How many levels of parody can there be? My Arts Editor sends me this article by ReverbPress‘ Timothy Bertrand, reporting on the dissolution of Trump’s Policy Advisors Group:
The Donald Trump campaign neglected to pay so many D.C. policy advisers and staffers, many of them have quit, according to a new report from The Washington Post. Beginning in August, staffers at Trump’s Washington, D.C.-based policy shop have been unhappy about missing wages, poor management, and general abuse of the staff.
“They use and abuse people,” a former staffer told reporter Josh Rogin. “The policy office fell apart in August when the promised checks weren’t delivered.” He also called the office a “complete disaster”.
Several former staff members say they were promised financial compensation for their hours of hard work poring over documents, writing policy memos, and organizing meetings and briefings. The leaders of the shop, former chiefs of staff Rick Dearborn and John Mashburn, later told the staff members that they were unpaid volunteers.
It’s like a parody of a cartoon parodying a banana dictatorship. I’m not even sure who’s more at fault – Trump’s organization for not handling this professionally? The folks who turned out to be “unpaid volunteers”, for not clarifying the situation from the get-go? Trump for skimping on everything he could possibly skimp on, like any “good businessman” – without realizing he’s not in the world of business anymore?
I’m agog. I mean, the guy doesn’t even have charisma. How does he retain this high level of support in the polls?
