Things Fall Apart Fast
Tonight I feel like I am once again watching the final death throes of the Trump circus. I say once again because I must admit I have felt this way before several times. It has been amazing to witness the attempted hijacking of our country twice in my lifetime. I was very aware of it all during college, and I was as happy as anyone to see the Nixon Presidency unravel, but I’m not sure I felt it then the way I am feeling it now. When we are young we have lots of distractions. At this stage of life, this unraveling of the Trump Presidency is all-consuming and verging on being a distraction to the rest of life as we know it. In fact, it almost seems like life for my wife and I revolves around what outrageous events have happened in Washington that day.
Tonight with the announcement that the release of the redacted Mueller Report tomorrow will be preceded by a press conference byAttorney General Barr and perhaps a press conference by President Trump himself. The absurdity of the process (mostly since they are scheduled to occur BEFORE the release of the rejected report) is such that there has been a total unmasking of the partisanship of WIlliam Barr and the now obvious reality that he is acting as an instrument of President Trump and not a representative of the United States or the constitution.
The bombshells keep falling as the New York Times reports that they have multiple confirmations that there have been significant discussions and explanations of the contents of the Mueller Report to the president’s attorneys. That fact is well beyond absurdity since the advance release of information that could not be released to Congress or the public was released to the subject/target (that’s a legal term) of the very investigation that was undertaken over twenty-two months. Whoa! That’s like telling Al Capone in advance what the evidence against him will be at trial the next day.
The cable news pundits were wearing themselves out over this newest episode. Some were saying that the redaction of the report would be lighter than expected and some were saying that the redaction would be heavier than expected. The waste of time and attention that the handling of this report has created may work to wear everybody down about it all and make the interest in the contents of the report minimal. Not a chance. If that is the administrations’s strategy it will fail miserably. It fails to recognize the cable news infrastructure that has been built up over three years to focus on just this sort of debate. It also fails to recognize the degree that people like me have been politicized and galvanized by the slow-drip drama of the past three years. This issue will not quiet down for some time.
I notice that the use of the word impeachment has ratcheted up in the past day to a significant degree. The discussion about impeachment had largely died down to a whimper once Nancy Pelosi made it clear that she did not favor it politically. Her mission to see the Democratic Party expand its base in the House, take over the Senate and reclaim the Presidency is based on embarrassing and then pummeling Trump without resorting to the dangers of impeachment. She obviously believes impeachment will not prevail and remove the President due to the stronghold of the Republicans, particularly in the Senate. I think this view would have held strong if some degree of transparency had been part of Barr’s report tactics. The non-transparent approach of politically spinning the nature of the report and hiding as much as possible seems to have reignited and given wing to the pre-impeachment forces.
Mostly, what this whole situation screams is that the Presidency of Donald Trump is falling apart with increasing rapidity. He and his natural instincts of fighting everything that is negative about him is quickly turning into a flail. That flailing is becoming more and more apparent. His comments about Wikileaks highlight this point. He knows he’s on tape multiple times saying how much he loves Wikileaks. He can’t possibly think that he will not get tagged for lying when he says he knows nothing about Wikileaks and isn’t “about” Wikileaks. He is deploying the time-honored tactic of the dictator in denying everything no matter how ridiculous it makes him look. In Woody Allen’s Bananas, the banana dictator says that everyone must wear their underwear on the outside from now on. It is both absurd and a sign that the end is near. I read the Wikileaks comments as the sign that the Trump Presidency’s end is near.
The most interesting thing to watch in the coming months will be the way that congressional Republicans and avid Trump supporters react to the Trump Presidency falling apart. The strength of the support in the base implies that when it gives up, it will give up with startling speed and vigor. I predict that when we hit that wall, it will be even more dramatic than we expect. It would not surprise me to see Trump attempt some last ditch efforts to retain power that would be met with strong condemnation by those very same Republicans and core supporters. Watch The Death of Stalin for a very funny portrayal of this same notion. When things fall, they fall hard and fast and the biggest contributors to that will be the loyalists of yesterday.
It would not shock me to see Trump try some last-minute tactics that shock everyone and make his removal even more dramatic than it needs to be. He is more likely to go down in flames than he is to slink off into the darkness. It is in his nature to hold the stage until the last moment.
Nice post. Reassuring. Having also been alive and well during Nixon/Watergate, I am still amazed at how un-transparent Trump’s crimes tend to be. At least Nixon had the good taste to pretend he was not a crook almost to the end.
Dear Rich,
You have once again surprised me by insulting and saying disparaging things about our beloved leader. If it wasn’t for him I would not know that windmills cause cancer ! Plus I have learned so many big words from his remarkable vocabulary arsenal. Remember he told us that he knows lots of words ! The list of positives goes on and on and he is the one (and only) telling us so ! What more could you ask for?
Actually there are a multitude of things you could ask for and things of his to stand against except there seems to be a dearth of politicians who will do it. As you said there is no shortage of television pundits who come from every direction about whatever he has done or said recently. It is so prevalent that I myself have reduced the amount of news I watch because how many examples of his ridiculous behavior and statements do you need or are able absorb. I’m saving as many of what few synapses I have left for more important things……like the next election debates!
His brilliant idea of sending all illegal aliens to sanctuary states and cities is another example of out of the box (or head) thinking. I bet he got it from the ‘Mariel Boatlift’ when Castro loaded up a bunch of his jailed criminals into the group. We got the problems and Castro saved money. Pure genius, depending on your definition of genius.
Well, enough said. Watch your blood pressure as you ruminate on this subject. I wish I could say it will soon pass but sadly that is not the situation.
Where is Squeaky Fromme these days?
Sincerely, A Co-Commiserator