A "don" is the mafia term for "boss." Infamous Gambino crime family boss John Gotti was referred to in the media as the "Teflon Don" for his ability to escape jail -- for a while. Organized crime is structured around family-style hierarchies, have a code of silence ("omerta") for members, and deal with betrayal ("ratting") with threats and violence.
With corrupt demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump's history in the New York real estate development and management business (as well as with Atlantic City casinos), he had to deal with organized crime figures who controlled everything from trucking to concrete supply. We've seen Rump in recent weeks adopt a mob boss persona: praising convicted felon Paul Manafort for standing tough against law enforcement prosecutors, demeaning the Justice Department and the FBI, and calling the practice of getting criminals to turn state's evidence -- or "flipping" -- "unfair" and something that should be outlawed. Jeffrey Goldberg has an interesting read in The Atlantic about Rump's affinity with mob language and law breaking, starting with Rump's sinister jury-tampering tweet about Manafort:
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” - make up stories in order to get a “deal.” Such respect for a brave man!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
"What we see in this astonishing tweet is an implicit endorsement by the president of the United States of omertà , the Mafia code of silence, which has been honored, especially over the past 30 years or so, more in theory than in practice.
Trump expanded upon his views this morning, in an interview on Fox & Friends, in which he seemed to refer, obliquely, though elegiacally, to the dismantling of the Mafia in New York City (an effort led for a time by his current attorney Rudy Giuliani). [snip]
'It’s called ‘'flipping'’ and it almost ought to be illegal,' Trump said. 'I know all about flipping. For 30, 40 years, I have been watching flippers. Everything is wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is or as high as you can go.'”
In these statements, Trump displays contempt for the rule of law, and honors criminals who refuse to cooperate with law enforcement. He’s doing nothing less than elevating gangster ideology to the status of high principle."So when you hear Rump discussing the various cases and personalities involved in criminal activity either with him or on his behalf, you're hearing not only the argot of the mob boss, but also his guiding philosophy.
(photo: Investigations? Fugettaboutit!)
