One conservative journalist now believes that it's up to the American people to decide how much of President Donald Trump's "corrupt" behavior they're willing to tolerate.
During an appearance on Tuesday's episode of MSNBC's "Deadline: White House," commentator Charlie Sykes said that Trump's acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar's royal family should represent a major turning point for the American public. When responding to host Nicolle Wallace's point that Trump was trying to assert that it was okay for "real men" to "cheat," "lie" and "grift" to achieve their goals Sykes said that American voters should view that as a sharp reversal of everything they've been told about right and wrong.
"This is not about Donald Trump. It's about us, because it is so flagrant," Sykes said. "What Donald Trump is saying is, yeah, this is corrupt. I am accepting bribes. And it is smart to accept bribes. The corruption is the smart play. And so now it is up to the American people. What are you willing to accept?"
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Sykes lamented that Americans may choose to "become numb" to Trump's behavior and decide that he's "absolutely right" that "all this stuff about sportsmanship and about etiquette and about playing by the rules" is for "suckers" and "losers." And he opined that the jet scandal marks the first time Trump has gone from denying "corruption" to embracing it and defending it.
"It's not just the corruption. It's now the defense of the corruption," he said. "Because it is right in front of us, and he's pushing it into our face in the most aggressive manner possible. So, America, over to you. Are you buying what he's selling? Because he's selling it awfully aggressively."
Watch the video of Sykes' remarks below, or by clicking this link.
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