This year the adage “it’s the economy, stupid” should be altered. The battle cry now bellows, “it’s the country, stupid
The continued media's fascination, and that of Trump's base, with the man are symptoms, but not the disease, which is a country slipping into an apathetic coma. Starting with both houses of Congress and filtering down into the population, the mere idea that the U.S. would allow someone like Trump to remain president is truly sickening for the soul of America. The congress and many people in this country are witnessing a “new normal”
But it is anything but normal as Trump pushes the boundaries of ethical behavior for a president and the malady of apathy empowers him to do so.
Everyday since Trump took office, he has spent taxpayer money for his own personal gain. From having extra security in the beginning of his presidency at Trump tower (as Trump was reticent to move to the White House calling it a dump at one point) to his numerous trips to his resorts, Trump has spent one-third of his first year as president away from the White House. With average costs for a three- day weekends costing approximately three million dollars, that should rain anger like a monsoon to the supposed fiscal conservatives who govern and pay taxes. Especially to republicans who feel Washington is just a reckless entity that wastes money daily. Every trip also publicizes his resorts, free advertising that flies in the face of the emolument clause (the founders worry that politicians would use their office for personal gain. and added this clause to the constitution.) This president has not lost his lust for adding to his fortune even if it requires placing the cost on the American taxpayer.
That Trump has used his power to sway toward an acute right-wing agenda is surely troubling. But what is far more concerning being his lack of knowledge and his unwillingness to learn rudimentary facts to base his decisions on. He is the king of short-term thinking and the pawn of long-term disastrous consequences.
Perhaps what may be the most disturbing is the all-too-open eyes-wide loyalty that
Republican lawmakers are swearing to him. There were similar acts of autocratic worship in 1930s Germany that should strike fear in every citizen of this country. Those who hold democracy as a sacred principle realize that all autocracies eventually end with disastrous results for the people of that nation. Playing to an audience of one (his boss) a top adviser of Trump went on CNN this past Sunday to do damage control after the release of the new tell all book about Trump “Fire and Fury”
Steve Miller, a top Trump advisor goes on CNN’s State of the Union and spews radical propaganda that Trump and his administration are guiltless of allegations of collusion and obstruction of justice. And should the media report on this story they are part of a “fake press” that should not be trusted. This is not only designed to tear down one of the founding principles of the constitution, a free press, but is designed to protect an intrinsically flawed, autocrat president. Host Jake Tapper was right to cut him off, but one must wonder why CNN would even give Miller a smidgen of time to voice his imitation of Joseph Goebbels.
The will of the people must awaken and realize it's not Trump's tweets or mind-boggling sentence structure that are the existential threat. He is driving a stake through the very raison d'être of the nation. We as a nation valued integrity in our leaders. We applauded skill sets that included compassion for those who had less or came to our cshores for refuge. And our collective mind set rejected the debasement of others, even if they were the political opponent of your candidate. Donald Trump revels in derogatory language. He finds phrases like “your fired” to be cathartic to himself and his base. Moreover, his actions are always framed as getting even with those who supposedly wronged him. Melania Trump in a rare moment of candor said “if he perceives he has been hit, he will hit ten times harder.”
Should we fail to rise to this crossroad in America's history and choose to look away future generations will truly wonder what were we thinking. To allow Trump to brag about the value of the stock market while he devalues our nation’s reputation in the world is dangerous. Our country will need cooperation from our allies and maybe even our adversaries to fight national security issues like climate change.
The basic intelligence we all share to not recognize that a man who must call himself “a stable genius” is not the words of someone with all his faculties working but someone desperate to hide his desperate attempt for the incessant spotlight.
An epidemic of inaction on our part risks our country at home and abroad. Which is every reason to believe this year that the statement “it’s the country, stupid” has never been more veracious in our lifetime.