Mr. Trump continues to create problems as he works feverishly and relentlessly to move America backwards to what he sees as the good old days when America was great.  And, according to him, he wants to make America great again!  And there are polls that say as much as 89% of Republicans are on board with him.  Those Americans who are siding with him don’t seem to care how he does it as long as he does it.

They seem to have no problem with the fact that he lies almost every time he opens his mouth, that he is systematically tearing down the systems that America has in place that makes us America, that he is not at all presidential when it comes to avoiding engaging in fights with those who are far beneath him but instead strikes back ruthlessly and with great vengeance against anyone who dares to say anything negative about him – thereby giving them a platform far greater than what they deserve, and that many times he completely ignores and trashes the Constitution.  So it should come as no surprise that when it comes to human rights issues and he heartlessly separates parents and their children and puts them in Trump cages that they still stick with him, likely feeling that the end justifies the means.

The fact that Mr. Trump knows exactly which buttons to push and is openly and blatantly dividing our great country by race and making every effort to cause Americans to resort to tribalism doesn’t seem to bother his supporters either.  Not even the fact that they must be aware by now that he cares about no one but himself and is doing everything that he is doing strictly for political reasons and to protect himself seems to phase them.  One can rest assured though that everything that Mr. Trump does that has the potential of having a negative impact on him is very carefully thought out and choreographed to assure, to the greatest extent possible, that that ultimate impact on him will be positive.  Yet when it comes to transacting the business of America and fulfilling his responsibilities to America and the American people, he puts no thought or preparation into it but takes haphazard actions and carries out those actions based solely on whims and his gut feelings.

How can so many intelligent people side with Mr. Trump when he calls the Robert Mueller investigation a witch hunt in light of all of the evidence that has been produced that points to the fact that Russia did meddle in our 2016 elections and that Mr. Trump and/or his campaign  colluded with Russia in this meddling?  How can they look at Mr. Trump’s record as a liar, cheat and a con man, compare that to the record of special counsel Mueller and still choose to side with Mr. Trump?

Finally, I have a problem with Mr. Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ idea because in his nostalgic thoughts about going back to the ‘good old days’ of America, he means going back to the days when powerful white people had their feet on the necks of people of color and those people were only acceptable to most white people if they ‘knew their place’ and openly accepted the role of being second-class citizens.  He has demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, his support for the ideas and ideals of white supremacists, he himself has either denied or been associated with people who denied people of color the right to live in buildings that he owned simply because of the color of their skin, and even now he continues to stir the smoldering embers of racism and hate in the hope that he will be able to profit from it.

Unfortunately, Mr. Trump is not about uniting America, he is about dividing her.  He did not decide to attack congresswoman Maxine Waters for her recent statement that people should let members of his cabinet who condone his behavior and who have lied for him know that they are not welcome in various public places.  This was not one of his whim or gut feeling situations.  This was one of his carefully choreographed ones.  Mr. Trump chose to attack congresswoman Waters to stir up his base and gen up support from them.

Some of the pundits and cable network hosts have said that congresswoman Waters was wrong to say what she said.  I have some ambivalence about what she said.  I do not agree that she should have made such a statement but I can also understand why she made it.  She, along with some of the pundits and cable network hosts feel that it is past time to stop playing nice with Mr. Trump.  They also believe that it is far past time to speak truth to power in no uncertain terms.  The Republicans in the US congress are not doing it!  But at this point, Mr. Trump appears to be in a win-win situation and he knows it.  You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.

So, what can one say to congresswoman Waters and others like her and what are we supposed to feel about what they say to Mr. Trump or how they conduct themselves toward him?  As for me, what should I say?  Well, in sticking with the theme in the title of this article – which I consider to be somewhat of an oxymoron, what I will say is kudos congresswoman Waters for what you said regarding Mr. Trump’s cabinet members that you shouldn’t have said.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

I’ve watched in awe as many Republicans have either continued to make excuses for Mr. Trump and his antics or remained completely silent.  And there are those talking heads who have defended (made excuses) those who have remained silent by saying things like “for them to speak out against Mr. Trump would be political suicide.  I assume that they mean  that it would be better for those Republicans who have refused to speak out against Mr. Trump to remain silent even though he is driving America over the cliff because they would lose their jobs.  If that is the case, why are they in those jobs in the first place?!  Voters did not elect them to act as place holders each term just so they could be elected again: what a cushy job that would be.

Mr. Trump had a so called ‘summit’ with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, came away with virtually nothing in exchange for it for, among other things, vowing to put a stop to the  annual joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States -which he referred to as ‘provocative’, just like the North Koreans, and returned to America claiming that this so called summit was a great success for the United States.  The cessation of these exercises is something that President Vladimir Putin of Russia wants and, of course, Mr. Trump was more than happy to oblige him.  Now, he wants to have a so called ‘summit’ with Mr. Putin; perhaps even as early as July this year.  I wonder what sort of great things they would talk about.  In the meantime, while he would be preparing for his great summit with Mr. Putin, he and his Republican allies – including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – are still trying to put the kybosh on Special Counsel Robert Muller’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the U.S. 2016 presidential election.

As if all of this and the 51% turnover rate that is taking place in his administration is not enough to deal with, Mr. Trump has decided to force the issue on immigration by separating children from the arms of their parents and holding them in what amounts to cages for long periods of time as a way to discourage other potential illegal immigrants from attempting to enter the United States illegally.  It also appears that he is using the snatching of these children from their parents as leverage to force congress to write and enact new immigration laws that meet with his approval.  Unfortunately, while Mr. Trump is trying to force congress’s hand, many of the parents of these children are being shipped back to the country of their origin without their children.  To make matters worse, the Trump administration has no guaranteed method of keeping track of these children so that they can be matched to their parents even when they are released.

All the while that this is going on, the vast majority of the Washington congressional Republicans continue to support him.  Some are doing it tacitly but others are openly pushing his agenda.  They purport to have various honorable reasons as to why they are supporting him but the main thread that runs throughout this sham fabric is the ‘I want to assure to the greatest extent possible that I will be reelected’ thread.  In the same way that Mr. Trump continues to prove that he has no regard for these parents and their children he has already proven that he feels the same way about people of color who are Americans in this country; this is Trump’s America and what it looks like as he establishes his ‘Make America Great Again’ laws and policies!

And Just like Republicans jumped up-and-down and shouted from the rooftops about how unqualified, unfit for the office and what a terrible man Mr. Trump was during the presidential primaries but after he became their nominee and was elected to office they all knelt and kissed his ring, they are doing the same thing now.  A few of them like senators Bob Corker, Jeff Flake and Representative Trey Gowdy who have decided not to run for office in 2018 are not exactly shouting their opposition to him from the rooftops but they are timidly speaking out against him.  And although there are a number of politicians who are speaking out against Mr. Trump and polls indicate that many of the American people do not condone what is happening at the border with immigration, it remains to be seen as to whether or not Mr. Trump can continue to defy gravity because polls also show that the majority of Republicans support his position on immigration.  He has been in this position so many times before where the media and pundits predicted that the situation at the time would surly bring him down and then, just like Houdini, he escaped.

Right or wrong Mr. Trump seems determined to continue to move forward against all odds.  He has proven himself to be a formidable adversary who demands complete unadulterated loyalty but is loyal to no one other than himself.  A dangerous man like this demands that American voters be just as determined as he is to win this battle.  I don’t know if voters can be more determined than he is because of his narcissistic personality and lack of sympathy or empathy for those with whom he coexists.  But if we can hold on long enough and somehow be just as determined as he is, a tie will allow Americans to get to the polls and vote and that should certainly be Mr. Trump’s downfall.  It will also provide an opportunity for Americans to rid ourselves of all of those who so willingly lie to cover and protect Mr. Trump.  But let’s be sure not to put our horse before the cart because if we do, he just might manage to work his Houdini magic on us again.

So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line