General Discussion

It was against this backdrop that the Times added a new installment to the series on Saturday:

Less than one month before meeting with a top administration official to lobby against a new bridge connecting Michigan with Canada, the billionaire owner of an existing bridge donated $1 million to a super PAC devoted to President Trump.

Matthew Moroun, a Detroit-based trucking magnate whose family has operated the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for decades, made the donation to MAGA Inc. on Jan. 16, according to a campaign finance report filed on Friday evening.

.....Initially, it wasn’t at all clear what prompted Trump’s declaration, right up until we learned that a Michigan billionaire, Matthew Moroun, had met privately with administration officials, lobbying against the bridge. His motivation was obvious: Moroun owns a separate bridge that connects Michigan and Canada, and as former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan explained in a piece for MS NOW, he wants to maintain a near-monopoly with his single, privately owned toll bridge.

The Times’ latest reporting, however, made a bad story look worse. Consider a brief timeline:

Jan. 16: Moroun gives $1 million to MAGA Inc.

Feb. 9, midday: Moroun meets Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Feb. 9, evening: Trump abandons his own position and says what Moroun wanted to hear.

....But given the recent pattern, it’s tough to ignore the pay-for-play appearances in an administration for which corruption allegations have become the norm