flattery

Like Trump, most of the GOP members of Congress want all the benefits of office — TV spots, flattery, access to the Senate gym — without having to deal with those annoying responsibilities.

But there’s something dingy and gross, like mottled drifts of old snow, about the overweening influence of Trump’s courtiers and their grubbing relationship with a president so obviously enamored of money and flattery.

Trump, in contrast, sits back in his Palm Beach mansion, accepting bribes and flattery in exchange for promises of tax cuts and deregulation for the wealthiest Americans.

In truth he's more of a Yeltsin, gladly accepting the attention and flattery of the oligarchs as they attempt to steer the government in their favor.

But while boredom is the gateway, ego flattery is why people keep coming back.