A wise saying is that one is judged by the company one keeps.  Donald Trump promised to surround himself with only the best people.  Here’s a sampling of the company Donald Trump keeps:

·        Jeffrey Epstein – former party pal of Trump who called Epstein a terrific guy who’s a lot of fun to be with.  Epstein is a convicted sex trafficker and pedophile.

·        Alexander Acosta – resigned Secretary of Labor.  As a U.S. Attorney, showed preferential treatment in sentencing of Jeffrey Epstein.

·        Stormy Daniels – porn star.  Accepted $130,000 as hush money payment to keep her affair with Donald Trump quiet in order for him to be elected.

·        Michael Cohen – Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer.  Convicted on campaign finance, tax evasion, and lying to financial institution charges.

·        Rudy Giuliani – Trump’s attorney.  Began dating his second wife while married to his first wife; began dating his third wife while married to his second wife.  Began dating his next girlfriend while married to his third wife.

·        Steve Bannon – Trump’s Chief Strategist upon inauguration.  Married 3 times, was charged with domestic violence and battery against 2^nd wife who also accused him of making anti-Semitic remarks.

·        Melania Knauss – Trump’s third wife, a former soft porn/nude model who immigrated to the U.S. on a so-called “genius” visa, “birther” advocate, lied about having a college degree and plagiarized Michelle Obama.

·        Stephen Miller – White House Senior Policy Advisor. Harassed black and brown students in high school and at Duke University, became friends and collaborated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi Richard Spencer.

·        Sebastian Gorka – Trump’s Deputy Assistant.  Wore a medal to Trump’s inauguration which was a symbol of a Hungarian group that collaborated with the Nazi government during World War II.

·        Corey Lewandowski – Trump’s campaign chair.  Charged with battery against a reporter, mocked an immigrant child with Down’s syndrome and had a complaint filed against him for sexual harassment.

·        Steven Mnuchin – Secretary of the Treasury.  Recently sued by Sears for illegally benefitting from deals made while on the Board of Directors, refused to comply with Congressional subpoena.

·        Tim Nolan, Ralph Shortey – Prominent Trump local campaign workers.  Both convicted of sex trafficking.

·        Michael Flynn – Trump’s National Security Advisor.  Convicted of making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the F.B.I.

·        Kellyanne Conway – Trump’s Counselor.  Calls lies “alternative facts,” has repeatedly violated the Hatch Act of 1939, which has been condemned by both Republicans and Democrats, and has ignored House subpoenas. 

·        Elliott Broidy – Trump donor, fundraiser and vice chair of inaugural committee.  Pleaded guilty to bribing the New York state comptroller, is under criminal investigation by the Ukraine, paid hush money to a Playboy model he got pregnant, and is currently being investigated by a grand jury for influence peddling and exploiting his access to Trump.

·        Jason Miller – Trump’s selection for White House Communications Director.  Served for 2 days and resigned after revelations of an extramarital affair with a Trump staffer that resulted in a pregnancy.

·        Monica Crowley – Quit before she started the job on Trump’s National Security Council.  Numerous instances of plagiarism in her writings were revealed.

·        Rob Porter – Trump’s Staff Secretary.  Resigned due to allegations of spousal abuse by both of his former wives, which were supported by photographs and a restraining order.

·        Rick Gates – Deputy Trump campaign manager.  Pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making false statements to the F.B.I.

·        Rev. Jamie Johnson – resigned head of Dept. of Homeland Security’s Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership.  Said that America’s black community has turned cities into slums because of their laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity.

·        Carl Icahn – Billionaire special advisor to Trump.  Resigned due to potential conflicts of interest.

·        Taylor Weyeneth – Chief of Staff, Office of National Drug Control Policy.  Resigned after numerous discrepancies were found on his resume.

·        Robert Kraft – New England Patriot owner and close friend of Trump.  Arrested for soliciting prostitution.

·        Carl Higbie – resigned member of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Made disparaging and discriminatory statements against black people, gays, Muslims, immigrants and veterans.

·        Tom Price – Resigned Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Expended more than $1 million in taxpayer money for his own travel on private charter jets and military aircraft.

·        Paul Manafort – Former Trump campaign manager.  To date, convicted of 8 counts of bank and tax fraud.  More to come.

·        George Nader – Lebanese lobbyist who met with Jared Kushner and Donald Trump, Jr., offering assistance to Donald Trump’s campaign.  Has been charged and convicted of numerous crimes of sexual exploitation of minors and was recently arrested for possession of child pornography.

·        Ben Carson – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.  Ordered a $31,000 taxpayer funded dining room set for his office and was accused of retaliating against an employee who refused to do it.  Although he’s the nation’s head real estate officer, he had no understanding of the term REO while testifying to Congress.

·        George Papadopoulos – Advisor to Trump’s campaign.  Pleaded guilty to making false statements to the F.B.I.

·        Jared Kushner – Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor.  His family received big loans after he met with their executives in the White House, his father paid a prostitute to solicit his sister’s husband, the family has questionable loans and controversial business practices, Jared is under scrutiny in the Russia probe, and he had to file over 40 updates to his financial and foreign contracts disclosures.

·        Jerry Falwell, Jr. – Trump’s spiritual advisor.  He and his wife met a young pool boy on vacation and have a curious relationship with him, investing money in a joint company, purported revealing photographs and Michael Cohen helping in an attempted hush money arrangement.  More to come in this one.

·        Roger Stone – Longtime Trump advisor.  Charged with witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements.

·        Mike Pence – Vice President of the United States.  Wanted to defund HIV/AIDs funding in favor of “conversion therapy,” fought against reproductive rights, and tried to redefine rape.

·        Vladimir Putin – Trump has called him a leader and very smart, and has had secret conversations with him.  Putin has conducted a genocidal war, put an end to freedom of speech, killed or imprisoned his critics, and created an authoritarian regime.

There is certainly plenty by which to judge Trump.