Donald Trump wants $230 million of taxpayer money for his “pain and suffering” from investigations into his actions during his first term, and while most Americans are stunned by his audacity, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is standing firmly in Trump’s corner.
Hosts of Today in Ohio are like most of the rest of the country – astonished that a president would decide to give himself millions of taxpayer dollars.
“Think about the rank hypocrisy of Jim Jordan,” Chris Quinn said on Thursday’s podcast episode. “For years, he has used his position, going after what he saw as the weaponization of government, and now the very guy he’s defending is weaponizing government like no one ever has.”
Quinn noted how Trump has used social media to exhort his attorney general to prosecute specific enemies.
The podcast delved into how Jordan told Fox News that Trump deserves to be heard, calling the situation “lawfare” and arguing that “no one in U.S. History has been harassed by federal prosecutors like Trump has.” Jordan cast Trump as the ultimate victim of political persecution, a framing that Leila Atassi dissected on the show.
“No matter how outlandish the claim, he frames Trump as the victim, it never fails,” Atassi said. “He’s built his whole brand on the idea that if it’s accountability for Trump, it’s actually persecution. But if he’s willing to normalize something as extreme as a sitting president demanding taxpayer dollars from his own Justice Department, what’s that say about how far he’s willing to stretch his loyalty to this guy?”
The podcast hosts highlighted the ethical nightmare at the heart of this situation: Trump is asking his own Justice Department—now staffed with his loyalists—to pay him damages. Ethics experts called it “unprecedented” and “bizarre,” yet Jordan dismissed these concerns.
“This is just authoritarian government,” said Quinn. “We have moved so far into the authoritarian era… I hope we can extricate ourselves when this guy finally is out of office.”
The discussion also touched on the irony of Jordan’s position given his past crusades. “He doesn’t do any thinking,” Quinn argued. “It’s just, yes, sir, I’ll do whatever you want.”
This clash over Trump’s demand and Jordan’s defense represents just one segment of the wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation on Today in Ohio.
CRE: cleveland.com
