Harry Litman - White House Theater Hour

Let’s start by calling Monday’s contrived White House meeting between El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and Donald Trump what it was: a set piece to deceive the American people and the world—and make a sucker of the courts and the rule of law.

And while each player delivered his agreed-upon lines, it was a ham-handed performance that fooled nobody. As Trump looked on smiling, Bukele dutifully insisted that he didn’t have the power to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. He went on to label Abrego Garcia a “terrorist,” a line that the administration has now taken up, contradicting its previous admission by several officials.

Trump advanced the parallel claim after the meeting, writing on social media that “[t]hese barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign nation, and their future is up to President [Bukele].”

So, two presidents of boundless ambition, who spend their days indefatigably claiming near-absolute power, suddenly protest powerlessness when it comes to the release of a wrongfully deported U.S. resident from brutal custody.

https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/white-house-theater-hour