Trump Turns SOTU into Tacky Fundraising Event

For as long as the words "Donald Trump" and "president" have been uttered in the same sentence, even back in the good old days when that didn't seem like anything but a punchline except to all but the most cynical among us, there have been attendant jokes about how he would slap a giant "TRUMP" on the White House; paint it gold; turn it into just another garish monument to his neon ego.

He hasn't ordered the gilded lettering just yet (that we know of), but he does talk about the United States like it's a used car lot he's running, and policy is nothing more than making the best deals.

And, of course, since before he even stepped foot inside the Oval Office, he was using it to personally enrich himself and his family — grifters all and always.

But even by the rock-bottom standards he's already set for himself, this is some real garbage.

John Wagner at the Washington Post: Names of Campaign Donors to Be Flashed During Live Stream of Trump's State of the Union Speech.

[Donald] Trump is seeking to parlay his first State of the Union address on Tuesday into cash for his reelection campaign by offering supporters a chance to see their name flashed on the screen during a broadcast of the speech.

In a fundraising solicitation on Monday, Trump offered those willing to pay at least $35 the opportunity to see their name displayed during a live streaming of the address on his campaign website.

"This is a movement," the solicitation says. "It's not about just one of us. It's about ALL of us. Which is why your name deserves to be displayed during Tuesday night's speech."

The web page to which the solicitation links offers donors the opportunity to contribute as much as $2,700 — the maximum amount allowed per election.

I am embarrassed by Trump and his tacky commodification of the presidency; I am embarrassed by the fact that there are people who will clamor to make a donation to see their names broadcast by this revolting buffoon; and I am embarrassed for the rest of us that this is what our nation has become.

This is the failed state dystopia of our nightmares: The United States plunged into authoritarianism by a gauche clown, whose humiliating indignity is exceeded only by his malignant indecency.