There is no definitive evidence linking the new F.D.A. guidance to the lunch, the donation or specific lobbying.
And yet…
At the lunch, the tobacco industry representatives expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Food and Drug Administration was regulating the industry
Mr. Trump interrupted the conversation to call Dr. Marty Makary, the F.D.A. commissioner.
When Mr. Makary did not answer, the president dialed Dr. Makary’s boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and another top health official, Dr. Mehmet Oz
Less than one week later, the F.D.A. issued new guidance that could pave the way for major tobacco companies to begin selling flavored vapes and to snare a chunk of the $6 billion e-cigarette market away from illegal Chinese competitors.
What’s the point of being stupid-rich if you’re still beholden to any asshole that can raise a million dollars in donations?
How is it that his supporters see him as anything other than weak, craven, a broken man, driven by a gaping maw of need where other people have some kind of self-respect?
And yet…
What’s the point of being stupid-rich if you’re still beholden to any asshole that can raise a million dollars in donations?
How is it that his supporters see him as anything other than weak, craven, a broken man, driven by a gaping maw of need where other people have some kind of self-respect?