New York Times columnist Frank Bruni scorched Donald Trump in a biting op-ed Thursday, where he accused the president of lavish hypocrisy as ordinary Americans are told to make do with less.
“Five pencils may be adequate for an American pupil — that was the allotment that President Trump advised, given the wages of his trade wars — but no number of billions is enough for him and his avaricious brood,” Bruni told readers as he laid into not just Trump, but his family.
“The presidency, to their thinking, isn’t a privilege. It’s a profit center,” the columnist added before going on to list the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures and international real estate deals.
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Bruni went on to argue that Trump’s narrative of belt-tightening for everyday Americans – including children who he said could make do with fewer toys and fewer dolls – is in stark contrast to his "gluttonous" lifestyle.
“As unseemly as the Trumps’ avarice is on its own, it’s doubly so in terms of the president’s contradictory message to voters,” Bruni wrote Thursday. “They’re supposed to tighten their belts while he gorges on all he can. They’re forced to parcel out classroom basics while he wallows in opulence. Let them use Sharpies.”
Bruni continued to slam Trump’s messaging as economic fallout from his sweeping tariff policy continues to worsen. He also pointed to Trump’s redecorated Oval Office that is now brimming with gold as yet another symbol of excess.
“While they skimp, he splurges, in every way imaginable and more expansively than before,” he concluded.
