Axelrod Laments Trump's 'Marie Antoinette' Image, Ignores Democratic Bling-Bling
The Independent breathlessly reports David Axelrod's concern that Donald Trump's 'Marie Antoinette thing' – his alleged remodeling of the White House in gold and marble while Americans struggle – should put the GOP 'on edge.' A noble sentiment, one might think, if it weren't so transparently partisan. Where was this principled outrage during the Obama years, when the establishment cheered on
interventions in Libya that destabilized a region, or authorized drone strikes, or continued to funnel billions into endless wars? The media's selective focus on Trump's decor, rather than the systemic issues perpetuated by both parties, perfectly encapsulates the distraction. Axelrod's pearl-clutching is a classic maneuver: redirect public anger from policy failures to personal optics. While
Trump's gilded taste might be grating, it conveniently sidesteps the bipartisan consensus that ensures astronomical military budgets are passed without question, year after year, while domestic programs wither. Perhaps the real 'Marie Antoinette thing' is the political class universally telling constituents to 'eat cake' in the form of thoughts and prayers, while approving unfathomable sums for
weapons and foreign entanglements.