It was always there. It was always hidden in plain sight for everyone who had eyes to see. The evidence that Donald Trump is unfit to serve in the highest office of this nation has been evident for the entire year that he has occupied the White House. It was evident during the presidential campaign and even before that during the Republican primaries. And, to those who were paying attention, it was evident his entire adult life in his unsavory and unethical business practices, his self-serving lies, and in his verbose and unending self-promotion. It has been always been clear that he cares, and will always will care about only one thing above all others, Donald Trump. That alone disqualifies him from any kind of public service because everything he does serves only his own selfish self-interests.
It is said with some truth that all politicians lie. That is probably true of most of the rest of us as well, but Trump has told many times more lies to the American people in his single year in office than any other occupant of the Oval Office in recent memory has told during his entire four or even eight-year term. What is most troubling is that Trump has lied when the truth was self-evident and/or would have better sufficed than a falsehood. He has exhibited all of the classic characteristics of Narcissistic Personal Disorder and acted like a petulant child, striking out at anyone and everyone who criticized him or refused to bend to his will. He has publicly admired autocrats in large part because it is clear that he would seek to be a dictator if not restrained by the checks and balances of our constitution and traditional limitations of presidential power within executive branch. All too often his tweets and public pronouncements have left wary citizens and the leaders of our allies with grave concerns that he is unhinged and unstable.
Michael Wolff’s new book “Fire and Fury” isn’t our first indication that the people who serve Trump in the Oval Office view him as unfit to hold his position. Throughout Trump’s first year, correspondents have often quoted unnamed sources within the White House saying that they have to deal with Trump as if he were a child, that he has a very short attention span, that he grows disinterested with any complicated situation, that they have grown wary of having to relate to him anything he doesn’t want to hear, and (most alarming) that they are concerned about his mental stability.
Others outside of the White House have been more openly critical. Republican law makers who are more concerned about the country than their political careers have publicly voiced grave concerns about Trump’s temperament and demeanor. In a speech on the Senate floor Senator Jeff Flake denounced Trump’s behavior as “dangerous to our democracy” and he went on to challenge time and time again Trump’s fitness to serve. Senator Bob Corker openly questioned the president’s competence and stability. John McCain stated that Trump was often “poorly informed” and “impulsive” and later ripped into him saying, “I don’t think he has the fundamental underpinnings of principles and belief.” Former President George W. Bush indirectly rebuked Trump’s temperament and voiced grave concerns for the nation under his watch. Rex Tillison, former CEO of EXXON and now Secretary of State, has never denied that he called the president a “fucking moron”. Our closest allies in the world have expressed grave misgivings about Trump’s ability and willingness to serve as the leader of the free world.
Wolff’s book, an instant best seller, has not only added to the ongoing conversation, it has brought the president’s fitness to serve to the front and center of the nation’s attention. Some may question the manner by which Wolff obtained his access to the inter working of the White House and its personal, but none can plausibly deny that he had that access. Some individuals may claim that they were misquoted and Trump can call the book fake news by a discredited author – though at the same time he gives credence to the veracity of the book by attacking individuals who were quoted criticizing him. However, what cannot be denied is that the basic theme of the book is but a verification of what everyone with an open mind has known all along – that the present occupant of the White House is unfit to be President of the United States. The fact that those who serve most closely with him and are most aware of his personality and short comings agree with that basic assumption merely adds an additional degree of confidence to that conclusion
However, don’t expect Trump’s most ardent supporters to abandon him – they knew his basic character and flaws from the beginning and remain unperturbed. Exit polls illustrated that one third of those who supported him in the election believed that he was unfit to serve as president, yet they voted for him anyway. They ignored the wellbeing of the nation, focusing on what he promised to do for them instead. Likewise, don’t expect the vast majority of the Republicans in Congress to turn against Trump, especially before the 2018 mid-term elections. They are concentrating on their agenda and will publicly ignore his glaring deficiencies and his inherent danger in return for his support in achieving their goals, the country be damned.
Never the less, the impact of the book on Trump and his inner circle will be immeasurable. It has already put Trump’s relationship with his former chief strategist and leader of the alt right, Steve Bannon, on the chopping block and drastically reduced Bannon’s potential impact on the 2018 Congressional elections. And don’t under estimate the book’s impact on the relationships between a paranoid president and his closest aides. Though they may protest that Wolff lied in the book about their comments about him, Trump will recognize that those comments strike too close to home. He is said to value loyally above all in his associates and he won’t trust those that he even suspects of being disloyal. Worse yet, those who Trump might seek out as replacements will also be “outsiders”, who by definition cannot be trusted. Surrounded by people he can’t trust, will Trump may become even more unstable.
In the final analysis one cannot underestimate the attention which Wolff’s book brings to bear on question of Trump’s suitability to continue in his role as Commander in Chief. The reverberations from its stunning impact will continue well into the future. Long after the initial uproar has faded, every tweet, every pronouncement, every action or inaction on Trump’s part will be dissected to examine whether it contains further evidence of his instability. Since Congressional Republicans will very likely continue to support him for their own purposes, Trump’s situation will further reduce their chances of being reelected and measurably increase the chances of a Democratic takeover of Congress.
I agree with Bannon on one issue. At one point he gave Trump only a one third chance of surviving in office to the end of his first term with addition one third chances each of being impeached and being removed from office via the 25th amendment. That sounds about right to me.
right to me.
Cajun 1/7/2018