GOP senators disconcerted by possible $230M Justice Department payout to Trump

[haele]

5. Disconcerted about the money? Or the optics?

Okay, let's look at the situation.
Government is shut down, people aren't getting paid, kids and elderly are losing food, housing, and medical assistance, and Winter is Coming.
The cost of just living for the average person has gone up significantly.
Lots of people will lose their livelihoods, if not their lives over the next two months if the Government remains shut down (Unemployment rule of 3's: 3 days to make up for one day's loss of income, 3 weeks to make up for one week's loss of income, 3 months to make up for one month's loss of income...)
And *rump is trying to walk back saying his main concern is His Ballroom, which now will cost $500 million "from private donors" (yeah, right...) and, oh, BTW, he wants about half that amount of Taxpayer money because he was still in the middle of being investigated by the DoJ for several felonies he managed to close down once he got himself re-elected...
The optics are clear; he's a dictator, he is acting like the Country, including all taxpayer funded organizations and institutions, as well as the taxpayers themselves, are his to do with as he pleases.
He doesn't care about who he hurts - doesn't even consider it important enough to consider - he just wants, and if you don't give it to him, he's just going to take it or destroy it if you tell him no.