President Donald Trump's shakedown has gone beyond his own personal profits; now he's being called a presidential pirate who has twisted "America First" into using the government to take what it wants from anywhere in the world.
The Bulwark's Will Saletan is calling out Trump for what he's calling the outright "plundering" of the world.
In a Friday column, Saletan mocked Trump's claims that he's the real president of peace while in the same week he bombed Nigeria on Christmas, outlined his future plot to take over Greenland and take oil from Venezuela.
"It’s not peace. It’s extortion, conquest, and theft," said Saletan.
Each of Trump's decisions, he believes, is based on money.
"He arm-twists companies into giving the government a chunk of their stock," wrote Saletan. "He withholds food stamps as a bargaining chip. He calls low-income housing an offense against rich people. He muses about awarding himself $1 billion from the Treasury."
The same could be said for the way in which Trump has handled international relations. Tariffs aren't strategic, Trump says they “pay for the privilege of access to our market." Trump is selling "golden visas" to multimillionaires while trying to ban asylum seekers from “third world countries.”
Saletan described Trump finding a new way to exploit war for his benefit as well.
Trump recalled when “they used to say, ‘To the victor belong the spoils.’” But in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and Vietnam, Trump complained, “We’d win, and then we’d leave.” He told soldiers that in his administration, he would restore profits from wars.
Saletan goes through the war against Ukraine, Trump's shakedown of NATO countries and his recent interest in Venezuelan oil. On Monday, Trump announced he'd spoken to "all the big" oil companies in the U.S. about taking over Venezuela after the U.S. pushes out the current government.
Even Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) got in on the action, proposing a law that would allow Americans to legally pirate boats and property from drug cartels.
"This isn’t the foreign policy many of Trump’s voters wanted," closed Saletan. "They thought 'America First' meant staying home. Instead, Trump has gone abroad to seize land and treasure. He’s a pirate. And being a pirate is all fun and games until somebody loses an island."