The details of Donald Trump Jr.’s May wedding to Bettina Anderson have recently come to light, and wow, what a party! Apparently, some muckety-mucks at ProPublica have an issue with the “facts” of who financed this smorgasbord of who’s who, effectively tarnishing a magical day. Just because Donnie J had his wedding festivities financed by a supposedly criminal Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin doesn’t mean he’s guilty of any wrongdoing. In fact, one might draw a parallel to Hunter Biden and his position at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. So, what gives? Why are all these presidential children getting raked over the coals for just trying to make a living and having a good time?
Stop Putin’ Him Down
The wedding happened back in May over Memorial Day weekend. Nothing screams eternal love and commitment like getting married over a holiday that honors our dead for their sacrifices to the country. It really is a classy move by the oldest child of a sitting president to throw an extravagant celebration on a private island outside the United States while consistently touting “America First.” Not only that, but nothing screams American pride quite like having a Russian oligarch finance hundreds of thousands of dollars in wedding expenses. Come on, leave the poor guy alone!
As stated in the ProPublica article, the event was supposed to be a small, private gathering. Hell, not even the father of the groom seemed to make the guest list. He was probably just too busy building a ballroom and an arch blocking out Arlington National Cemetery—things far more important than running the United States or attending his son’s second wedding. I guess after the first one, the novelty wears off.
Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with inviting a Russian friend to your intimate wedding and letting them foot the bill—even when you’re the son of a sitting president and your buddy has ties to the Russian government.
I’m sure it’s been an exceptionally hard time financially these past few years with Don Sr. back in the White House. They have to be extra careful in their business dealings to avoid any accusations of impropriety. I’m sure they’ve had to pass on a multitude of lucrative ventures just because of the optics. If a friend wants to cover your island rental and fireworks, why not let them? After all, this is America—I mean, the Bahamas—and nothing inappropriate ever happens there.
Shoot, it wasn’t that long ago that the right painted Hunter Biden’s duplicitous business dealings in Ukraine as the ultimate scandal. Who would give a graduate of Yale Law School, who has sat on several prior boards and is the son of a sitting American vice president, a job as a board member without ulterior motives? He obviously had huge sway with his dad. But aren’t these two things kind of the same? You know, butter up the kids to get to their powerful parents?
Just Biden’ My Time
If you’ve kept your head out of the sand for the past several years, you know the right treated Hunter Biden like a national treasure—one that needed to be found, displayed in a secure location, and followed by his dad. Let’s get our facts straight on Hunter:
- He was the son of a sitting vice president and subsequent president.
- He was a crackhead with a history of substance abuse problems.
- He had a laptop... that had nudes on it. Freaky!
- Burisma was Ukrainian, and everyone knows Ukraine is evil and Russia is not.
After all the federal investigations, he got nailed with possession of a firearm after lying on a federal application, plus those damning tax evasion charges. Bad Hunter, bad.
I suppose this is the point where I should mention that the Bidens faced a prolonged inquiry by Republicans that yielded the above charges, which were eventually pardoned by his father, then a sitting president. All that time, money, and effort by Republicans really showed the American public how corrupt the “Biden crime family” was... by not finding any actual corruption charges. Huh.
One of These Is Not Like the Other
I outlined all the ways Hunter and his father were obviously compromised. But, in the spirit of fairness, let’s take a peek at Don Jr. and his dad. Are they as clean as freshly fallen snow? Let’s check the scoreboard.
Keep in mind that only Donald Trump was found guilty of any charges—but hey, after winning the presidency the second time, those federal cases just magically disappeared. Also weird.
Freedom for Me, But Not for Thee
I think the biggest takeaway here is that both Trump and Biden have used the presidential pardon to help close family and allies. Blue or Red, it’s completely messed up when leaders don’t play by the rules the rest of us are expected to follow.
That said, if we put those convictions and allegations on a weighted scale, one side is tipped heavily towards a bottomless pit of corruption. Stop believing everything you hear and look at the evidence. You can wave your hands and say “it’s all screwed,” but that doesn’t change reality.
And if you think letting a foreign oligarch cover a six-figure wedding tab is brazen, wait until you see the bill they’re sticking the rest of us with to keep power. The current administration is undoubtedly corrupt. Damn it, they’re even willing to use public tax dollars to buy votes. You want a $5,000 midterm dividend? Where do you think that money comes from? It just gets added to our national debt, continuing the deprivation of earned benefits and resources for our kids.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d like my kids to have a better future than I have... unless you’ve drank the Kool-Aid, and you just don’t give a shit as long as you’re owning the other side.
Dad out... I need a beer.