The evidence is overwhelming and indisputable at this point. Donald Trump is a phony, who has given his administration over to Wall Street crooks even more enthusiastically than his predecessors, and his predecessors were very enthusiastic.
I’ve written about this many times, and I warned throughout the campaign that my biggest fear was Trump is far too cozy with the finance industry, fake populist statements aside. His latest hire for the number two position at the Treasury Department once again proves the point.
As David Dayen reports in his excellent article at The Intercept, Donald Trump Isn’t Even Pretending to Oppose Goldman Sachs Anymore:
The continuity of Wall Street’s dominant role in American politics — regardless of what party sits in power or how reviled the financial industry finds itself across the country — was perhaps never more evident than when Jake Siewert, now a Goldman Sachs spokesperson, on Tuesday praised the selection of Jim Donovan, a Goldman Sachs managing director, for the No. 2 position in the Treasury Department under Steve Mnuchin, himself a former Goldman Sachs partner.
America will never recover until this is dealt with, and Trump has made it perfectly clear he will not deal with it.
“Jim is smart, extraordinarily versatile, and as hard-working as they come,” Siewert gushed. “He’ll be an invaluable addition to the economic team.”
The punch line? Siewert was counselor at the Treasury Department to Timothy Geithner, as well as a White House press secretary under Bill Clinton.
The ubiquity of Goldman Sachs veterans across numerous presidencies throughout history, both Republican and Democratic, has been well documented. But Donald Trump sold himself as something different, an economic nationalist determined to rankle Wall Street. He even ran campaign ads savaging bankers like Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein for their role in a “global power structure.”
That populist smokescreen is long gone now.
Mnuchin and Donovan are just two of five Goldman expats in high-level positions on Trump’s team. Steve Bannon spent a limited time at Goldman Sachs, but White House assistant Dina Powell, who headed the bank’s philanthropic efforts, and National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, Goldman’s former president, had higher-ranking positions for a longer period. Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee for the Securities and Exchange Commission, was a partner for Goldman’s main law firm, Sullivan and Cromwell.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus reportedly blocked Donovan from Treasury initially, amid fears of an image problem with too many “Goldman guys.” But Donovan got the post anyway.
You know it’s bad when Reince thinks there are too many Goldman baby squids around.
Even in areas where populist sentiment was seen as pre-eminent, Trump has reportedly succumbed to the Wall Street advance. A dramatic piece in the Financial Times described a “civil war” within the White House over trade, pitting Trump’s hard-liners like Bannon and trade policy adviser Peter Navarro against the likes of Cohn. It stated that Navarro was being sidelined, with Cohn taking a larger role in the negotiations over NAFTA, and with foreign leaders working through the National Economic Council rather than Navarro in trade talks. AFL-CIO official Thea Lee said in the story, “It appears the Wall Street wing … is winning this battle.”
At the NEC, Cohn hired Andrew Quinn, a chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to coordinate international trade and development. A stewing Breitbart News called Quinn “the enemy within.”
Drain the swamp baby.
Banks have celebrated since Trump’s election, composing the lion’s share of the “Trump bump” in stock prices. Goldman Sachs shares have risen from $181.92 on Election Day to around $250 today, an increase that accounts for as much as one-fifth of the total rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over that period.
It’s now completely obvious that the Trump administration has been hijacked by Wall Street, so where’s the resistance? When it comes to the self-proclaimed leaders of this “resistance,” the corporate media and the Democratic Party, the resistance is nowhere to be found. They’re simply too busy focusing on invented Russia conspiracy theories to deal with the provable conspiracy right in front of their faces. I find that quite curious.
It doesn’t take much critical thinking to immediately discover why. Russia fear-mongering is the perfect way to superficially oppose Trump, without actually opposing him. Corporate media and Democrats don’t dare focus on Trump’s Wall Street embrace because Wall Street owns their asses too. That’s the dirty little secret here.
While that’s bad enough, the only reason Trump is actually able to get away with such an obvious betrayal and lack of swamp drainage, is because his supporters allow him to. His power resides in his base, and if his base shrugs as he sticks a knife in their backs, then he’ll continue to stick the knife in. As I mentioned on Twitter yesterday.
I’m not surprised that Trump is a fraud, I’m surprised at how much of a fraud he is.
— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) March 15, 2017
More important point, like Obama before him, the only reason Trump can get away with his con are his pathetic, cheerleading supporters.
— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) March 15, 2017
Trump could lock half his supporters in a cage in the basement of Trump Tower for a year and they’d love him for it.
He’s getting the pedos!— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) March 15, 2017
Trump’s core supporters have a lot more to lose than I do if he continues along this path. Get angry or get screwed over, the choice is yours.
Unfortunately, I’m not hopeful. As we should all know by now: “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
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In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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Well said. I am glad that you have the picture because everyone except Richard Wolff and Chris Hedges and other strong left thinkers, don’t see it.
The interesting thing will be how will this all unravel. Trump and his gang are not that smart. Wolff make that point in his last presentation last Wednesday.
I don’t get it….aren’t everyday Americans also invested in Wall Street? As Wall Street goes, so goes the rest of the country! Maybe the writer of this article thinks a plumber could do a better job? lol
I don’t get it…how long do people have to continue to get pillaged by Wall Street (and their propaganda) to realize they are getting played? To answer your question, yes, there are indeed many everyday Americans invested in the stock market (current estimates appx. 55%), HOWEVER, the top 10% in this country own 90% of the stocks (and bonds)…as such a rising market benefits 45% of the people none of the time, and another 45% of the people very little. Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for strong asset prices, but it would be nice if those prices represented strong healthy companies and a strong healthy economy rather than being the result of a massive rig-job. With regards to the “as Wall Street goes, so goes the rest of the country”….seriously?…Wall Street has done absolutely fantastic since the 2008 debacle…most of the rest of the country is still treading water.
I highly doubt the writer of this article thinks a plumber could do a better job, but that’s really not what he’s advocating is it? The evidence that has come forth over these many years makes it perfectly clear…Goldman Sachs (and the rest of Wall Street) cares about one thing…and that’s Goldman Sachs (and themselves). As a retired professional trader I can attest to the fact that you don’t ever, EVER, want to be on the other side of a trade with Goldman…they are NOT the “best and the brightest”, but they most certainly have access to what is going to happen before it happens…it couldn’t possibly be from all their people staffing high-level Treasury and central banking positions?!?!?!? (sarc).
You’re either a shill or very misinformed…if the former please Google “Seppuku”, if the latter please pardon me and accept my apology for any rudeness…I too was once where you are now…please accept there is much you (as I did) need to unlearn. Best regards!
Are you aware, Todd, that Krieger had a successful career on Wall Street before he switched to what he is doing now?
If you think Wall Street’s interests align with those of mainstream America, you clearly haven’t been paying attention.
Those that still vote in these processes are those that still believe that there is influence being generated at the grassroots level when studies have shown nothing could be farther from the truth. I wrote prior to this farce playing out to expect more of same only more so no matter who the lucky candidate was to seize the brass ring. Predictably it was the Trump supporters who fired back that I was wrong and just wait and see. As for all the hoopla in the aftermath, meant to keep Democrat voters in the stable, Edward Bernays would be saying well done and his oft cited quote on the workings within a democratic society such as exists bears repeating :
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country…We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested largely by men we have never heard of….We are dominated by a relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”
this is the kind of stuff that is good to think about but i still would have voted trump. there is was will not and will never have been a POLITICAL PATH to getting rid of central banking.
it won’t happen by a man on a horse in politics. democracy is by nature subject to the same political corruption as any other system, however it is far better at other sytems at hoodwinking the populace into ‘hoping’ it can improve it’s own failures.
i know there weren’t many avid trump supporters like myself , who openly admitted to believing trump was a notorious fraud. i did, and i still do. and i STILL SUPPORT HIM.
you cannot have a non-fraudulent puppet in chief anymore. your voting doesn’t cannot and will never get you that. so if you are going to venture to speak about who you support for president, then you shoudl think over how important endorsing puppets for fun is. for me , it’s good fun. but don’t confuse it with ‘fixing your system’. you cannot ‘fix’ your system by voting. idon’t care if its bernie jill stein, ron paul. whoever. you want a strategy for fixing things. it’s time ot be honest about what you need to start telling people.
but prioritizing honesty over discussing the hot topics of shitting on useless puppets for fun is hard. no one wants to read that discussion. but they sure love reading about presidents.
who cares about presidents really? i’ll proudly admit i’m still happy that hillary isn’t and will not be president and that trump is great sport for the cia and media and that supposed conflict is good for making the empire look naked. unmasking the propoganda machine.
that said…………..what do you really suggest, that we focus on the next presidential election? i vote for my favorite fruit for president. what do you vote for?
Been reading your site and articles for years. But what I see hear is not the objectivity I am use to seeing with you. Could you be pinning all of what Trump may be trying to do to help defeat the Deep State on just this Goldman boys issue? I believe judging Trump should be based on an ensemble of factors (such as what is articulated by Harley Schlanger on his X22 Report interview for instance – see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL8HDWmdluY); this fellow really does a great job at critically examining the *whole* picture. Michael, I understand your frustration about Trump filling the swamp with Goldmanite parasites, as I feel the exact same way. However, by doing so, could you not be limiting your objectivity to the overall picture? There are many other areas to consider before judging a President on a single issue, even if it is one that is critical. Moreover, we don’t know his future actions. He is bright enough to understand the situation and could have a strategy that he is keeping secret. Just my 2 cents.
Hi, I don’t think that’s a fair characteristic of what I’m doing at all. I’ve been consistent about which issues matter most to me for years.
As I outlined in my post-election article: Americans Roll the Dice With President Donald Trump: https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2016/11/09/americans-roll-the-dice-with-president-donald-trump/
1. Trade — Opposition to NAFTA and current “trade” deals such as TPP, TTIP, and TISA have been central to both the Sanders and Trump campaigns.
2. War and militarism — Whether you believe Trump is sincere or not, opposition to Obama/Clinton interventionist overseas wars were key talking points for both Trump and Sanders.
3. The system is rigged — The painful acknowledgment that the U.S. economic system is a rigged scam that fails to reward hard work, and is more akin to a parasitic, predatory oligarchy with very limited social mobility, has been a key campaign theme for both Trump and Sanders. The economy is increasingly dominated by near-monoploy giants who relentlessly push for more power and more profits irrespective of the cost to society, whether that cost be war, poverty or social unrest.
4. Money in politics — The rigged economic system described above aggregates wealth into an increasingly small number of hands. Those hands then buy off politicians and rig the political process. A rigged economy and rigged political system perpetually feeds itself and endlessly grows at the expense of the public like a terminal cancer. Both Trump and Sanders emphasized this problem.
5. Rule of law is dead — Sanders focused on Wall Street bankers, while Trump focused on Hillary and her inner circle of cronies, but the overall point is the same. Rich and powerful oligarchs are above the law. We all know this, but Washington D.C. refuses to do anything about it.
He did the right thing on torching TPP, and I give him credit for that. On the other issues, he has been sorely lacking.
You may prioritize different issues, but those are mine and so far Trump is a disappointment and looking worse by the day.
Thank you for your reply Michael. What I was really trying to say is that Trump does appear to be the *ONLY* one who is willing to take on the Deep State (especially the military-industrial-complex, pedophiles and Zionists). Do you see anyone else leading on this issue? Who? If Trump (and the minority of good guys in the gov’t and agencies) don’t defeat the Deep State + they don’t get rid of the Fed and give back the money issuance ability back to an honest Treasury, the country is 100% doomed. Pretty much everything else wouldn’t matter. Thanks again for connecting with your audience.
I guess opposing open borders, nation building, the deep state (AND DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT) does not satisfy some. I also do not like Goldman Sachs but do not like open borders and welfare even more!!
Armistead. Define this “deep state” you speak of?
I am beginning to see a very clever ruse at work regarding what people (especially avid Trump supporters) define the deep state.
They’re now being fed a load of horseshit that purposefully casts the deep state as its errand boys, instead of the very small group of puppeteers who actually pull the strings connected to the errand boys. Thereby providing cover for just how sinister, powerful and concentrated they actually are.
This is not a good thing. As it makes them even more dangerous.
Armistead, what Trump says is irrelevant – what he does matters.
Open borders – fine, Trump still seems to be trying to close them to match his campaign. As Michael said, he also got rid of TPP, but let’s see how the NAFTA “renegotiations” go
Nation building – He is EXPANDING the military significantly, and wants to put more American soldiers into Syria.
Deep State – By definition, the “Deep State” is a group that wields power outside of the people’s elected goverenment. Trump has hired a bunch of Billionaires and Wall Street Execs. You really think a CIA desk analyst has more power than anyone in Trump’s Cabinet?
As for welfare, notice in Trump’s Budget that Corporate Welfare is alive and well. I hope you like poisonous water, dirty air, stock market manipulation, paying for tanks that the Army doesn’t want, subsidizing multinational agri-businesses, investmetns advisors that can legally put their firms interests over their clients, and a world with more nuclear bombs.
I understand and can see the various viewpoints put forth in the comments section. Each viewpoint has some sense. What I could not imagine is Trump choosing a non-financial non-insider to any financial position of power. That might collapse the system before it’s time. Nor could I imagine Trump coming out of the gate attempting to take down the Fed or Wall Street. I think having those expectations is not realistic at all as much as we would like it to happen.