Trump ignores killed Army specialist to promote Fox crackpot's new book

Army specialist Gabriel D. Conde was killed in Afghanistan on April 30 and publicly identified by the Pentagon on May 1. The Army said his death occurred in the process of combat operations.

Stars and Stripes, citing the location of Conde’s death, noted “the engagement likely occurred with Taliban fighters.”

Yet Trump has not mentioned the 22-year-old Army specialist killed in Afghanistan. Instead, while in the midst of another public meltdown about the Russia investigation, Trump found time to promote a book from a Fox News crackpot and conspiracy theorist.

Yes, instead of speaking in support of Conde and his family, Trump promoted a book from Fox News anchor Greg Jarrett that seeks to deflect attention from Trump’s relationship with Russian operatives during the election.

Trump wrote, “NEW BOOK – A MUST READ! “The Russia Hoax – The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump” by the brilliant Fox News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett.”

While all of Fox News has dedicated itself to being an oozing geyser of pro-Trump propaganda, Jarrett (an attorney) has distinguished himself by providing a pseudo-legal veneer for excusing Trump and his abuses of power.

Jarrett, the man much more worthy of Trump’s time than a vet killed in combat, is, like Trump, a true believer in the “deep state” conspiracy theory. He described the FBI — who is investigating Trump — as “America’s secret police” and its “shadow government.” He said the law enforcement agency has become “like the KGB.”

Jarrett has claimed that “conspiring to subvert the government doesn’t rise to the level of treason,” while excusing emails from Donald Trump Jr. making overtures to Russian operatives for dirt on Hillary Clinton.

He also declared, “You can collude all you want with a foreign government in an election.”

Echoing Trump’s revenge fantasies against Hillary Clinton, Jarrett wrote that Trump should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s emails.

Jarrett also argued that President Barack Obama should be subpoenaed as part of the Russia investigation, while also insisting that federal marshals should storm the Department of Justice on Trump’s behalf to “seize these documents.”

He has used his position in the media to enable Trump’s abuses of power, arguing that when Trump was pressuring then-FBI director James Comey to drop the bureau’s investigation of Michael Flynn, it was as innocuous as discussing the weather. Flynn has since pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges.

Feeding Trump’s delusions, Jarrett said special counsel Robert Mueller is “manufacturing crimes where crimes don’t exist” as part of a plot to get Trump.

He believes that Trump is the true “victim” of Russian collusion in the election.

Trump apparently felt Jarrett’s unhinged rantings and ravings deserved presidential amplification, while he threw a serviceman to the wayside.

Trump has not mentioned Conde’s name or offered condolences to Conde’s family. The decision to ignore the death echoes his actions after the deadly Niger ambush that killed four U.S. troops, and which Trump refused to mention for over two weeks.

The specter of the Russia investigation haunts everything Trump does, and his Twitter feed reflects that. He has whined and moaned and complained that the investigation is a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” over the past few days, showing far greater interest and passion in his own precarious political position than for America’s military dead.

Trump doesn’t care about those who serve on the front line, fighting against malevolent forces around the world. Trump cares about protecting Trump and promoting those who make a fool of themselves while defending him, no matter how absurd.

Those are his priorities.