Under Trump, the U.S. is for sale by our amoral sociopath-in-chief

President Trump has made it quite clear by clinging to a continued close relationship with Saudi Arabia in the light of their assassination of a renowned journalist:  the U.S. is up for sale.

Trump's response, when it was first mentioned that the Saudi government, perhaps the Crown Prince himself, might be responsible, was to say some words of lament about the murder, along with sanctions to some individuals, but then to quickly add:  "But I would hate to lose the great deals we have with them."

Trump (falsely) claims the Saudis will buy $400 billion worth of military equipment from us in the coming years.   He further claims that they have already agreed to a deal to buy over $100 billion worth.  In fact, they have only stated an intention to buy that much.  Actual signed deals amount to less than 15% of that amount, but that is not the main point here.

The point is that President Trump is all about the deal, and everything is transactional and shortsighted.   He has no concept of -- and no appreciation for -- the moral high ground that represents to the world the values of democracy, equality, and freedom.   He couldn't care a whit whether the US is a moral leader and example of idealism for the world, a lead that demands that its allies follow the rule of law and the principles of humanitarianism.

He has a very simple rule:   Do we win?  And do we get the best price?   And often:   how does this affect my personal/family finances?   Although he denies it now, he is previously on video bragging about the deals he has with the Saudis, how much real estate they have bought from him or invested in his projects.   We just don't know the extent;   but the Saudis have money, Trump always needs money to finance his real estate empire, and as president Trump has valuable things to exchange for money and no scruples.

 He doesn't care if workers are inhumanely exploited;   he doesn't care if a murder is involved, as long as we're not charged with it.

This, folks, is the amoral, narcissistic sociopath we've put in the Oval Office.

Ralph