In the midst of a devastating natural disaster, Donald Trump showed the nation what he truly cares about: himself.
Donald Trump has had a lot to say as Hurricane Harvey approached landfall and then began battering the Houston area.
He plugged a book by a violent extremist sheriff, bragged — again — about his electoral college victory, and whined about NAFTA.
He offered some bizarrely giddy-seeming tweets about the size of the storm, as though anything that is "historic" must be really great.
And, ever the grifter, he used the hurricane — which is still causing untold damage, injury, loss of life, and massive flooding — to promote new hats for sale in his campaign store.
As far as messages of comfort and support for the millions in Texas affected by the storm, he had four whole words for them Friday, as he left for vacation: "Good luck to them." But unlike President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and many others, Trump made no plea to the country to pitch in and donate funds to relief efforts.
To be sure, Trump has indeed asked Americans to give.
A fundraising email sent out midday Monday begged his supporters to contribute and to help "CRUSH" the August fundraising goal.
In what would be a shameful irony, were Trump capable of feeling shame, the email insists, "All I ever want is the support and love from the AMERICAN PEOPLE who've been betrayed by a weak and self-serving political class."
Like a "political class" that asks for donations for a failing presidency and a campaign for re-election that is three years away?
"I didn't run for president to be a puppet for the political class," Trump insists. "I ran to be a champion for the people."
Perhaps he could begin by asking those people to donate money to their fellow citizens who have lost everything, rather than to fork it over to a man who wants to take even more from them?