There is no hiding from what we already knew. Prior to entering politics, Trump was a well-documented fraud and con, a lech, a serial womanizer, classless and a blowhard. This is all well preserved in the public record.
What we are now witnessing of Trump – that sometimes successful but often times ruinous real estate and gaudiness salesman turned TV reality star, turned pusher of conspiracy theories, turned president — should also come as no surprise. As president, Trump is utterly incompetent and displays a total disregard and lack of interest in the office of the presidency, the institutions of democracy, the basics of foreign affairs and diplomacy, or American tradition. Trump has no respect for anything related to our country, arguably for anything other than himself.
We have also witnessed Trump’s questionable mental health. John Garnter makes the compelling case that Trump suffers real psychosis, which of course should also be no surprise to anyone:
His narcissism is evident in his “grandiose sense of self-importance … without commensurate achievements.” From viewing cable news, he knows “more about ISIS than the generals” and believes that among all human beings on the planet, “I alone can fix it.” His “repeated lying,” “disregard for and violation of the rights of others” (Trump University fraud and multiple sexual assault allegations) and “lack of remorse” meet the clinical criteria for anti-social personality. His bizarre conspiracy theories, false sense of victimization, and demonization of the press, minorities and anyone who opposes him are textbook paranoia.
Furthermore, we are increasingly witnessing more erratic behavior from the unprovoked insults hurled indiscriminately at our closest allies (as in the case of London’s mayor) to his prosecution complex and self-victimization at the hands of the fake news press. Trump who redefined nepotism in US politics is now facing his son-law’s likely political demise in shame, the coming testimony of former FBI director Comey, non-stop leaks from professional bureaucrats as well as his own staffers, open war within and amongst his administration and the executive branch, the inability to find anyone willing to fill the massive vacancies in his administration from prosecutors, diplomats and even the FBI director position (though today it looks like he will nominate a lawyer who specializes in governmental investigations). This is all combined with his increasing personal isolation — all alone in the White House consuming lots of cable news without friends or family. And the question is: is President Trump beginning to unravel? He is obviously unhinged, but he now also appears to be unraveling, on the verge of breakdown.
One would think the GOP is better off cutting its losses now and putting Pence in charge. They might get slaughtered in the midterms but they could potentially recover by 2020. Meanwhile, the Democrats are banking on an easy win -basically that Trump will either self-destruct or the Russian scandal will somehow take him down. The former is probably more likely than the latter.
But the Democrats’ quick fix also highlights their denial. They can’t see that they still lose as long as they have no value proposition for voters other than Trump is undoubtedly unacceptable. Americans already knew Trump was disgusting when they elected him. And even if Democrats could take the Trump presidency down, they still have no compelling message for voters at the local level.
So here we are at a critical moment in American history. Democrats think they are winning. Republicans think they have nothing to gain. We have an unhinged president who is unraveling in a very public, arguably irreparable way. Both Democrats and Republicans are taking the wrong approach. If anyone in either party was patriotic, they’d cut a deal that allows the Republicans to get rid of Trump and still save face. I wouldn’t hold your breath.
This doesn’t end well. For anyone.
Grave Error 