For Troubled Trump, Foreign Connections Will Do...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

McALLEN, Texas | Well, they are Americans, but not quite the usual Americans legally-strapped Republican Donald J. Trump tends to push in his racist/bigoted ways. The trio above is not named Abbott, McCarthy or Graham. They are his close advisors. The woman is his lawyer.

Names?

Her name is Alina Habba, a 39-year-old immigrant from Iraq with a law practice in New Jersey.

The chubby guy deplaning behind her is spokesman Stephen Cheung, a Chinese-American who worked for - egads! - the late John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008. Yes, the same Vietnam POW John McCain Trump often disrespected while the U.S. Senator from Arizona was alive. Cheung is 41 years old.

The third man in the photo above is one Boris Epshteyn, a 40-year-old Russian immigrant who has been in this country only since 1993. Rio Grande Valley residents may remember Big Mouth Boris as a Right-wing commentator of a few years ago on Channel 4 in Harlingen. He also serves Trump as spokesman.

Not to simply dump on their ethnic backgrounds, but Trump does play the "Full-Anglo" card often enough to be seen as a segregationist. As far as we know, he has never had a Mexican (Hispanic) on any of his political endeavors. No Hispanic served on his White House Cabinet while he was president from 2016 to 2020.

Blacks also rarely make it to photo ops with Trump. His only Black in the Cabinet was Dr. Ben Carson, who was shuffled off to run the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and was never heard from again.

But, okay, who knows? His lady lawyer seems too young for the fight against the Department of Justice on these latest indictments. It could be that the country's best lawyers no longer want anything to do with Trump.

Cheung and Epshteyn are minor leaguers in national politics. Whatever happened to former spokespersons Anthony Scaramucci or Kayleigh McAnany or Kellyanne Conway?

The people he has now may be the best he can do.

Lord knows Trump has burned more than his share of professionals.

It's just interesting that these defenders he now postures before the country all seem to have distinctive connections to countries we do not see as friendly.

His indicted bodyguard, Waltine "Walt" Nauta, 41 or 42, according to Wikipedia, is a native of Guam. Groundskeeper defendant Carlos De Oliveira is a Portuguese immigrant.

Perhaps they're okay.

It just looks weird. The optics, I mean...

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