One of the most frequent refrains from Donald Trump as he ran against Hillary Clinton was that if he won, he would go to Washington and “drain the swamp,” meaning he would eliminate the close ties between lobbyists and government officials. Take a look at his cabinet picks and you quickly realize the promise was nothing more than a slogan.
Yesterday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted Trump had been bullshitting us all along, commenting:
“He now says it was cute, but he doesn’t want to use it anymore.”
Of course not, because he sure as hell doesn’t plan to actually be transparent or place his assets in a truly blind trust. Trump just replaced the alligators in the swamp with ones that are loyal to him first and foremost.
But today the plot thickened yet again as Trump took to Twitter and posted this rebuke of Gingrich:
Someone incorrectly stated that the phrase "DRAIN THE SWAMP" was no longer being used by me. Actually, we will always be trying to DTS.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016
And a few minutes later Newt posted a video on Twitter in which he acted like he had a gun to his head and was being threatened with violence, stating:
“I want to report that I made a big boo boo. I talked this morning with President-elect Donald Trump and he reminded me, he likes ‘drain the swamp’ – I miscategorized it the other day. He intends to drain the swamp. He even describes it as DTS…. So I want all of you to know that I goofed, ‘draining the swamp’ is in. Alligators should be worried. And you’ll hear me write more about alligators and the swamp. But I thought I owed it to all the folks who follow me, when I make a mistake, I’m going to be straight forward and tell you. I blew that one. Draining the swamp is in. President-elect Trump wants to do it, and you’re gonna get to be part of it.”
So one day it’s no longer operable and the next it is? That’s interesting. What exactly does Trump have of Gingrich doing on video? Fellating donkeys at the zoo? Dressed as a horse and giving “rides” to whoever agrees to pay a buck? Or did Trump merely threaten to make Newt’s family disappear?
Just in case you missed the latest update, draining the swamp is a cool thing again. Next week, who knows. Oh, and if Newt messes up again, word is that Trump has some close business associates who will store him the same place they did Jimmy Hoffa.
Here’s the video, perhaps the last time we will ever see Newt:
I goofed. Draining the swamp is in, @realDonaldTrump is going to do it, and the alligators should be worried. #DTS https://t.co/nCHs61gpve pic.twitter.com/OCO7eaSKvk
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) December 22, 2016