Hypocrisy, thy name is Donald Trump.
Once lambasting the Saudi regime as a state sponsor of terrorism that was complicit in the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. president has now decided to turn around and sell to the bastion of dark age repression roughly a third of a trillion dollars ó not billion, that's not a typo ó worth of weapons of war over the next decade.
Meanwhile, he praises the regressive and oppressive authoritarian monarchy that still cuts peoples' heads off with swords as staunch allies in the war on terror while accusing a country that just held free elections and also allows women to drive as being the regional threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.
I'm still trying to remember how many of the 9/11 suicide bombers came from Iran.
Oh, that's right! Not. A. Single. One.
Meanwhile, 15 of the attackers were of Saudi nationality.
Trump's hypocrisy is like a dark, bottomless abyss ó it has no observable depth. And just when one thinks it doesn't go any deeper, the president proves us wrong.
There is no shortage of examples to highlight this fact, among them the president's criticism and accusations that former First Lady Michelle Obama had snubbed the Saudi royalty by refusing to cover up during a previous state visit.
"Many people are saying it was wonderful that Mrs. Obama refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia, but they were insulted. We have enuf enemies," he posted on Twitter in January 2015, using a character-saving shortened version of "enough."
Yet during the president's own recent trip, First Lady Melania Trump also opted not to cover up, but without so much as a word or even hint of criticism from her esteemed husband ó at least not publicly.
Of course there was no requirement ó nor should there be ó for Mrs. Trump to cover up. To be clear here, both Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Trump were well within their rights as strong, dignified, self-respecting women to refuse bowing before archaic cultural traditions that belong in the past.
Yet overlooking the president's flagrant, unabashed hypocrisy over the situation is impossible for any observer with an ounce of integrity.
Also hard to ignore is the number of times No. 45 railed against Hillary Clinton for receiving funds from the Saudi regime, which has just recently given about $100 million to Ivanka Trump, supposedly to advance women's causes.
The irony here is particularly thick.
Perhaps instead of throwing a billionaire's wealthy daughter even more money, the regressive monarchy could consider a more modest and sincere approach by simply allowing women to the basic right to leave the house without a male escort as well as to drive around. Or perhaps to even think about allowing free elections and free speech.
If the man had one honest bone in his body, the U.S. president's motto would be, "Do as I say, not as I do!"
Unfortunately, as each day rolls by and more hypocrisy comes to light, it becomes increasingly clear that so long as the president is not Hillary Clinton, he can do literally no wrong whatsoever with his core base of support.
