The campaign to delegitimize President Donald Trump took an ugly turn recently as a rapper and a journalist made vile, nasty remarks about First Lady Melania Trump. Other first ladies, in particular, Hillary Clinton, have been the recipient of political and even personal attacks, but Ms. Trump has been targeted in the crudest way possible.
First up, a rapper who goes by the name of Bow Wow posted on Twitter that, in effect, that unless President Trump stop his tweet war with Snoop Dogg, he would sex traffic the First Lady and force her into prostitution.
Snoop Dogg recently produced a video in which he shoots a clown that resembles the president with a trick gun. Trump made one of his angry tweets about it, suggesting that had the clown been President Obama, the famous rapper and actor would face jail time.
David Cay Johnston, the journalist behind the leaked Trump 2005 tax return, was on "Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" on MSNBC to discuss the matter further. Noting that a significant figure for wages was included in the return, unusual for a businessman like Trump, he speculated that the money could have been earned by Melania Trump. While speculating how the former model and businesswoman made money, Johnston said, “She did do some very sneaky porn.” To her credit, Rachel Maddow, who was also on the show, interrupted him.
Both Bow Wow and Johnston got quick and heated criticism on social media. One suspects that the rapper may soon get a visit from the Secret Service for his threat upon the first lady of the United States. Johnston may be the recipient of a defamation suit which may also include MSNBC. His purloining of the Trump tax returns, which he claimed showed up in his mailbox, has already elicited ridicule for the much ado about nothing aspect.
His “sneaky porn” accusation may well be a career killing gaffe, something that will have blowback for MSNBC.
Something about Trump causes many of his enemies to become deranged. The president, like most every other person who has occupied the White House, has done and said things that merit criticism. But he has benefited from the fact that his enemies are often more outrageous than he is, as incredible as that might seem.
