Three Years Ago
On Wednesday, November 9th, 2016: America changed. That morning we woke up to the reality of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Whether that result filled you with joy or horror, it definitely marked a sea change in American life.
Americans knew little about Russian interference, Stormy Daniels, or social media manipulation on that morning. And we didn’t know what influence the more “mainstream” Republicans would have on President Elect Trump. It did seem that the Trump Campaign was almost as surprised by the victory as the rest of us.
We watched Barack Obama follow the best traditions of the United States. He welcomed the new leader and his wife to the White House, following the example of John Adams. The second President and his Federalist Party lost control of the national government in the election of 1800. He peacefully turned over the “keys” to Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans, and took a carriage back to Boston. It was a triumph of nation over ideology.
Adams, of course, did his best to keep the Federalists relevant, packing the Federal Courts with his judges. President Trump and Mitch McConnell are following that tradition, doing everything they can to fill the judiciary with “their” appointees. Whatever else happens, America will have that legacy of the Trump Administration for the next thirty years.
Trump World
We are now almost three years later.
We discovered that Donald Trump works and lives in a chaotic environment. He rotates advisors in and out of the White House at a whim and compulsively speaks to the nation through 280 characters on Twitter. He allows an extremist view to hold sway in his Administration, led first by campaign advisor Steve Bannon, then continued by another advisor with little experience, Stephen Miller. America has abandoned much of its world leadership under Trump, turning its back and becoming coldly dispassionate under the guise of “America First.”
President Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry from the House of Representatives. It seems likely that in the next few months, he will be impeached, and the charges sent to the US Senate for judgment. Trump’s stalwart ally, Majority Leader McConnell, already has determined that the Constitution demands a Senate trial.
Just This Week
And with that, the absolute craziness began. Here’s what we’ve seen in just this past week.
- The White House released a damning summary of the President’s conversation with Ukraine’s leader. If that’s the summary, what does the actual transcript contain?
- Rudy Giuliani, the President’s private lawyer, tried to change the subject from Trump’s actions to former Vice President Biden’s; loudly claiming that the news media is refusing to cover his allegations.
- Stephen Miller, claimed a “Deep State” conspiracy created the “Whistleblower’s Complaint,” and demanded that Trump himself is a whistleblower of Democratic corruption. After “three years” in Federal service, he “knows.”
- Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader, disregarded the actual language of the summary, misreading it to further his own narrative of Trump’s innocence.
- Republican leaders, from Jim Jordan to Steve Scalise, tell us: don’t read the summary, don’t believe you lying eyes; believe us.
- The President of the United States re-tweeted a message claiming that his removal will result in Civil War.
- Trump also suggested in his own tweet, that the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, be arrested for Treason.
- And, of course, Russia is using social media to push their own agenda in support of Donald Trump.
Buckle Up
This week the furor will only grow louder, with further evidence likely to leak from the White House, and further testimony in the House Intelligence Committee. How serious is this? The “whistleblower” is now under Federal protection, a $50,000 “bounty” on his/her head from the President’s supporters.
And should the whistleblower testify to the committee, who believes that Devin Nunes, ranking minority member, will keep the identity secret from the President? Congressman Nunes has proven in the past his willingness to do whatever is necessary to aid Mr. Trump, it’s hard to imagine he will keep this secret.
Meanwhile Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Director of the National Rifle Association, quietly went to the White House to get his own “quid pro quo”. He offered the President millions of NRA dollars to fight impeachment, in return for Trump’s support to stop any new gun legislation.
Chaos will be the Trump strategy, a chaos that he will then blame on the Democrats. It seems clear that the President of the United States will be impeached. While conviction and removal still seems unlikely, even acquittal in the Senate won’t end the craziness.
It will simply fold into the election of 2020. Buckle-up, we’ve got a long way to go.
