Donald Trump has announced Matthew Whitaker as his nominee to become the next United States ambassador to NATO – a role likely to prove crucial within his incoming administration given the heightened tensions surrounding the war in Ukraine.
The lawyer is a former college football player and George W Bush-era US attorney for the southern district of Iowa who went on to serve as acting attorney general in Trump’s first administration in late 2018 and early 2019 following the ousting of Jeff Sessions.
But, between those two brushes with high office, Whitaker took a far more unconventional position, serving between 2014 and 2017 on the advisory board of a Florida company known as World Patent Marketing (WPM), which billed itself as a promotional service for inventors and entrepreneurs hoping to get new products off the ground.
As reported by The Daily Beast, one such innovation was a “Masculine Toilet”, redesigned to offer more room at the bowl for particularly well-endowed men.
A press release from November 2014 promoting the product explains, in painstaking detail, that the “narrower curvature” at the front of a conventional toilet seat “creates limited space for male genitalia when a man sits on the toilet seat.”
It continues: “This limited space can cause contact from male genitalia with portions of the toilet, which is undesirable as those portions may be contaminated from human waste.
“The average male genitalia is between five and six inches. However, this invention is designed for those of us who measure longer than that.”
The unnamed author of the release adds: “I estimate that a 12 inch distance is adequate enough for most well-endowed men, though I would not be surprised if there are cases who need a greater distance.”
The Masculine Toilet promised to address the problem and “protect males from infections, diseases, or other health hazards posed by potentially contaminated toilet surfaces” and therein “provide men peace of mind when they have to sit down on a toilet seat.”
The novel new seat appears never to have realised its visionary creator’s dream of being rolled out to “houses, apartments, condos, restaurants, business complexes, and hotels”, despite WPM’s confident assertion that “there is a strong likelihood of this product being successful in the marketplace.”
Whitaker appeared in promotional videos for the marketing company during his tenure and provided endorsement quotes for its press materials, also backing other wacky ventures including a “time-travel cryptocurrency” project.
As the Beast reported, the company was later accused of taking money from its clients while failing to honor its commitments to them and then subjecting them to “threats, intimidation and gag clauses” when they ventured to complain.
This led to WPM being investigated, fined almost $26 million and ultimately shut down by the Federal Trade Commission in May 2018.
“After stringing consumers along for months or even years, the defendants did not deliver what they promised, and many people ended up in debt or lost their life savings with nothing to show for it,” the FTC said in a statement.
House Democrats launched a probe into Whitaker’s involvement with the company shortly after he was named acting attorney general but it never amounted to anything since he stepped aside to make way for his permanent successor Bill Barr in February 2019.
Whitaker has most recently been involved with the America First Policy Institute, a right-leaning think-tank working to submit policy suggestions for Trump’s second term.
Announcing his return to government in a statement issued on Wednesday, the president-elect said of him: “Matt is a strong warrior and loyal Patriot, who will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended.
“Matt will strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability – He will put AMERICA FIRST.”
Trump continued: “I have full confidence in Matt’s ability to represent the United States with Strength, Integrity, and unwavering Dedication.
“I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to promote PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, Freedom, and Prosperity around the World.”
