We’re all familiar with the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme, and I can’t help but think that it describes the current state of POTUS Trump, with only 18 days to go in his presidency. Like the king in the story, Trump’s supporters are trying like mad to cover up the cracks, to continue the false narrative of a stolen election, a booming economy and victory over a deadly pandemic. But for those of us who really see the cracks, who realize that Trump and his oligarch crew truly have a lust for power and money, that they’ll do anything to keep it, it’s a no-brainer. But what we should worry about is the lasting economic, ecological, physical and psychological damage that Humpty Dumpty has fraught upon our nation.
Trump’s empire is crumbling, his cracks are showing. His 51+ lawsuits regarding voter fraud thrown about in federal courts across the country, he’s turned on virtually every staff member around him, incessantly tweets about conspiracy theories, and keeps hopelessly pushing to overturn the election. Trump has a history of demanding unwavering loyalty, and has no compunction of firing those that don’t bow before him. Targets of his latest outrage include Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump sees these GOPers as not fighting hard enough for him, for whimping out, and this is the exact complaint he uses against almost everyone who has worked for him.
Trump bailed on his fancy New Year’s party at Mara Lago early, leaving his guests to party maskless with his progeny, Rudy Giuliani and Vanilla Ice. It’s fair to assume that Trump is nervous about January 6, and most likely not a happy camper since a federal judge threw out Gohmert’s ridiculous lawsuit asking Pence to interfere in the Electoral College count. Perhaps Trump wasn’t in a celebratory mood, and I’d wager that he’s not getting much sleep stewing about Mike Pence performing his constitutional duty to validate the election results. If Pence does his job, and follows the Constitution as he should, Trump will no doubt view this as the ultimate betrayal.
It’s going to be an interesting week next week. The Georgia special election will decide which party leads the Senate, and will determine if America, the Democratic Party, and the Biden administration will be held hostage by McConnell and his GOP crew. Trump has asked his advisers and GOP supporters if they can get state legislatures to rescind their electoral votes, but when he’s told no, he lashes out, turning to his old-favorite medium, Twitter, to lambaste the nay-sayers. There are a few GOP sycophants (at least 12 Senators) who have defied Mitch McConell’s warning not to challenge the results, and are willing to go on with the charade, pledging to join Josh Hawley (R-Mo) in voting “no” to certify the election results next Wednesday.
If this isn’t a blatant defiance of the democratic process, I don’t know what is. Trump’s loyalists are clearly not concerned with either the democratic process or the Constitution; they can spew whatever gobbeldy-gook they want on Twitter or Fox News, but Biden and Harris won, fair and square. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s comment outlined in a recent Politico article says it plainly. “With all due respect to my Republican colleagues in the Senate who are doing this: can you please get a grip?” She went on to add: “Election officials across the country, including Republican Governors, have certified these results. This is embarrassing.”
Last Monday, Axios reported that the president directed his personal assistant to email GOP lawmakers a PowerPoint slide attacking Mitch McConnell for being “the first one off the ship,” and then went on to claim credit for Mitch’s re-election victory in Kentucky. Trump has always been Trump, and being in the White House has not changed him one bit. He is a con-man and a would-be Godfather figure who doesn’t care about Democracy, he doesn’t care about the Consitution, about voting rights, about BLM, about police brutality, about Russian bounties on American troops, and he sure doesn’t care about the 300k+ who have perished from COVID-19. When has Trump ever expressed sadness for those who have died from coronavirus? Trump cares only about Trump, and since he’s facing multiple NY state lawsuits ranging from tax-evation to money-laundering, it’s no wonder he’s digging in and trying every trick in the book to remain in office.
If our republic makes it to January 20th in one-piece, it will be a small miracle, but it won’t be without considerable damage to our democracy, our economy, our environment, our foreign policy, our infrastructure, and our identity as Americans. However, those Americans who have perished, those who fell victim to this horrid pandemic, their families and their loved-ones cannot get them back: That is the true tragedy of this administration.
Like Humpty Dumpty, Trump’s cracks are showing, and all the efforts of his loyalists, the Proud Boys and Qanon conspiracy theorists won’t be able to put him back together. On January 20th, it’s time to put our nation back together.