Exegis Capital.
Anyway, Mulvaney, who was only too happy to stand beside Trump the last time he got someone killed when his supporters rioted, has decided to no longer divide his attention between raising money and maintaining peace in Northern Ireland.
“I called [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo last night to let him know I was resigning from that. I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mick Mulvaney said in an exclusive interview on “Squawk Box….”
“We didn’t sign up for what you saw last night,” Mulvaney said. “We signed up for making America great again, we signed up for lower taxes and less regulation. The president has a long list of successes that we can be proud of….”
Mulvaney added that Trump was “not the same as he was eight months ago.”
Huh, he sure did sound like pretty much the same guy we’ve been hearing incite violence against his opponents and undermining faith in American democracy for the last five years to us. Are you sure there’s not something else eating away at something other than your purported conscience, Mickey?
Business leaders and trade groups called Wednesday for an end to the violence in Washington, D.C. and a peaceful transfer of power after supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol where legislators were meeting to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.
Oh, you mean, the kind of people who might have between $1 million and $30 million to invest in a new hedge fund? Why, yes, Mick, we do see the seriousness of the matter now.
“The insurrection that followed the president’s remarks today is appalling and an affront to the democratic values we hold dear as Americans,” said Blackstone Group Inc. Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman…. Others in the business community called for further steps. Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the National Association of Manufacturers, said Mr. Pence should consider invoking the 25th amendment, which allows for a transfer of power when a president is unable to fulfill his duties.
Schwarzman… Schwarzman… Now, where have we heard that name before?
Take Steve Schwarzman, the Blackstone Group co-founder. He was one of Mr. Trump’s most ardent backers and confidants on Wall Street. Knowing the president’s proclivity to lie and incite his followers, Mr. Schwarzman still supported his election campaigns. Should that matter to pension funds and other investors doing business with Blackstone and its companies?…/Business is about accountability, and this sad episode in our nation’s history deserves more of it.
Now, now, slow down, ARS: We all know consequences are for poor people. The darker-skinned ones, anyway.
‘I can’t stay here’ – Mick Mulvaney resigns from Trump administration, expects others to follow [CNBC]
If He Loses, Trump Will Concede Gracefully [WSJ]
CEOs, Industry Groups Denounce Capitol Riots [WSJ]
What About the Enablers? [DealBook]