Why People Hate Politicians
Author: Greg Valliere
December 2, 2024
POLITICIANS, AT LEAST HALF OF THEM, will look you in the eye and lie to you. It happens all the time and it contributes to the high level cynicism most voters have.
THE LATEST EXAMPLE comes from Joe Biden, who solemnly, absolutely, pledged for the past year that he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden, who got a “full and unconditional” pardon yesterday.
MOST DEMOCRATS (in private), and many (in public) expressed dismay yesterday over a pardon so sweeping and all-encompassing that it must have been in the works for weeks and weeks.
BIDEN SWORE that he would never get involved in Justice Department cases and maybe he thought that releasing this news at the end of a long Thanksgiving weekend would obscure the event.
INSTEAD, DEMOCRATS reacted angrily, charging that Biden lied to them. And they are still upset at him dragging his feet, not resigning quickly when it became clear in the spring that he had cognitive issues.
STILL ANOTHER CYNICAL DEVELOPMENT came this weekend when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a Trump critic, raced to Mar-a-Lago to cozy up with the former president once tariffs were threatened.
TRUMP AND TRUDEAU TALKED FOR THREE HOURS at a dinner (meatloaf was the entree). Trudeau promised to speed up negotiations on a new trade treaty, while cracking down drug dealers and illegal immigrants.
WHAT A LIFE SAVER this could be for Trudeau. His hasty trip to Florida may jump-start his uphill effort to win re-election next fall (or sooner). Trudeau’s sudden warmth toward Trump surely will be an issue, as will his ties to Mexican Prime Minister Claudia Scheinbaum.
TRUMP APPARENTLY FOUND TIME to grant his own blockbuster, nominating businessman Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law, as ambassador to France. The elder Kushner has served jail time for financial crimes; Trump issued a pardon.
SO WE HAVE PART OF THE ANSWER ABOUT WHY politicians are so untrustworthy. Some lie (Biden), some quickly change their positions (Trudeau), and some cut deals to trade ambassadorships to their cronies. Is there any wonder why election turnouts are often very light?
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