Donald Trump - America - Just Say NO!!!

Today is election day in the United States. I am safely ensconced in lovely Rome, but did my civic duty and mailed in my absentee “Vote From Abroad” ballot weeks ago. The powers that be in Florida have confirmed receipt of my vote. This entry will not be published in Montaigne and Me prior to the results being tabulated and the winner disclosed, but I did want to share my views for posterity. Important to “Go on the Record” when the stakes are so high. As Benjamin Franklin said shortly after the Constitution was passed “We Have a Republic- If We Can Keep It.” I generally avoid hyperbole but this central proposition may be on the ballot today. I also seek to avoid blame from friends and associates if things go terribly wrong the next four years. This is my red flag to all- you have been warned!

I am a NEVER TRUMPER. In fact, I am a NEVER TRUMPER FOREVER and a FOREVER NEVER TRUMPER. I expressed this view from the very beginning- as he sauntered down the escalator after he announce his original Presidential run in 2015. If anything, my opinion has increased in intensity over the past 9 years and rest assured I will remain steadfast until the day I depart for the great beyond. It is not a hesitant or diffident position- surrounded by uncertainty, qualifications or inner doubt. Mr Trump is manifestly unqualified for the Presidency. He is the WORST American President in history and in terms of character and temperament the WORST person ever to serve in the office. If the American people, in their infinite wisdom, return him to the White House the second term will be even worse. He will have no guardrails and will be totally unhinged. I can see no socially redeemable qualities in the man and I confess the cult like loyalty he generates from his MAGA supporters is enormously puzzling and perplexing to me. Perhaps, I simply lack vision and imagination! Alas, I think not! His values, priorities and leadership style make him entirely unfit to lead what Ronald Reagan called “The City on the Hill. “

How did I arrive at such an unambiguous conclusion? Let’s start with the basics. He is dishonest, unbalanced and erratic. He is pathological and compulsive liar-lying about everything- big or small. The mere movement of his lips is associated with blatant falsehoods. I frequently hear the refrain that his appeal is based on the notion “that he tells it like it is.” Unfortunately, the record is otherwise. The disconnect is almost Kafkaesque. He ignores the truth, abuses the public trust and fabricates reality on a regular basis. He undermines and demeans the political process. Disregard for the truth is not a peripheral matter for a purported leader. Liars are not leaders and outrageous and unapologetic demagoguery attacks the basic underpinnings of a successful democratic republic. Remember George Washington never told a lie and Abraham Lincoln’s nickname was “Honest Abe.” Trump is the opposite of those esteemed fellows. He manipulates facts to create chaos, drive wedges between citizens and thrive on divisiveness. He has no instinct to be a unifier, He is purely transactional and uses lies and falsehoods to demonise the “other” and cast his opponents as “evil.”

Language is an important element of leadership and Mr Trump’s default mode of speaking is depraved- relying on outright cruelty and fear mongering. He speaks of “Enemies of the People” who must be destroyed, without mercy. He accuses poor and desperate immigrants of “Poisoning our Blood.” The Democratic leadership are “Vermin.” He is a diagnosable narcissistic sociopath dedicated to his own fame, money and power. He is intellectually lazy, ignorant on policy and oblivious to the checks and balances inherent in our constitutional framework. He thrives on a cult of personality which demands total loyalty and subservience to him. This approach creates a vicious circle. Independent voices are discouraged and eventually put out to pasture. Those who remain and “bend the knee” are rewarded and move up the ladder. Unfortunately, this model produces a regime of grifters, sycophants, charlatans, ciphers, crazies, clowns, yes men and enablers. The people who surround Trump today remind me of the cast of characters in the famous bar scene in the original Stars War movie. Not an attractive bunch and very hard to visualise them in the Cabinet or Situation Rooms. Look at these people- Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Peter Navarro, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer, Candace Owen, Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert and now RFK Jr. Elon and Vivek- brilliant but seemed to have been brainwashed on a recent trip to Mars. We are the world’s indispensable nation and entrusting the future this corp of kooks to run it is criminally irresponsible. Who you hang with defines you and Trump has poor judgement in people.

The flip side is listening to the people who worked for him in his first term. Trust me- not a group of crazy liberals! Traditional Republicans, respected military leaders, senior Republican members of Congress, his own Vice President. They universally validate my argument that Mr Trump is uniquely unfit to serve as President. 40 of 44 individuals who held Cabinet, sub cabinet or senior staffing positions are damning in their assessments. John Kelly, Marine General and the longest serving Chief of Staff in the first term describes Trump as a “fascist” and “the most terrible person I have ever encountered.” The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Mark Miley says Trump is “the most dangerous person on the planet.” General McMaster and Admiral McRaven say he is congenitally incapable of grasping complex foreign policy or national security questions. Dick and Liz Cheney have endorsed Kamala Harris. General James Mattis, the Secretary of Defense says Mr Trump is the only President he ever encountered who had absolutely “no interest in unifying the country.” Other descriptions from former Trump staffers include “a second rate mind,” “a terrible person,” “an awful man” and a “moral abomination.” Can all these patriots be totally misguided in these assessments? People, this is not a close call!

The ultimate disqualification is Trump’s unprincipled and unforgivable opposition to the peaceful transfer of power at the end of his first term. After losing to Joe Biden by 7 million votes, he manufactured “The Big Lie”- the election was rigged and he was the legitimate winner. 60 defeats in election related lawsuits and clear statements from his own Attorney General and Campaign Manager did not dissuade him from repeating the lie again and again. He repeats it TODAY! He pressed state officials to ignore their oaths, approved a fraudulent alternate elector scheme, pressured his Vice President to disrupt the Electoral College certification, encouraged a mob to march on the Capital on January 6- then watched from the Oval Office as his followers wrecked the Capital, attacked law enforcement, searched for legislators and called for the hanging of Mike Pence. This behaviour is chilling. Mr Trump inflicted permanent damage on our democracy and perhaps irreparable injury to America’s long term psychological health. He laughed at our institutions and norms in pursuit of his own interest. Half of the country believed him which bodes poorly for future confidence in our elections. Seriously, how can anyone vote for this guy!!

This list of shortcomings does not even include 2 impeachments, a felony conviction, a civil judgement related to sexual abuse and 3 pending criminal matters. If you don’t trust the justice system fine, but consider the undeniable facts surrounding these matters. He paid a stripper hush money and removed classified documents from the White House. He has filed for bankruptcy multiple times and makes moronic statements on every conceivable issue. He is a not so subtle white supremacist and is xenophobic. He is not NORMAL! He makes everything in his vicinity WORSE! He violates cultural and social norms so regularly we are in danger of creating a society with no behavioural norms at all. Watch the people laughing at his rallies- the joke is on us! When did this become OK? He undermines social cohesion and lowers the quality of our social discourse. Everyone becomes agitated and angry. On reflection, Mr Trump’s character is the exact opposite of what every parent from “The Greatest Generation” taught their children about values and behaviour. That model emphasised generosity, kindness, decency, fair play, humility and respect and tolerance for others. Mr Trump is mean, cruel, nasty, selfish, an egomaniac, disrespectful of others and motivated only by his own ego gratification. This is a bad trade if we choose to give him another term. A leader should be a role model, inspire others to serve and not act in a manner that coarsens the culture and foments animosity and division. Mr Trump does not possess the character to be an effective President.

But Bill- some friends say- what about his sterling policy record in the first term. I was there and am unpersuaded. The Abraham Accords were an achievement. I am agnostic on the merits of the 2017 tax cut. His leadership in the COVID crisis was- how can I say this kindly- uneven. Don’t overanalyse individual policies. Instead, examine the decision making environment he created. He unashamedly promoted conspiracy theories and regularly posted wild misinformation and disinformation. He is not a SERIOUS person. He is wrong on climate, trade and the importance of allies and multilateral institutions. He coddles dictators, insults our allies, swoons before flattery and distrusts his own intelligence agencies. Economists think his tariff proposals are unsound. He has authoritarian tendencies and that subsumes any common ground a voter may have with him on one issue or another. Mass deportation will be destabilising. Autocrats generally tell us their plans before they actually execute them. When he makes a crazy policy proposal- don’t discount it- take him at his word.

His overall goals are clear- don’t get lost in the weeds. The umbrella environment of his milieu is a cesspool characterised by moral rot. Intelligent discussions on border policy are destroyed when a leader says emigres are “animals” and “criminals” who aren’t “really people.” Screaming, shouting, bullying, insulting and demeaning domestic and global institutions is not an acceptable leadership style. It is DESTRUCTIVE! Relentless disregard for the truth can be entertaining at rallies but ultimately the Republic suffers and breaks down. We should not excuse his behaviour. For Trump, politics is a blood sport. Where is the ethical dimension? His goal is to break the system and convince the voters that he is the only fellow who can fix it and save them Trump is corrosive and dangerous. Don’t let your hopes for a capital gain reduction create a permissive structure for his toxic brand of leadership. Remember, the lies can outlast the liar. They have staying power particularly when repeated by an individual who is elected to be in charge. A post truth world is incompatible with the rule of law and healthy democratic institutions.

Finally, how could a man with these obvious deficiencies get elected once and be on the threshold of a second term? His formula is pretty successful- not subtle but effective. He has larger than life personality. He dominates a stage. He sucks the oxygen out of any room he is in. He is a brilliant at communicating an ultra populist “us v them” view of the world. He has a natural gift for drawing attention to himself. He markets the Trump brand relentlessly. His rhetoric is hyperbolic and outrageous, but repetition makes crazy look normal. He has ideal straw men in a hated press and smug elites. He convinces the common fellow of the elite’s disrespect and paints himself as their defender. He embraced new media- eg Twitter and used it as effectively as FDR used radio and JFK mastered TV. He is in perpetual motion which defines daily new cycles. He ignores the rules and sells that behaviour as disruptive and a good thing. There is method to his madness and he is a crazy person with a unique genius. BUT- ultimately he is a bad person who debases the body politic. If he wins, he may stumble into periodic policy or political success, but any such luck will still be overwhelmed by the overall corrosive impact on American society.

My heart says Ms Harris has a pathway to victory. She inherited a tough situation, displayed surprising political agility in consolidating support in the party quickly, had a great convention and obliterated Trump in their only debate. Frankly, she did better than I anticipated, but for me the election has never been about her, it has been about Trump. I would vote for just about anyone over him. He is Huey Long in the 21st century. My brain, however, tells me he will manage a narrow victory. The polls are tied and the battle ground states are all within the margin of error. Unfortunately, the polls have always underestimated his support and if that occurs again he will be the 47th President. I also believe Ms Harris has plateaued and has not closed the deal. Part of problem is she still lacks gravitas. Her campaign has also been content free with very little evidence of a governing plan different than Biden’s. This is a problem because Biden’s approval is at 38% and 65% think the country is heading in the wrong direction. Strong headwinds for Harris and I suspect the polls show a close race only because Trump’s basic lack of character as described above is giving them pause. If she loses, the pundits will spend the next two years analysing why- probably with a distinct lack of wisdom. If she wins, she has my support and prayers. God bless us- we will need it!