After close viewing of what I'll call "Season One" of the Trump presidency, we have seen many of our institutions rocked by attacks which if unanswered will fundamentally alter the state of the nation. Our current "so-called" President doesn't behave like what he is, a mere employee, an official the electorate put in control of some few of the levers of government for a limited time so that our lives can be made somewhat better. No, rather he imagines in that addled, attention-craving recently certified brain that we all work for him, and that whatever few tiny crumbs tumble from the table of the rich and powerful, we should scoop them up with proper appreciation for the man who deigned to sprinkle them in our general direction. That is if he thinks of us at all.
Donald Trump is a man so completely consumed by his own day-to-day doings that he hardly has a moment to waste on the humble masses. When he does venture among the unwashed, it's for his own benefit so that he can soak up the adulation of the dopes who still imagine despite living in plain sight of all contrary evidence that he wants what is best for them and theirs. He remains what he has always been, a greedy scam artist who is making it up day to day. The White House machinery clinks along a bit more steadily because of some greater attention to the necessaries of such an office, but that doesn't make the final products any more palatable, and the dark attitudes of his managers is of no small concern either.
The recent debacle in Alabama where a creditably-accused child molester almost won national office points up the fact about Trump which frightens me the most. Roy Moore (the accused pedophile in question) has still refused (to my knowledge) to accept the results of the election which he lost despite the certification of his opponent who now serves in the Senate. He claims with no evidence, but only base appeal to racism that the election was unfair and that bogus (black) votes were tallied. He himself is of little consequence now, but his claim is one to watch. Trump himself hinted strongly that if he'd lost the national election he a year ago, the same one he now ballyhoos at every opportunity, he'd claim the "system was rigged" and so cast into doubt the long tradition in the United States of free and reasonably final elections. He won incredibly, so it became moot. But what about next time.
The cult of Trump diminishes and his chances of winning re-election to my eye are remote. (At least I hope I'm right.) That he'll still likely win the Republican nomination yet again is reprehensible enough, but I don't see how he can squeak out another victory now that the opposition to him is fully woke. In another year he will see (hopefully) the Congress turn against him and his day-to-day existence will become ever more painful. His honeymoon year has been terrible as is, but when he's confronted with real problems it's going to amp up even more. His reactions could make us all tremble and his cheerleaders at FOX and elsewhere seem ready and willing to back any play he scams up. What happens when he loses his re-election and he's in a position of power. He's not going to be a frustrated candidate who can be ignored after a time, but he will still be President and have the power to at least attempt to block the transition. He will not take firing well. Those who cannot imagine such a thing, have not been paying attention. This is what scares me.
Tonight is the State of the Union speech. Think of it as Coming Attractions for Season Two of the Trump Presidency. Can I change the channel? Sadly no.
Rip Off
