Well, he’s reared his head yet again.
Real estate deals that abused the public trust and lined his own pockets.
Cozy relationships with lobbyists.
Critiquing an act when committed by the other party, then fully indulging in it when able to himself.
A habit of saying one thing and doing another, reflective of a complete absence of any sort of bedrock principles.
Mick Mulvaney perfected all of this back when Trump was just a New York lowlife fighting bankruptcy and jumping in front of TV cameras. So, it seems, he and the President truly deserve each other.
But does Trump know him as well as we do?
His office jumping ambition was on full display this week, when he denied interest in the Chief of Staff gig, then jumped on it like a Little Leaguer on a slice of free pizza. Sort of reminds us of his denial of interest in running for Congress back when he was a less-than-one-term South Carolina state senator.
We wonder if the President knows about his lack of fondness for The Donald’s favorite autocratic tyrant? Back in January 2016, Mick told a local radio audience “I’m not a big fan of Vladimir Putin, I don’t know who would be.”
Then again, Mulvaney warms to folks he previously loathed when the flip-flop proves helpful to his career. In November 2016, he went on the record calling Trump “a terrible human being” during a local Congressional debate, but those comments only came after he had gone on the record noting that he has a “very difficult time taking [Trump] seriously” and suggesting he prefers “someone who can have an intelligent conversation on the issues.”
On his campaign Facebook page in October 2016, he called Trump “not a very good person” whose comments were “disgusting and indefensible,” continuing that “I don’t particularly like Donald Trump as a person.”
In that same post, with a finger pointed at Democrats, he made a comment as rich as a bacon and chocolate mousse sandwich:
“In politics, we call that hypocrisy. And it is the worst part of American politics.”
Well, we agree on that, Mr. Mulvaney. Hypocrisy is the worst part of American politics. And if volunteering to run West Wing operations for a guy you once wished would be “disqualified from holding the office” ain’t hypocrisy, then I don’t know what is.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Mulvaney. May at least one of your 2016 wishes come true.