One wag on MSNBC put it this way Saturday morning: "Today starts season two of Donald Trump's latest reality TV show."
Yes and the ratings, if judged by the coverage afforded El Donald by MSNBC, the internet, CNN, and his PR staff at FOX, couldn't be higher. The media, all of it, is addicted to the guy--as hooked as any hard core junkie is to meth, or smack. The only question at this moment is whether public interest drives this near 24/7 exposure, or does the coverage itself inspire the Trump hysteria both pro and anti which has consumed us all for over a year now?
While there is no definitive answer to that question at the moment the hypothesis from here is it's a weird symbiosis in which they each feed off the other. Indeed, the cameras have come to cover the mob, expecting a riot, therefore the mob obliges.
All of this is complicated by a president who makes baseless accusations against his perceived enemies, is so petty he cannot respond to criticism without including personal insult, and happily spews lies while utterly ignoring volumes of documented proof they are grotesque falsehoods.
In fact the chaos, which, Donald Trump obviously thrives on, is so great no one outside of his own brain can figure out if he is a 21st century Machiavelli, conceiving devious plots and counter plots to advance his agenda, or a fucking idiot without a clue.
The latest debate about immigration has only deepened the mystery. Over a week ago Senators, Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin were convinced he would accept a compromise on the issue which would halt the looming government shutdown. A mere two hours after talking to him on the phone they arrived at the White House only to find the President surrounded by hard line opponents of the compromise. As Graham and Durbin sat aghast he launched into a rant about, the nation having to accept people from, "shithole," places like Haiti and Africa while extolling the virtues of immigrants from countries such as Norway.
Within minutes the compromise fell apart and the government was careening toward last Friday's deadline without a deal. Durbin broke the news of Trump's racist language which the White House didn't immediately deny and Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue said they couldn't recall. Trump would later claim he didn't use the profanity in relationship to Haiti, or Africa. This caused Cotton and Perdue to both have profound memory recoveries leading them to also deny he said it.
In an interview, Graham said his memory, unlike those of his two fellow republican Senators hadn't, "evolved," on the subject and he knew what he had heard, although he wouldn't repeat it. He also blamed White House aide and resident fascist Stephen Miller for changing Mr. Trump's mind in the space of those two crucial hours even though Miller reportedly didn't attend the meeting.
Later Graham indicated Trump is poorly served by wankers like Miller. In others words, he's willing to make bi-partisan compromises, however his hard core right wing advisers get in his ear and convince him to revert to the raging beast we see at campaign rallies.
Others have speculated Trump has a desperate need to please everyone who is in his immediate proximity. This causes him to seemingly accept deals he really doesn't agree with in order to end whatever the discussion might be on a cordial note.
If either case is the truth our man in the oval office looks to be a tad sketchy. He is either under the dark influence of latter day Rasputins like Miller and John Kelly, or he'll say anything to anyone, just so he can get out of the damned office and back to the golf course at Mar-a-Lago.
I personally prefer a third choice. I like to think the fucker is simply nuts. Okay, it might just be the romantic in me, but let's face it, all the signs are there. The impulsive and irate tweets that come in the pre dawn hours. His narcissistic preening which includes referring to himself in the third person. His adolescent vindictiveness and conviction the press is out to get him only because he is The Real Donald Trump. The bizarre, grandiose, claims about his accomplishments, not to mention the thoroughly transparent lies. Under any circumstances imaginable, if you put all these traits together they paint the portrait of someone who is clinically bat shit crazy.
And none of that counts the inherent racism which we know is there. Don Trump has proved that terrible flaw through his own words time and time again.
Well, we can only hope this gruesome reality TV show will last only three more seasons because honestly the first one was really tough to take. On the down side though, you can never underestimate the sheer power of madness.
Hey, just ask the Germans, Italians, or anyone else where a megalomaniac showed up with the intoxicating promise of making their nation great again.
sic vita est
1-22-18
The real challenge starts now. Trump's buffoonery makes it easy to dismiss his antics and assume he is incapable. That is a dangerous attitude to take, one we must guard against. Of equal importance is for the Democrats to come up with a candidate or candidates who are credible and a serious challenge to him. That hasn't happened yet, but its still early. Dems need to recognize that we have lost what should be our base -- the working class middle. Its time to reach out to them and bring them back into the fold. Ridding our country of Trump and his ilk won't be easy, but ask George Washington about King George and what is easy.
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