During his first four years in the presidency, Donald Trump never said or did anything that was worthy of stardom, particularly anything that anyone could ascribe to his self-proclaimed “stabile genius” and delusional “valedictorian” past. Of course, that didn’t parse, at all, with his perpetual appearances on the front page and prime time of American and world media.
There was never any question about it. Trump was the most talked-about, reported, criticized, and loathed president in American history. A lifetime of lies, frauds, tax dodging, draft dodging, frolicking with hookers, grabbing pussies and starving out those who had the guts to pursue legitimate legal cases against him were a nonstop treat for America’s news junkies.
Though it was, at times, a bit annoying to Trump, he always realized that it was the publicity that counted. And it didn’t mean that the publicity had to be favorable. He gloated about the steady stream of media coverage, and tried his best to convince Americans that the really bad stuff was simply “fake news.”
That “fake news,” of course, included a string of sexual assault allegations from women Trump said he’d “never even met;” his friendship and multiple island visits with Jeffrey Epstein, whom Trump claimed he had met "sometime in the past, but couldn’t say for sure” (pretty hard to forget that level of hospitality!); and that, while the Capitol was being stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump allegedly spent the day glued to the television.
He didn’t even really care that no one actually believed him. He just loved the coverage; although the flip side was deny, deny, deny.
Trump’s popularity as a news figure was almost entirely dependent on matters of idiocy and criminality, many of which became the core of the charges levied through the twice-imposed process of impeachment.
The continuous stream of nonsense and lies—gushing continuously from his amazingly small mouth—was mostly one that would have made an intelligent soul incredulous. No one, including his most staunch supporters, ever believed that Trump was actually capable of saying something truthful or wise.
His first stay in the White House was a constant revelation. There were multiple sexual offenses; credible links to a Russian disinformation scheme that had helped him win the 2016 election; he was mired in myriad lawsuits over his various frauds and his modus operandi of stiffing those people who were trusting enough to contract for him.
Throughout that first Trump presidency, he was always surrounded by scandal. As we all know, he survived his term in office only because he had successfully compromised the Justice Department—through his purchase of Attorney General Barr—and created such fear within the GOP, that none of its elephants dared assist in getting rid of the nemesis.
There was never a question about it: Impeachment was the correct path, and, somehow—despite their parents’ encouragement to be the best people they could be—the Republicans chose to be small people, unwilling to follow the only moral course. If there had ever been a time when men and women of character were desperately needed, Trump’s first term was it. The problem could have been nipped in the bud.
Well, you know about the maxim on hindsight. Now we're all seeing the catastrophic aftermath of Congress’s historical moral failure. What should have been an impossibility—a second Trump term—has become a frightening reality.
Failure, attributed to our own stupidity and inaction, can be a great learning experience. Instead, we’re back here again, facing a monster who, lacking any real contribution to society, is determined to be the most famous president in our country’s history.
Notice, I said “most famous,” not “benevolent” or “worthy of any meaningful accolades.” Above all, Trump is a showman. He wants to make noise and be seen, and anything resembling a healthy zeal to actually do something for America, is not even a fleeting thought. After all, when everything’s said and done, who will remember the greatness of those presidents that took the office seriously and tried to make the best-informed decisions for our nation?
What Trump really wants is to be as famous, from a political standpoint, as Charles Manson and Ted Bundy are in the world of crime. He wants to hold an eternal celebrity status, even if it means destroying the country he supposedly loves.
Yes, he’s figured it out: Destroying America can be his greatest accomplishment—the real glory of his look-at-me agenda.
As he constantly finds new ways to line his own pockets, he’s the kind of man that no one could respect—one who continually searches, in the absence of well-deserved kudos, for some pseudo accomplishment that might make people stop and listen.
Much like a serial killer who is proud of what he’s done and wants everyone to know how cleverly he planned and executed his crimes, he is deluded enough to believe he can’t be stopped. Even more scary: He believes he controls the institutions that have the power to bring him down.
Using the clever diversion strategy—of curing runaway government spending—Trump has already done immeasurable harm to Americans, and the “writing on the wall” should have us all shaking. Sure, we all know that a large part of our government bureaucracy is a horrifying waste of resources. We also know that America’s influence and presence in the world have benefited from many of the programs that have helped to generate the alliance with other nations, and that the wrecking ball approach is neither rational nor useful. Total destruction is not the answer.
But, above all, it is Trump’s lawlessness that must be stopped. When a President refuses to respect the courts—demanding that judges and justices bow to him instead of the Constitution—we have a word for that: Treason.
America is in real trouble. Trump is, by all correct definitions, a traitor, and he must be stopped. He is actively trying to destroy freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the fundamental protections of our wisely-established system of checks and balances.
Every one of us should be calling our legislators—particularly Trump’s little army of scared-shitless Republicans—that enough is enough, and it’s time to lower the boom. Trump has fully demonstrated his disrespect for the law and his belief that the courts, somehow, should leave behind the fair and equitable doctrines of the past and become a part of his army of minions.
Make America Great Again. Stop the treason. Impeach!
