The Trump campaign is putting its stupidity on full display yet again after the scandal-ridden former president was caught in a rather damning photograph with yet another unsavory visitor to his Palm Beach estate.
This time, it was quite literally a former mobster.
Trump has yet to live down the scandal surrounding his infamous Mar-a-Lago dinner back around Thanksgiving late last year, where he hosted the likes of known anti-Semite Ye (the rapper formerly known as Kanye West) and notorious White supremacist and nationalist, anti-Semite, Holocaust-denier, and self-described “incel,” Nick Fuentes.
As if those two weren’t bad enough, The Philadelphia Inquirer has now obtained a photo hailing from his West Palm Beach golf course, in which the corrupt former president can be seen flashing the camera his trademarked thumbs up, while standing alongside Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino. The name may not ring any bells right off the top of your head, but with a moniker like “Skinny Joey,” it’s safe to say that it screams of the mob — and that assumption would be absolutely correct.
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The Inquirer reports that Merlino was once a notorious member of the Philadelphia/South Jersey mob with multiple ties to heinous, violent crimes and a prison rap sheet full of everything from racketeering to illegal gambling charges.
The photo is likely to renew concerns that Trump still lacks the sort of protective political infrastructure that would prevent a candidate for president from taking a picture with a convicted mobster whose last stint in federal prison ended in mid-2020.https://t.co/ngigx6rW8Y
— Chris Brennan (@ByChrisBrennan) January 23, 2023
Melino has garnered notoriety as one of the former president’s supporters who share Trump’s vehement hatred for anyone who’s been perceived to have “flipped” against them during federal investigations.
It remains unclear as to whether or not Trump really knew who Melino was when the photograph was taken, but once the picture began to garner attention across the media, the Trump campaign was quick to lean heavy on the former guy’s alleged ignorance.
“President Trump takes countless photos with people,” a spokesperson for the former president’s campaign told the publication when they reached out for comment on the damning photo. “That does not mean he knows every single person he comes in contact with.”
Trump has taken a similar tactic repeatedly in the past when he’s been busted in close quarters with highly controversial, disturbing human beings — such as Nick Fuentes, Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew, and Jeffrey Epstein.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
