Trump may or may not be a criminal. That changes little.
Trump may or may not be a criminal. He is still – in the clear opinion of a small majority of Americans – not a good President. Some 40% – plus or minus – of Americans still are there with him, and fully at least 1/3 will be with him regardless… What does this mean?
There is general consensus that the man is a boisterous, amoral (at best), lies, and is a womanizing sexist, self-centered individual. There is no doubt the guy surrounds himself with shady characters, engages in questionable business practices, and is purely transactional in his relationships. He seems to have little if any capacity to show authentic empathy. And he clearly simply does not care about those that don’t like him; and therefore has no interest whatsoever in placating them or showing that he cares for them.
Yet he was able to build a real-estate empire out of his inheritance. He clearly cares for his adult and young children. He knows how to read raw visceral public sentiment. He is an entertaining entertainer. He is clear and definitive in some things, unbending in others, and compromising in few.
He has shattered political correctness. He has shattered diplomatic protocols. He has totally thrown conventional wisdom out the window.
He clearly has not patience for complexity, critical thinking, or analysis. He clearly sees data as a fungible thing, science as optional, and reason as dispensable.
And 1/3 of America will be with him regardless. Nearly ½ are willing to look the other way for his personal indiscretions and public shenanigans.
His political positions are very, unequivocally clear. Paraphrasing him: “America is the biggest power in the world. We care first and foremost about ourselves. We don’t need to protect everyone around the globe. The government exists to facilitate economic transactions that benefit the wealthy. Regulations are bad. Tax breaks are good. Primary constituent beneficiaries need to be only those that voted for the President; no one else matters.”
His political strategy is equally simple – in many ways brilliantly simple. Politically – he seems to think – the simple minds of ultra conservatives – or single issue – voters can be easily exploited by throwing bones are them:
- Want the racist vote? Wink at their love of the Confederacy, demean minorities, build a wall.
- Want the Christian Right vote? Be against Roe, support school vouchers, damn Planned Parenthood, dis gays and trans.
- Want the military vote? Make sure there’s always a boogie man to fight; buy bigger weapons.
- Want the uninformed vote? Build a wall, make the media the enemy of the State, make Fox News a propaganda channel for the President.
His foreign policy is crystal clear: He is willing to deal with anyone – his only demand is they like him; Saudi Arabia comes to mind. He has no ideological enemies – his only enemies are the people that don’t like him; Iran comes to mind.
So, whatever the Mueller report says or does not say it does not change the essential of the moment:
We have a President that has no moral beacon. He has no ideology. He will do what it takes to get elected, to stay in office, to get re-elected. And, he has a political Party that is now 90% behind him.
The only way to legitimately get rid of Trump – and to turn back the damage he is doing – is to confront his political actions – his agenda – loudly and resoundly… And, vote him out of office in 2020. Period. The end. Nada mas. #RESIST