Donald Trump Is Doing Yet Another Thing He Criticized Hillary Clinton Over
Remember when Donald Trump threatened to jail Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server as secretary of state? Clinton apologized and said she used her private server for convenience, but the concern then was that she could have compromised classified information and posed a security threat to the U.S. Well, now that he’s president, Trump is potentially putting the country at an even greater risk: using two unsecured cell phones that could expose him to hacking or surveillance by outsiders. Lock him up, anyone?
According to a new Politico report, Trump uses two phones—one for calls and one, evidently, just for antagonizing the populace on Twitter—that aren’t “equipped with sophisticated security features designed to shield his communications.” Making matters worse, the president reportedly refuses to swap out his cell phones on a monthly basis—as President Obama had—because it would be “too inconvenient.” Unlike Obama, Trump has also declined to disable the camera and microphone on the “call-capable phone,” and, according to Politico, citing senior administration officials, “keeping those components creates a risk that hackers could use them to access the phone and monitor the president’s movements.”
All this, from a man who smiled smugly while entire rallies of people chanted of Clinton—as recently as this past February—“Lock her up.” The hypocrisy doesn’t end there, though. Read on for five more things Trump criticized Clinton over, but has done himself while president.
1. Ties to Wall Street.
Then: “I know the guys at Goldman Sachs. They have total, total control over [Ted Cruz]. Just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton,” Trump spouted during the campaign. He went on to slam Clinton for giving paid speeches to Wall Street banks, saying they “owned her.”
Now: Fast-forward to the president hiring a who’s who of Wall Street honchos in his Cabinet, including Steve Bannon, a 17-year Goldman Sachs veteran, who once upon a time was seated in an office next to the Oval. Additionally, Steve Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, is a former Goldman partner; Wilbur Ross, a Wall Street billionaire, is in line for commerce secretary; and hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci had a brief and illustrious tenure as communications director. A veritable picture of the working class!
2. The use of private email.
Then: Even before the recent news of his unsecured phones, Trump was spewing hypocrisy on this issue. There was no more consuming line of criticism against Clinton than the use of her private email server: “It’s a disgrace, and honestly, you ought to be ashamed,” Trump said, blasting Clinton during the second presidential debate.
Now: Trump is leaving the country susceptible to hacking (again) with his own phones, and his senior staff including counselor Kellyanne Conway, senior advisor and first son-in-law Jared Kushner, Sean Spicer, and Bannon had active private emails under the Republican National Committee server. Pot, meet kettle.
3. Conflicts of interest.
Then: Trump made much ado of the Clinton Foundation allegedly accepting donations in exchange for access to Secretary Clinton and her State Department.
Now: Since then, Trump’s own conflicts of interest have made attacks against the Clinton Foundation (a charity that combats global AIDS and has a higher rating than the American Red Cross) feel quaint: The president has failed to place his real estate empire in a blind trust—instead, it’s being run by his sons, Eric and Donald, Jr., who could very easily share valuable business information with the leader of the free world that could make him an even richer man. Unsavory? Indeed. But it’s also a potential violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits U.S. officials from profiting from elected office, and, technically, is an impeachable offense.
4. Endangering servicepeople overseas.
Then: One word (innumerable hearings and questioning): Benghazi. Clinton was almost single-handedly maligned for lapses in security that ultimately led to the 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, which claimed the lives of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others. (While she ultimately took responsibility as secretary of state, there was little precedent for the level of blame she incurred; officials like former Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged that while she shared responsibility with the intelligence community and other agencies, the multiple investigations into Clinton were a “stupid witch hunt.” Which is not to be confused with a “stupid witch,” which is also probably something Trump called her.)
Now: Meanwhile, within the first 12 days of Trump’s presidency, questions swirl about the first Trump-ordered military attack against al-Qaeda in Yemen, which killed Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens and an 8-year-old civilian girl, among others: According to Reuters, U.S. military officials said that the operation was approved without sufficient intelligence, ground support, or adequate backup operations.
5. Sickness and health.
Then: When Clinton came down with pneumonia during the rigors of campaigning, Trump pounced: saying she suffered from “low energy” and “lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS, and all the many adversaries we face.” (This from a not-exactly svelte guy most often pictured digging into a bucket of KFC, but anyhoo.)
Now: A fortnight into the Trump era, his aides explained his hotheaded call with the Australian prime minister by saying he was “fatigued” because it was the “end of a long day.” To clarify, it was 5:00 p.m. Mr. President, where ever is your stamina?
