Kaitlin Collins:You once said that using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge just could not happen. You said that when you were in the oval office. Donald Trump: That’s when I was president Collins: So why is it different now, when you’re out of office? Trump: Because now I’m not president Raucous laughter and applause from the cult. I’ll just leave that there for you to ponder. This is what passes for serious political discourse on the right. Here;s a member of Trump’s braintrust pretty much saying the same thing: Former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow says, “I just don't buy these horrific scenarios” about the debt ceiling. “If, you know, if an interest rate payment was 10 days late, and the price of that would be a major, major spending reduction, it probably would be a good idea.” This is drastically different from where Kudlow was back when he was in government, and told Fox News Radio in 2019: “We can’t have a default, Brian [Kilmeade]. That would just a monkey wrench into the financial world and the economy.” This is the perfect encapsulation of Trump’s statement about debt ceiling hostage-taking at his CNN rally/town hall on Wednesday: “Because now I’m not president.” When MAGA is in office, they want deference. When not in office, they will gladly act as national saboteurs. Originally tweeted by Eric Kleefeld (becoming a parody of myself) (@EricKleefeld) on May 12, 2023.