Perhaps when Donald Trump read "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" to a group of children for a photo-op as a private citizen back in 2003, he inverted its original lesson. As many parents know, the book is a classic cautionary tale about how ceding a trifle of something — such as a cookie — to a mouse will only lead to more demands and expectations, each harder to satisfy than the last. But Trump may have instead interpreted the mouse's journey as aspirational — a blueprint for expanding his power that he is now applying to our entire system of governance.
These days, Trump is getting offered much bigger rewards than cookies, and the demands are growing broader and more unfeasible.
We've seen this unfold recently as Trump bent Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to his will. But Bezos isn't the only one being rolled by the White House.
This is a preview of Michael Steele's latest article. Read the full column here. For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend, watch "The Weeknight" Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. ET starting May 5.
|
