Somehow 74,222,593 just voted for a man who is certifiably insane and grossly malevolent in almost every action he takes. Reading about Trump’s post-election mindset and behavior from people inside the White House in a position to witness it firsthand is simply terrifying.
He has five weeks remaining as the most powerful man on Earth and there is simply no telling what he might do in that time. He has what can only be called a fleeting and tenuous grip on reality, and a seemingly unquenchable thirst for revenge. Off and on, he threatens not to leave the White House willingly. He just fired the attorney general after gutting the senior leadership at the Pentagon and installing his cronies.
As bad as this is, it’s still far better than him being reelected, and that came very close to happening. Almost 75 million people actually wanted that outcome. This is a level of mass hysteria not seen in the West since 1930’s Germany, and we know what level of force it took to beat that down, and also what it cost in lives, treasure and infrastructure.
This is a sickness that will not heal itself. I wish Biden luck as he tries to unify this country, and he’s the right person for giving it a college try. I don’t think it will work out, and I have no interest in going easy on this political movement in the interest of comity. They’re dangerous and they can easily grow much more so.
They’re following a man who is out of his mind:
The Electoral College’s affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s win this week did not appear enough to shake Trump from his delusions of victory, but it is adding urgency to a push by several of his advisers to gently steer Trump toward reality. Several of his closest allies have urged him to move on from his efforts to contest the election and begin planning his post-White House political future — including a potential 2024 run.Yet even amid the intractable movement of the transition and the hurried lame-duck activity — some of which he is participating in himself — Trump is steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that he lost……While Trump had begun to privately accept the reality that he lost the election late last month, advisers say Trump has now reversed and dug in deeper — not only spreading misinformation about the election, but ingesting it himself.“He’s been fed so much misinformation that I think he actually thinks this thing was stolen from him,” a Trump adviser said of the President.
President Donald Trump may not be willing to accept his term is ending, but as the clock ticks down on his time in office, hundreds of his allies — including some of his closest business associates and many high-profile criminals — are ramping up their efforts to squeeze out the final ounces of his presidential power……Trump is mulling the pardons at a juncture when loyalty appears his principal concern, complaining repeatedly over the past weeks that Republicans are deserting him when he needed them to help overturn the election results.He has largely frozen out those advisers and associates who do not seem on the same page. One person who used to speak to Trump regularly, but who delicately encouraged him to soften his post-election stance, no longer has his calls returned and hasn’t heard from Trump in weeks.
As a Jewish American I am actually reminded of Israel’s early years. Armed nationalist such as the Stern Gang were not respecting the authority of the elected Israeli government under David Ben Gurion. These armed nationalists were popular as they were instrumental in Israel becoming an independent Jewish state. And of course Israel was surrounded by enemies so taking a tough stand against them was politically difficult. But they were armed and simply not respecting the government’s authority. Israel’s viability as a state was on the line. So this Labor government cracked down and enforced its laws. Had to be done.
George Washington had to do it with the Shays Rebellion. Eisenhower has to do it in Little Rock, AR.
The Russian provisional government failed to do so and their fecklessness resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution. Germany’s Weimar Republic was feckless and we know what happened there. So yes, absolutely, Biden must bring a hammer.
That was the sinking of the Altalena. Unfortunately, Begin eventually became Prime Minister and that was the beginning of the land grab in the territories. Israel is now at least as enthralled with corrupt leadership and racist policy as is the United States. The main difference is Bibi is smart enough to stay in office and not get prosecuted.
Sadly, I agree with that current assessment of Israel. Once Rabin was assasinated in ’95 it has been on an irredeemable path.
All of this, every last bit, is part and parcel of Richard Nixon getting pardoned in 1974.
The time has come to make sure that the Office of the Presidency isn’t above the law. It will take the Presidency itself to investigate prior corruption and crimes, simply by standing out of the way, and in full support, of those investigations. And the President must DEMAND that Congress pass laws to make the Office of the President accountable to the law and to the people.There can be no implicit or explicit policy by the DOJ that a sitting President cannot be indicted or prosecuted for crimes, otherwise the President IS above the law. That DOJ policy goes back, of course, to Nixon. Of course.
There must be open and transparent investigations, and whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat, all corrupt and criminal actors must be prosecuted. These investigations need to be televised live on whatever platform will televise it. Let the criminal actions and actors reap what they have sown.
This shit either stops now, or the next Republican President will NOT give up power, because by then, the rule of law will have been made null and void through inaction. And this country will be over.
I don’t see Joe Biden as a guy willing to rock the boat. He’s far more likely to put his head in the sand and be a cheerleader for normality.
I wish that Congress would do what you say, but it seems the more likely course is for Republicans to stymie and block every single effort to do any of this, with the idea that they get another crack at this in four years to finally burn down the house and to insure authoritarian GOP dominance forever.
I tend to agree with you, Martin. I don’t think Biden is a “stick his head in the sand” guy at this point in history, but I am curious as to what you see as the hammer at this point. What are the concrete steps necessary?
Lordy Trump behaves like a sulking teenager while Putin plays games with him and our cyber infrastructure. And the virus eats us alive. Talk about dereliction of duty what a freaking disgrace this guy is. Poor baby can’t stand it that Biden beat his ass. And guess what? He will never accept it. Worst ever president.
Whoever is Attorney General should go where the facts lead. Full stop. When the Republicans start screaming, the reply should be to ignore them. When the media ask why he hasn’t said anything, he should say the truth: that he is hands-off and letting the eminently qualified people at DOJ do their jobs without political influence.
Also restock all the Inspectors General so career folks can more easily report on the moles burrowed in.
One small change I would make is: when Republicans start screaming, evidence and public appearances by the AG and law enforcement asserting the rule of law must be made. We have learned in the past 5 years that keeping your head down and just “doing the job” is not enough. The case must be made for what we do, loud and often, until the fever breaks.
Yes to all of this. Martin, I hope you’ll continue digging deeper into this topic and what “hammers” are available to Biden (and other Democrats), and which ones are best to wield.
James Fallows has a good piece in The Atlantic sketching out some priorities for Biden, and which things he should do, what he should leave to the administrative functions of government (e.g., pick a good AG and let Justice decide who to prosecute), and what he should leave to congressional Democrats (e.g., investigative committees).
David Roberts had a piece at Vox recently where he advocated a “flood the zone” approach of 1) aggressive executive action, 2) use of the “bully pulpit”, 3) a coordinated and aggressive legislative and budget strategy with congressional Democrats, etc.
One challenge I haven’t seen any good proposals on has to do with centrist Republicans (e.g., Collins, Murkowski, Portman, Romney, Sasse in the Senate). What if anything can Biden/Democrats do to change the political incentives to help build a “Blue Dog-like” Republican caucus that will give Democrats a governing majority?