Republicans never miss a chance to engage in a culture war, and the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank is no different. The former president’s failed son, Donald Trump Jr., and Florida’s wannabe führer, Governor Ron DeSantis are all in on the deflection and projection of a deluded party.
According to DeSantis, diversity, equity, and inclusion are to blame for the largest United States bank failure since 2008.
Unsurprisingly, the rumored 2024 GOP presidential candidate fails to mention that while in Congress, he voted against the regulations that may have prevented this from happening.
In 2017, Gov. DeSantis co-sponsored H.R. 1031 — a bill to do away with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and essentially gut key components of the Obama-era Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.
Implemented after the 2008 banking disaster, which saw over $2.5 trillion wiped from retirement accounts, the Obama administration sought to mitigate that financial catastrophe with policies that would protect consumers and small to mid-size banks going forward.
SVB’s estimated $200 billion in assets puts the financial institution in that small to mid-size bank category considering the federal government’s $250 billion cap to be considered in this category.
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— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) March 12, 2023
The Florida governor isn’t alone in his hypocrisy, as Donald Trump Jr. weighed in on the crisis by doing what he does best — praising his father and pretending that we weren’t all witness to the nearly dozen bank failures during Donald Trump’s term and to Trump’s self-praise at rolling back his predecessor’s regulations.
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While Silicon Valley Bank did invest $17.5 million in Black and LatinX-owned banks, the amount is minuscule compared to the $1.8 billion loss the Big Tech bank of choice endured.
I don’t remember banks collapsing under Trump… but don’t worry guys it’s only a matter of time till Biden/media blames him for that too. It has nothing to do with high interest rates / fed rate hikes necessitated by record inflation caused by his out of control spending.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 12, 2023
How soon they forget.
Between 2017 and 2019, at least 11 small banks failed, according to the Financial Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) failed bank list.
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An independent agency that Congress created to not only provide oversight but instill confidence in the public regarding financial institutions, the FDIC was appointed as the receiver of failed banks from Washington State to Illinois, and several in between.
The collapse of SVB has been attributed to what’s called a “bank run” — when a mass exodus from a financial institution prompts others to follow suit, creating a cash crunch for banks with limited liquid assets.
The baseless claims of those like Gov. DeSantis and Donald Trump Jr. are just another attempt to distract the public from the failed policies that Republicans have instituted for decades.
This time, however, the American public knows better.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
