There are those in the media who have labeled Donald Trump as a – fill in as many blanks as you would like that you can recall that have been publicly stated – stupid prolific liar. And the media are not the only ones who have relished in heaping these labels upon him. Likely most other Americans who are not loyal Trump sycophants, MAGA folks and or supportive evangelicals have used these labels as well when referring to him.
This could be due to pure frustration with America’s inability to effectively deal with this one man who is a clear and present danger to democracy. Or, it could be because he has forced virtually all Republican politicians and all America’s most powerful men to bend the knee to him. Both these things would have been completely unthinkable before the presidential era of Trump. Or, it could be out of pure frustration with Trump’s seeming ability to defy all stress-related factors that apply to normal human beings: Normal human beings who – when they have been cornered and found to be lying, conniving, cheating crooks – cannot help but to confess their wrongdoing.
When Trump is cornered like this and all but endless evidence points to the fact that he is the culprit, like a new and yet unstoppable virus, he engulfs and consumes this evidence and grows stronger. Then, he adds more lies to the lies that he has already told and the media responds by giving him more coverage because it sells. They are overwhelmed by their profit motive to the point that it overrides their principal responsibilities to the public. Possibly, this motive is so demanding to these organizations that it even overrides the moral and principle responsibilities they espouse. Money is indeed king!
Trump likely loathes all these demeaning names but, secretly, delights in the “stupid” label. He likes it because while everyone is destressing and, at least to some degree, relieving their frustrations by denigrating him, this “stupid” label is allowing him the freedom and more time to implement and carryout his dastardly deeds. Trump certainly does not believe that he is stupid – after all, he has a big brain (according to him), consults with himself to make critical decisions and has been labeled a genius by Russian president Vladimir Putin; again, according to him.
And, while whether Trump is stupid is arguable, he certainly is not stupid when it comes to chaos. He thrives in it! He outshines everyone! So, the situation that America is in right now is his home turf. While the rest of America is flailing and trying to decide what to do in these unprecedented circumstances, Trump is staying the course, sailing along smoothly, and piling more lies on top of those that he has already told. And the media continues to cover him…and them. This hurts America and helps Trump. He is well aware of the fact that, although the media does its best to fact check him, he can lie exponentially while the media can only fact check arithmetically.
All three branches of government are unsure of how to handle Trump and what he is doing to further confuse the American public and confuse these three branches of government, testing their limits. So far, he must be ecstatic about the results. The judicial branch, which is essential to help assure that every component of the foundation of the American government operates at its optimum, is especially worth watching at this point because, as a result of what certainly must be their concern and confusion in treading these unprecedented situations, they are allowing Trump to get away with virtual murder. They are not treating him under the law like they would treat any other American citizen, they are treating him differently. They are treating him special; as if everyone is not equal under the law.
To say that it is a challenge for these branches of government to deal with Trump under the existing circumstances is an understatement; he is the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America. This is a constitutional crisis and no one in any of these branches wants to deal with the situation. They especially do not want to be the first to deal with it. But it must be dealt with. It must be dealt with in a timely fashion and sure-handed manner because there is too much chaos and too many Americans are confused. To address the situation while displaying uncertainty will only hurt America and help Trump. This is exactly what Trump wants; chaos and uncertainty is his home turf.
Our government must settle on the right way to deal with Trump and the media must figure out a way to cover him effectively and fairly without abandoning the moral and principle standards that they espouse. America needs a strong two-party system of government to operate at the governments optimum. However, for this two-party system to be effective in America, the politicians in both parties must operate based on reasonable moral and principle standards. And above all, these politicians must be pro-democracy. They cannot be antidemocracy, openly or covertly, if they are to be meaningful, elected officials who take seriously their oath of office and want to truly represent their constituents, the American people.
We, the American people, are responsible for electing the politicians to office and removing them from office when they do not measure up to America’s high democratic standards. Further, the politicians that we elect are responsible for placing the judges and justices at the highest levels of our judicial system in place. If we take our civic responsibility as voters seriously and, to the best of our ability, elect politicians who meet America’s high democratic standards to office, we will not only have elected politicians with high standards but – as a result, have judges and justices who are not just politicians in black robes.
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 – M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line