Trump's quest to acquire the Peace Prize and other distractions

News and Views for Floridians and concerned Americansf

President Donald Trump is having a big year so far, accomplishing two goals he was desperate to fulfill.

Goal 1: Distract everyone from the fact that his Justice Department has only provided the tiniest fraction of the Epstein Files that were required to be released before the end of last year.

Goal 2: Acquire the Nobel Peace Prize.

About the Peace Prize …

We’ve listened to Trump yammer and plead about why he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, which is nonsense, but malignant narcissists can never get enough flattery.

So, yesterday, the actual winner of the prize, Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela, traveled to Washington, D.C., and gave it to Trump.

He was very pleased, as you can see:

To be clear, though, just because someone gives you a trophy they earned does not mean you earned the trophy.

For instance, let’s just imagine that famous Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps decided to travel to the White House to give Trump one of his Olympic gold medals. He’s got lots of them, 23 total, so he probably wouldn’t even notice the loss.

Trump gleefully accepts the gold medal, poses for photographers, then proclaims himself an Olympic gold medal winner.

Cue images of Trump in a Speedo, then suppress gag reflex.

Absurd, right?

Right.

Epstein, Epstein, Epstein …

Where are the files, Pam?

Former Florida attorney general and now Trump’s chief minion at the Justice Department, Pam Bondi, was supposed to turn over the entirety of the investigative files of the convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein last year.

The same files Bondi said she had right on top of her desk.

Now, she says, it is taking forever to censor them, so she just needs more time to root through them to redact any references to Trump or his billionaire pals.

Which is scandalous.

But Trump, who is a master of distraction, has clogged the airwaves and social media with a succession of outrageous events, from accusing murder victims in Minneapolis of being domestic terrorists, to invading Venezuela, to threatening to invade Greenland and destroy the NATO alliance, etc., etc., etc.

All of which has nudged the Epstein Files out of the headlines.

But Epstein: Where are the files, Palm?

And Congress: Where are the “inherent contempt” charges?

And all the rest of us: Don’t let Trump get away with this distraction.

Back in the Sunshine State …

Florida’s annual 60-day legislative session continues to grind away.

One update worth noting:

The House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation to lower the age limit for the purchase of rifles from 21 to 18.

The state had raised the minimum age as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act in 2018, a bipartisan response to the Parkland school shooting that killed 17 people. The idea was to keep long guns out of the hands of younger adults.

You can imagine how Second Amendment advocates and the National Rifle Association feel about that.

Yesterday’s vote in the House was 74-37, with five Republicans joining Democrats in opposing lowering the age limit and one Democrat switching sides and voting with the Republican majority.

So far, there is no companion bill in the state Senate.

J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press, a journalist, and award-winning author. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida.

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Venezuela distraction

Why did global markets hardly blink in the aftermath of the Trump invasion of Venezuela? Because, among other things, the importance of the oil reserves there are vastly overblown. Energy expert Bob Brecha explains it all in an insightful essay on the Tropic Press website. You can read it here:

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Note to readers: This corrects an erroneous headline in an earlier transmission