Just 2 1/2 weeks since Donald Trump “won” the presidential election – “won” in quotes because he’s going to lose the popular vote by around 2.5 million votes, while winning the White House with the help of his pal Vladimir Putin, an almost totally failed corporate media, etc. – it is crystal clear that this guy has zero intention of moderating, of acting like a statesman, of rising to the occasion.
Just a short list of some of his horrendous picks for top administration posts include: segregationist and arch-right-winger Jefferson Beauregard “Jeff” Sessions III as Attorney General; enemy of public education Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary; Wilbur Ross – “a Manhattan billionaire who owned a West Virginia coal mine where 12 workers died in 2006, who “sang show tunes mocking poor people,” and who “laid off hundreds of workers and outsourced jobs to emerging markets, where labor is cheaper” – as Commerce Secretary; bat****-crazy Ben Carson as Housing and Urban Development Secretary; Tea Partier, Gitmo fan and torture advocate Mike Pompeo as CIA director; Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser – under fire “for spreading anti-Islam conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic tweets,” also had a “‘forbidden’ internet connection at the Pentagon;” and Breitbart/”alt-right”/self-described “Leninist” (plus admirer of Satan, Darth Vader Stephen Bannon as Chief Strategist.
In short, the Trump administration is shaping up as wayyyy outside the American mainstream, about as far to the right as you can get in this country (without actually bringing David Duke on board or rebranding “GOP” as “KKK”). Plus, haven’t even mentioned all of Trump’s conflicts of interest, business ties around the world that will call into question almost every move he makes, indications that this could be the most corrupt administration in U.S. history – by far.
So much for any hope of a “new” or “reinvented” Trump once he became President. And that will, if it continues, be disastrous not just for America, but quite possibly for Trump’s presidency. The tragedy, other than the fact that Hillary Clinton should have been president, is that once Trump shockingly won on November 8, he could have taken a deep breath, thought about the situation for a few minutes, and realized…he no longer needed the far right, the wackos, etc. anymore. Instead, if Trump had been a wise man, which clearly he is not, he should have – and theoretically still could:
- Publicly declared himself an Independent, free from control by either political party, and dedicated to one goal and one goal alone – doing the best job he could to get results for the American people and the national interest.
- Ditched the far right and moved to the dead center of American politics, “triangulating” a la Bill Clinton in the 1990s.
- Condemned any elements of bigotry in his coalition and stated clearly that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with them
- For his administration, hired the truly best people – most qualified on the MERITS – for each job, regardless of whether they’d been “loyal” to him, and certainly not based on holding hard rightwing views.
- Conducted thorough “vetting” on each potential nominee, consulting with both Democrats and Republicans in and out of Congress as to their impressions of potential nominees.
- Divested himself ASAP from his business holdings; told his family members that they would have no place in his administration, that there would be a firewall between his business and his presidency.
Of course, none of this has happened, nor was it ever likely to happen, because as stated previously, Trump is NOT a wise man. Nor is he an honest man, a decent man, an ethical man, an intellectually curious man, or a responsible man. But if he were any of those things, and if he followed the unsolicited advice provided above, my guess is that he could not just have a successful presidency, but a popular one as well – increasing his potential for reelection in 2020.
Or, Trump could do things his way – corrupt, way outside the mainstream, picking cronies and ideologues instead of the “best and the brightest” for his administration – and set himself up for a disastrous presidency.
Seems like an easy choice that he wouldn’t want to go in that direction, right? But remember, this is the same guy who spent decades scamming and swindling people while dodging taxes and getting the taxpayer to bail out his sorry ass; who fueled the despicable “birther” movement, who has received 70% “false,” “mostly false” or “pants on fire” ratings from PolitiFact; who mocked and insulted veterans, disabled people, Latinos, women, African Americans, the military, you name it during his fear-and-hate campaign for president; etc.
So…no, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll be seeing a new, improved Trump anytime soon. The question is, can our country survive four years of this without suffering severe, irreversible damage? I’m highly skeptical…
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