Generally speaking, I am not one to count my chickens before they hatch, and so all of the websites that assure people that the end of the Trump presidency is upon us, and that top-ranking government officials are unofficially suggesting that there is now enough irrefutable evidence of Trump's crimes or guilt to impeach him.
Well, by and large, most of these seem to just be wishful thinking. Hell, there are some who are demanding that Trump step down, and that Hillary Clinton step in! Like it or not, by the rules that this country is governed by, Trump defeated Clinton in the election, even if he lost the popular vote by nearly three million.
Now, I know that was a rude awakening, and his harsh style is a spit in the eye not only to class, but to civility itself. He is just the epitome of the ugly American. Frankly, being French, a nation who's people are often criticized by Americans, and cited as the example of the most rude people on Earth, Trump himself perhaps reveals something about Americans that they would not want to be seen as. This guy expresses his ignorant opinions as loudly as possible, and always, always claims to be the biggest expert on everything, even while he reveals his own ignorance. Unless, of course, you believe that he knows more than scientists about climate change, or more than his generals do about ISIS. He treats some allies of the United States with contempt (like with his telephone call to the leader of Australia, or his recent meeting with the leader of Germany), and he goes to extraordinary lengths to conduct himself in as trashy and classless a manner as possible with his personal attacks on those he sees as his enemies, with his ridiculous Twitter rants.
Still, it is difficult to see this guy being truly held to account. Not when members of his own party control every branch of government, especially in this age of political partisanship. Also, many hate Trump so much, that they are convinced that nothing about him is legitimate. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the guy, but he won the election, and it had nothing to do with Russia. It increasingly seems that there was some Russian involvement in the election, but convincing yourself that Russia somehow was so powerful that it swayed the election? That is what I personally find hard to believe, to the point of not believing it. Frankly, it divorces Hillary Clinton and the mainstream Democrats who unconditionally supported her from any culpability. They proved themselves corrupt during this past election, and their actions betrayed the trust of the American people. They failed to win that trust, and ignored the warnings that fully two-thirds of Americans did not trust or like Clinton. They brazenly expected her to breeze to the White House, and clearly, on election night, there was an atmosphere of expectation, as the Jacob Javits Center was ready to explode into celebration, so sure they were of the win.
That was such a blatant example of the very spirit of entitlement and smugness that many Democrats have been criticized for, that it was frankly hard to feel bad for them, even though I personally absolutely loathe Donald Trump probably even more than Hillary Clinton.
Ever since then, though, mainstream Democrats have made a point of pounding into everyone's head this stupid notion that everyone else is responsible for their humiliating and devastating loss on election day. It's the fault of Bernie Sanders and his supporters, or Jill Stein and her supporters! It's the fault of James Comey! It's the fault of the Russians! It's the fault of those racist and sexist rednecks who voted for Trump because they could not stand either a black man or a woman in the White House, as if literally, each and every person who cast a vote for Trump was necessarily a racist or a sexist. Granted, I personally do not understand how anyone could look at the man and see someone fit to serve as president. But there is a reason that Trump won, and I suspect that it had everything to do with the woman who he was running against (and I don't mean Jill Stein).
So, ever since his election win, the most obnoxious president in history has been Tweeting away and bragging to anyone who does not run away about the size of the crowds on his inauguration day, or the size of his electoral victory, which actually was not that grand, frankly. Obviously, his style is going to grate on the nerves of many, which means that almost equally obnoxious mainstream Democrats have gone on the offensive (as much as they are capable, anyway, under the circumstances), and attacked Trump for everything from Russia and the alleged hacking of the election, to claims of voter fraud (which were as groundless as those claimed by Trump himself) to more reasoned criticisms for his conflicts of interest regarding his holding that office and still having business interests.
Also, there have been rather relentless (and equally groundless) claims that impeachment is inevitable, and already in the works. Frankly, despite some seeming reservations towards Trump by members of his own party, it still is difficult to picture the Republicans impeaching one of their own, especially when the whole Russia controversy is so much hype still. After all, blasting Russia for releasing a few emails and some evidence of Democratic wrongdoing is tantamount to the White House blasting the sources for certain leaks, while completely ignoring the incriminating evidence that was released to begin with (even though they seem to get away with their wrongdoing time and time and time again!).
However, very recently, the first major Washington politician has spoken of a move towards at least trying to impeach Trump, and she seems to feel that there is a serious case to be made on it. She even suggested that Trump might just take it upon himself to do the country a favor and resign.
Here is how it went down:
An 83-year-old protester asked Feinstein:
“We know he is breaking the law every day. He has obvious dealings with Russia. There’s so many things he’s doing that are unconstitutional. How are we going to get him out?”
To which Feinstein answered:
“We have a lot of people looking into this. I think he’s going to get himself out.”
Now, of course that's not insurmountable evidence that the end of the Trump presidency is at hand. However, it was the first time that I heard a sitting prominent member of the government actually suggesting that there is enough on Trump and his conflicts of interest to make a real case for impeachment, and that the president might just actually opt to resign. Still, knowing Trump's legendary narcissism, even this is difficult for me, personally, to believe in.
Yet, we can hope, can't we? After all, if ever there was anyone who served as president who simply just did not deserve it whatsoever, it is him!
Donald Trump will resign 'soon', says top Democrat Dianne Feinstein Senior Senator on Judiciary Committee drops hint she knows more than she can say 'right now' Rachel Roberts, March 21, 2017:
I have mixed feelings about that on at least two counts. First off, I wonder if "Dianne 'Banker butt licker Margaret Thatcher' Feinstein - the dragon lady with no fucking heart" (Eric Boucher reference) was actually privy to any discussions that would authenticate that claim, or if she's merely blowing a lot of speculative hot air, much like former South Korean president Park Geun-hye when she [erroneously] predicted the imminent demise of the North Korean regime. Then there's the fact that as much as I obviously loathe the Cheetoh in Chief, "President Mike Pence" is soul-crushingly, terrifyingly grim prospect in its own right.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that the prospect of President Pence is not exactly inspiring. Also, I am aware of Feinstein's record, and have been less than impressed, like you. That said, Trump has flouted not only tradition when it comes to the presidency, but also the law. He has openly lied and recklessly flung accusations regarding both massive voter fraud and wiretapping by a former president. He lied numerous times, including about making Mexico pay for the wall, and how convincing his election win was, about covering everyone with what his healthcare changes would be, about his own denial of climate change (although he sure is acting like he does not believe in it), and about releasing his tax records, and separating himself from his business interests. He has taken a blase attitude about his own blatant disregard of the conflicts of interest arising from his keeping his business interests while holding the highest office. I am not convinced, like many Democrats apparently are, that the whole Russia thing is a knock out punch, although there clearly is more going on then members of the Trump administration are willing to admit. He seems to make a point of antagonizing allies, such as Australia, Mexico, and Germany. The list goes on and on, and again, some of it, at the very least, bends, if not outright breaks, the law. He needs to be held accountable, if for nothing more than to send a message to the next would be supreme narcissist, that there are indeed limits to things, and that the whole Teflon president thing has limits, too! So, while I am not exactly waiting with bated breath for impeachment, I would welcome it, or any serious investigations into his conduct, and any ramifications that come from it. Also, if he happened to resign from the pressure, I think that would be a sobering slap in the face to all of his blind supporters and fans.
ReplyDeleteI was going to respond to this last night but I wasn't feeling too hot so that fell by the wayside. I agree with everything you've said here. I'm just not necessarily convinced that Dianne Feinstein was privy to any discussions to that effect (though for all I know she very well may have been), or that Mike Pence would be any less nightmarish a prospect. But I certainly wouldn't miss him if he were gone, and as you point out there's a strong (and ever-growing) case for his removal from office. If history is any indication, someone needs to arrange an "extra-marital servicing of the presidential apparatus" so to speak in order to expedite that whole process...
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