Thank You President Trump

Thank you, President Trump, for the MAGA hat. You spurned a cottage industry for opportunistic entrepreneurs. I have seen these hawking hats, banners and anything that can be embroidered with your name and promotion of your re-election at street corners from RVs and vans. The line of buyers in front of these pop-up shops is non-existent.  

Thank you, President Trump, for your leadership in the fight against Covid-19. You set an example by eschewing masks and social distancing practices. And you have certainly made the United States a leader. The Centers for Disease Control says the country reach 250,000 deaths from the virus by Thanksgiving. The U.S. leads the world in the number of deaths and Covid-19 cases. This is impressive since the United States accounts for four percent of the world’s population.

Thank you, President Trump, for your efforts on immigration. We have a tradition of embracing the poor, desperate, and downtrodden. It is not an unblemished record, but your hysterical xenophobia with shades of racism and undignified ignorance has made a mockery of the American dream.

Thank you, President Trump, for demonstrating how clemency can work so efficiently. You have perverted its use. You undermined military justice and rewarded your crony Roger Stone for his silence. This can only be the tip of the iceberg of executive corruption.

Thank you, President Trump, for bringing so much attention to healthcare reform. Your assault on the Affordable Care Act is leaving millions of Americans without health insurance. And should the Supreme Court rule to eradicate ACA, millions more Americans will be unable to obtain coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Plus, how many will be bankrupted when insurers reinstitute lifetime limits. Your no plan-plan is a farce.

Thank you, President Trump, for sowing deep divisions in America. Your covert support of white supremacists has re-awakened the ugly side of humanity, rewarding with your failure to condemn it.

Thank you, President Trump, for making corruption a family enterprise. Influence peddling was once hidden behind gifts and dinners. Now, lobbyists book rooms or conferences at your hotels and, miraculously, their wish list is granted.

Thank you, President Trump, for bringing a mob boss mentality to the oval office with extortion tactics and fascist practices demanding loyalty to you over public service. The oath of office calls for defense and protection of the Constitution, not yourself.

And finally, thank you, President Trump, your performance in office has removed Presidents Warren G. Harding, Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan from being judged the worst presidents of the United States.

God help us, please.      

Our President: The Spoiled Rich Child

 

A spoiled child can become a nuisance to be brushed away, even ignored. But wealth and power can mitigate the tolerance level for that child as the desire to distance from the little ingrate is tempered by a wish not to offend the child’s wealthy benefactor. To be acquainted with such a noble benefactor may be of value at some point. So, dealing with the spoiled rich child becomes an exercise in the bearable.

The spoiled rich child leads a charmed existence. Because the child’s wants are perpetually fulfilled there is no need to cultivate accomplishment and ambition. The parents protect him and witness no maleficence on his part. No voice is raised to discipline the child’s misbehavior. He suffers no consequence. No action is too intolerable. The result, the spoiled rich child neglects to develop a sense of empathy. Instead, the child embraces prevarication, laziness, narcissism and failure to take responsibility.

In adulthood, the spoiled rich child inherits wealth and power. A horde of lackeys, determined to coddle and bid for the favor of the spoiled rich adult child, reinforce his developmental flaws. This adulation feeds a twisted ego. The “yes” man and woman become the chosen ones in the spoiled rich adult child’s court. When reality does not fit his desired views, they assist in twisting facts to suit his perception.

For most of the spoiled rich adult child’s life the harm from poorly thought out practices and irrational behavior is limited. It is when the spoiled rich adult child’s ego needs to be satiated with great public adulation that the world bears the burden of his and his lackey’s inadequacies. Here, the consequences of the spoiled rich adult child’s incompetence and intolerance of criticism and contradiction become painfully clear.

Institutions revered for their integrity and thoughtfulness become hallow vessels for advancement of the spoiled rich adult child and his lackeys’ self-serving agenda. Lies are twisted into truths, facts are ignored, corruption is protected (even promoted), incompetence rewarded. The competent are upended, embarrassed, dismissed. Some that remain turn a blind eye. Fear replaces honest brokering.

The damage from the spoiled rich adult child’s selfish behavior is stunning. Public institutions are weakened, the integrity they built over the years of honest effort is maimed, ruined and undermined. For business, this is a tragedy. For a republic, this is devastation. The nation’s progress lacks focus for improvement. The spoiled rich adult child’s vision benefits the few. His lackeys blanket him with adulation. Their reward benefit's their self-interest. Sadly, the spoiled rich adult child is a masterful manipulator and has learned to exploit fear, desire, ignorance and bigotry to achieve his ends.

In business, the spoiled rich adult child is protected in his cocoon of ownership, a dictatorship wherein the spoiled rich adult child’s whims and misjudgments are protected and not questioned. In a republic, however, the spoiled rich adult child is exposed to criticism and is wounded by truth and integrity. The spoiled rich adult child whines, complains, prevaricates and blames others. The lackeys amplify the spoiled rich adult child’s pronouncements. It is an ugly reality.

The question for the republic is will we allow the spoiled rich adult child’s behavior to continue to diminish the nation’s once grand reputation or show collective disgust by sending the spoiled rich adult child back to his room?

The United States Is the Victim, Not Trump

Donald J. Trump has nothing to be proud of. He crows about how the Special Counsel’s report has exonerated him, based on a four-page summary of a 300-page report. The summary said that the Trump campaign did not conspire with the Russian government to win the election. But let’s remember how we got to this point in first place.

When questions first arose about the Russian’s interference in our election, Trump never – ever – condemned the practice, the Russian government, or Vladimir Putin for launching the attack on our democracy. He has said it could be China or some geeky hacker sitting in a dark basement somewhere, but he has never condemned the true culprit.

Instead of crowing about his exoneration, Trump should be saying how alarming the Special Counsel’s findings are. The Special Counsel’s work brings the intelligent community’s assessment out of the shadows, publicly setting forth – with indictments and convictions – that the government of Russia interfered – not tried to – but successfully interfered in the U.S. election.

Why successful? Because, to some extent, their campaign contributed to fermenting divisions within this nation. While we may not be able to quantify the extent of that influence (yes, the influence might have been minor) its practice is simply unacceptable.

More alarming, since the report’s release Trump has said nothing related to Russia’s assault on our democracy. Instead, he is calling for prosecutions of the people who investigated him. For what? If the man had condemned Russia’s efforts from the beginning, if he had not embraced Putin, if he had not gone out of his way to obstruct justice, constantly attack the investigation, and dismissed the findings of the intelligence community, then he would have avoided these investigations.

If nothing else, the summary of the report actually raises more questions about Trump’s fitness to hold office. Why, in the face of overwhelming evidence, has he failed to condemn the Russians or take any strong actions against them for their actions? Why his unconditional embrace of Putin? Why, if he is innocent, did he attack the Muller investigation on an almost daily basis?

Is he so narcissistic and egotistical that he is unable to put the common good of the nation above his own self-aggrandizement? Or is he so mentally challenged that he fails to see the damage he has done and continues to do?

The Constitution does not allow for the removal of the president for incompetence, mendacity, or poor judgement. The Muller report – when finally reviewed in the whole – will probably not contain enough to indict Trump for removal for high crimes and misdemeanors. Ultimately, it will be up to the American people to cast their verdict. For the sake of our country, I hope, after the full report is released, that it will finally convince enough Americans that Trump and his wing of the Republican party do not have America’s best interests at heart. Our country and the world’s future depend on it.