It still doesn’t seem real, so it feels daft even trying to come to terms with it, as if the new President was Spongebob Squarepants. But now the world has to take Donald Drumpf and his new rules seriously. Theresa May has to laugh at his jokes and interruptions, and not complain when he grabs her hand, for reasons of trade. This is the way deals are done now, he’ll tell the Germans he’ll put a tariff on Volkswagen cars unless Angela Merkel lets him squeeze her tits.
At least Merkel might offer some opposition, and insist he only grabs the left one, even if it results in a 12 per cent tax on German sausage exports.
Until this week it still seemed like a game, with commentators and politicians assuring us “In time we must hope the new President comes to terms with his responsibilities and acts to unify his nation.” This strategy of stopping him by hoping he becomes nicer, may already have proved a little optimistic. It’s a method that hasn’t always enjoyed the success it deserves. In the 1930s, responsible characters probably suggested, “In time we must hope the Ku Klux Klan learn to behave responsibly, as fire can be quite a hazard, especially with inflammable sheets nearby.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-campaign-pledges-doesnt-know-how-politics-works-a7559571.html
this is pretty much the article I've been wanting to write but thinking "what good would it do except for keeping me busy?"
ReplyDeleteWell, it would earn you a wage as a professional satirist astute political commentator.
ReplyDeleteThe key sentence in the article: _You can understand how Trump has taken the old establishment by surprise, because who’d have guessed he’d do the things he insisted he was going to do. _ Trump might have enjoyed a few weeks of basking in his victory, allowed the liberals to drop their guard a bit - after all, most US presidents are granted what we call a Honeymoon, a trip to the gift shoppe with a sum of political capital to spend. Instead, his idiot Robespierre wannabe, Steve Bannon, insisted on screwing this up.
ReplyDeleteThough it's a stretch to make this comparison (and all comparisons fail at a certain point, this one particularly early) I would like to think of this as the Battle of the Bulge, in which Hitler gambled that a decisive, overwhelming strike against the Allies might turn the tide. But it was all dependent upon the Germans reaching Allied fuel depots, resupplying from the enemy, it was so monstrously stupid no sane person would have attempted it.
The Trumpkins have substantially overplayed their hand. I don't believe I'm over-optimistic in saying this: the justice system in the USA will jealously guard its prerogatives and mandate in the face of Congress and the Executive. I was worried for a few days there, won't sugarcoat that fear, but as of this morning, with the courts flexing their muscles and Trump screeching like a spoiled baby when his nastiness is slapped down - I'm somewhat encouraged.
I hope you're right Dan Weese.
ReplyDeleteOn the "who would have guessed he would have done these things", to be fair many of us thought he was just an insane popularist who didn't think he'd really do all the things he said. But for whatever reason - either trying to continue to appease his core support or because of the machinations of his advisers - he does seem determined to actually do them.
Rhys Taylor Trump's insecurities and pettiness are as obvious as the pink on a baboon's ass. He said himself, he makes his best decisions on the spur of the moment. Furthermore, every dumb thing he's done, and he'll freely admit many of his moves were stupid, were when others cajoled him into something. Trump University: he actually thought he could teach people how he did things, that's hardly unique among successful people - who don't recognise that most of success is just luck, that and being in the right place at the right time. That mistake cost him 25 million dollars, which even to Trump, is not small change.
ReplyDeleteTrump is badly advised, as was Bush43, another incurious Reagan wannabe. Trump holds to no solid philosophy, hasn't over the course of his life to present times, won't over the next few years. He is coming to understand that his "ratings" stink and that will influence his thinking mightily, for in his insecurity, he will lash out at the people who led him to this point. That day is coming soon.
Richard G I have heard, though this is just anecdotal - that the Milns approached Trump with this scam, appealing to his gargantuan vanity. Trump had a flock of ghost-written books already, it was a natural fit. See, Trump is as dumb or smart as the last person who talked to him. You're absolutely correct - and have your argument fairly well buttressed, that Trump was merely repackaging a very old scam. But who approached whom on this, Trump was once a gold-plated demigod to Wealth Worshippers. There must be a zillion references to Trump's wealth in hip-hop over the years. To many he still that gold-plated demigod. But when his first Trump Tower got in money trouble, his investors cornered him, took control of the project away from him, leaving him only as the pitch man. That's about the size of Trump U, from where I sit.
ReplyDeleteRhys Taylor Trump's not doing all the things he promised. Specifically those things about clearing out the way Wall St controls politics that got him those disaffected votes. Whodathunk that a rich white git would have been lying about that?
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