The Weekly WTF: America the Immoral

Plus, Jill Biden's duplicity, the ultimate expense check, and America's worst concert series

THIS STUFF ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

Jill Biden is officially annoying. The former first lady says that when she watched her husband’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, she thought, “he’s having a stroke.” That’s what a lot of us thought that night, as President Joe Biden demonstrated in real time, before an audience of millions, that he was too old and frail to run for reelection.

But at the time, Jill Biden was the only person on Planet Earth who publicly praised her husband’s debate performance. She also pushed him hard to stay in the race afterwards, according to multiple press reports. Put it all together, and it’s a portrait of a woman who had deep concerns about her elderly husband’s health but still compelled him to campaign for one of the world’s most stressful jobs.

The biggest disappointment about Joe Biden is that he turned out to be an egomaniac like so many other politicians who think they’re irreplaceable and refuse to leave the stage. That selfishness obviously extended to his wife and other inner-circlers who didn’t want to give up the perks of the presidency. You can read all about it in Jill Biden’s new book, if you really want to be reminded of one of the main reasons we now have President Donald Trump.

[Most Americans are missing out on an epic stock-market rally]

Immoral majority. The portion of Americans who think the nation’s morals are “poor” hit the highest level ever in Gallup polling that dates to 2002. Fifty-six percent of Americans think the nation’s moral values are “poor,” while 30% say they’re “fair” and only 12% say “excellent.” Eighty percent think America’s moral values are getting worse, while only 15% think they’re getting better.

Something’s off here. The Trump presidency, rife with abuse and corruption, has obviously led to that downgraded estimation of America’s moral character. But Americans who answer poll questions like these are the same ones who gave Trump a winning margin and a second presidential term in 2024.

The breakdown by political party shows a sharp increase in Democrats who think the country is immoral since Trump took office. That’s about what you’d expect for a party that totally lost political power. But Independents and Republicans have also soured on the nation’s morality. That means many people who voted for Trump think the nation has become less moral under his stewardship. Duh?

[How older homeowners locked up the housing market]

I dunno, people. The leaders we choose reflect who we are. What those numbers say to me is that Americans, as in the people who live here, are becoming less moral. The country is the people.

The expense report of your dreams. Most workers who file expense reports have faced dreary battles with company auditors over a few measly bucks. They do things differently at the CIA. An agency official named David Rush put in for $2 million in cash and 303 gold bars worth around $40 million, claiming it was for “work-related expenses.” The agency complied. 😱

Then, maybe, the CIA got suspicious? The CIA says it investigated Rush when he started asking for gold bars, then turned it over to the FBI, which raided his Virginia home on May 19 and found the loot, plus a bunch of Rolex watches. The FBI found that Rush had been lying about his qualifications and his background for years. He appears to be a scam artist.

But hold on a minute. The CIA is supposed to aggressively vet every employee. They didn’t catch any of this? Why did they give him the gold bars when he started asking? Is that unusual, or totally normal at the CIA? How much gold does the CIA have on hand, anyway? What kinds of receipts do you have to turn in when you spend the CIA’s gold?

Rush began asking for the cash and the gold last November, so that part happened during the Trump administration. Maybe Rush figured everybody else in government is on the take, so why not him. But he’s been lying to the government about his qualifications since at least 2006, and nobody caught on until now. WTF.

Latest Trump outrage. President Trump’s Justice Dept. has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the woman who successfully sued Trump for sexual assault and is due $88.3 million in damages from him. Prosecutors think she may have gotten financial help paying for lawyers from an outside group, even though she said she was paying her own legal fees. A real Justice Dept. working in the national interest would never bother with something like this, but Trump is using taxpayer assets to pursue his own personal vendettas. Trump has appealed the Carroll case, and the Supreme Court will likely decide if he has to pay.

[Trump says to hell with affordability]

Trump wants to get into your wallet. Trump wants Congress to change the law so his face can appear on a commemorative $250 bill the Treasury wants to print, to honor America’s 250th year as a country. Current law says no currency can feature the face of a living president. But Trump thinks we need to see more of him.

He probably won’t get his way. Trump has made some enemies among Republicans in Congress recently, by endorsing Trumpy challengers to party stalwarts. That’s eroding his Republican support in Congress, especially for kooky ideas such as this. He may also get his name whitewashed from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, now that a judge blocked the rebranding Trump attempted earlier this year.

But never assume your wallet is safe from Trump.

Let freedom wane. The “Freedom 250” concert series Trump is planning for Washington, DC in June and July is shaping up as an apt tribute to a declining nation in disarray. The announced headliners are mostly warmed-over acts from the ‘80s and ‘90s, as if to remind America, things were better then.

But we can’t even do nostalgia right these days. A bunch of the performers dropped out once they realized it was a Trump event, including Young MC, Martina McBride, Morris Day, and The Commodores. The organizing group listed Milli Vanilli as one of the acts, but the duo said they were “shocked to see our name” because nobody had booked them.

How did we ever make it to 250?