Some years ago, early in the Trump presidency, I ran into a great quote from one of my favorite authors, Stephen King, who had a funny take on the Trump presidency. He borrowed from the popular movie character Forrest Gump. Here is what he said:
"With President Forrest Trump, every day is like a rancid box of chocolates. You never know what kind of shit you're going to get next."
~ Stephen King, Tweeted on April 11, 2017
Pretty apropos, right?
The whole Forrest Trump thing started, I believe, with this comedian - Don Friesen.
For quite some time, I feared that I had somehow lost this clip. I could not remember the comedian's name, and could not find the clip on Facebook. Also, since the blogger had changed it's format, it has not been as easy to peruse through old published (and unpublished) posts, although I am slowly but surely learning some tricks around that, even if the changes still seem unnecessary as well as unwelcome, frankly, as far as I am concerned. Recently, I found it, and decided to publish it again.
This was something that I already shared here before at some point, but it was funny enough to share again. Funny, because it is true.
Frankly, I still cannot personally think of a single good reason why Trump would even have wanted to run for the presidency.I mean, other than for some enormous ego trip, which is likely a huge part of the reason why he ran. But he has no serious ideas, and frankly, seems like the least political President that this country has ever had, if that makes any sense.
One thing seems for sure, is that his presidency is fitting for where we are as a country right now, albeit for all of the wrong reasons. He has no serious ideas for fixing the nation's myriad of problems, or for helping make life truly better for a majority of Americans. Frankly, he does not even seem to care about seriously addressing any of the major problems facing the country.
Yet, he ran. And he won.
And we all saw how his supporters were filled with anger, and how this man used that, playing into people's fears and anger and uncertainties. How he tapped into those , and used them for his own personal benefit.
Of course, everything that this man has ever done has been to unapologetically pursue his own selfish desires and wants, and to buttress the already enormous, and amazingly still growing, edifice of his megalomania.
Remember, this is the guy who puts his own name up high on skyscrapers, and who brags about grabbing women by the pussy. Very dignified and respectful, of course. Very presidential.
Stay classy, Donald!
Now, we have the misfortune of having this man as our president. What seemed like a joke a little over a year ago, when he seemed just like a particularly fortunate candidate who nonetheless was likely to see his campaign run out of gas, has instead turned into a very real national nightmare. To think that this man represents this country for the whole world to see, that he is the name and the face and the voice of the United States for another three and a half years at least, is incredibly depressing. The joke is apparently on all of us, and Mr. Megalomaniac is having the last laugh at all of our expenses.
And his supporters think it is great, that he is basically the equivalent of the middle finger to our broken political system.
That he is, but what we needed was an intelligent voice of protest, not some moron who's own ego prevents him from seeing anybody but himself. It is just ridiculous!
Still, in the United States today is proof of anything, it is that people will believe whatever they want to believe, regardless of whether or not their beliefs happen to be true. It is a sin, because we in developed and relatively free nations, which for the moment still includes the United States, have greater access to news,, to information, to debates on virtually any topic, and to facts, than any people before in history have ever had.
But who knows? Perhaps the overwhelming and easy access to such information is the problem. Perhaps it came too quickly, before we were ready for it. Maybe this will begin to feel more normal over time, when it is no longer so new. Indeed, though, perhaps it was too much too fast?
Even if this is the case, that does not excuse the commitment to remain in ignorance that far too many Americans in particular have chosen. We have heard much about the rampant anti-intellectualism that has always existed, and always been a serious and threatening presence in the country. This anti-intellectualism seems to have been getting stronger over the course of recent decades, and it is likely responsible for the rise of Donald Trump to the White House nowadays.
Really, by any reasonable measure, Trump is a pathetic pick to be president. His entire career was a testament to extreme greed, narcissism, and classlessness, and perhaps even to criminality itself. He has never given even the slightest indication that he actually cared about the regular people, and always, always wants to viewed as superior, as above everyone else. Giving him the presidency is just granting him another reward to affirm this opinion of himself, but it will not do the country any good. Already, there are plenty of signs to suggest that this man is using the office to bolster his own assets and business interests, at the expense of the American people who he is supposed to serve.
Of course, we have had other presidents and high-ranking politicians who have done the same, but never has the American voting population seemingly accepted someone who does not even try to hide this. He lied about transparency, lied about releasing his taxes and lied about doing away with his business interests while in office. There is strong evidence to suggest that Trump hotels are benefiting from Trump being the man in the White House right now, and that means that he is personally profiting from the Office of the President, or using the office to literally fatten his wallet.
And yes, to my understanding, that is against the law. This president has made clear, in various ways, that he believes himself to be above the law.
So far, he appears to be. His supporters are not holding him to account, and neither is a Congress dominated by Trump's Republican party. They also seem to be making it crystal clear that they will not hold him accountable to any offense that could get him in trouble, let alone approach impeachment level offense. Many people on the left, especially mainstream Democrats, are convinced that we are witnessing the active downfall of the Trump administration at this very moment, as we speak. However, it seems clear to me that this scenario is very unlikely, because the whole Russia thing seems like a red herring. Perhaps we can say the same thing about all of his stupid tweets, which offends and angers so many. We focus on "covfefe" and not so much on all of the things that he is actually doing, all of the legislation that he is working to get passed, and all of the executive orders that he has already pushed through.
It is strange to talk about this, because it suggests a more serious and dangerous side to Trump, when really, he is a clown. Yes, a dangerous clown right now, to be sure. A clown who wields frightening power.
But for all that, a clown just the same.
Still, in the United States today is proof of anything, it is that people will believe whatever they want to believe, regardless of whether or not their beliefs happen to be true. It is a sin, because we in developed and relatively free nations, which for the moment still includes the United States, have greater access to news,, to information, to debates on virtually any topic, and to facts, than any people before in history have ever had.
But who knows? Perhaps the overwhelming and easy access to such information is the problem. Perhaps it came too quickly, before we were ready for it. Maybe this will begin to feel more normal over time, when it is no longer so new. Indeed, though, perhaps it was too much too fast?
Even if this is the case, that does not excuse the commitment to remain in ignorance that far too many Americans in particular have chosen. We have heard much about the rampant anti-intellectualism that has always existed, and always been a serious and threatening presence in the country. This anti-intellectualism seems to have been getting stronger over the course of recent decades, and it is likely responsible for the rise of Donald Trump to the White House nowadays.
Really, by any reasonable measure, Trump is a pathetic pick to be president. His entire career was a testament to extreme greed, narcissism, and classlessness, and perhaps even to criminality itself. He has never given even the slightest indication that he actually cared about the regular people, and always, always wants to viewed as superior, as above everyone else. Giving him the presidency is just granting him another reward to affirm this opinion of himself, but it will not do the country any good. Already, there are plenty of signs to suggest that this man is using the office to bolster his own assets and business interests, at the expense of the American people who he is supposed to serve.
Of course, we have had other presidents and high-ranking politicians who have done the same, but never has the American voting population seemingly accepted someone who does not even try to hide this. He lied about transparency, lied about releasing his taxes and lied about doing away with his business interests while in office. There is strong evidence to suggest that Trump hotels are benefiting from Trump being the man in the White House right now, and that means that he is personally profiting from the Office of the President, or using the office to literally fatten his wallet.
And yes, to my understanding, that is against the law. This president has made clear, in various ways, that he believes himself to be above the law.
So far, he appears to be. His supporters are not holding him to account, and neither is a Congress dominated by Trump's Republican party. They also seem to be making it crystal clear that they will not hold him accountable to any offense that could get him in trouble, let alone approach impeachment level offense. Many people on the left, especially mainstream Democrats, are convinced that we are witnessing the active downfall of the Trump administration at this very moment, as we speak. However, it seems clear to me that this scenario is very unlikely, because the whole Russia thing seems like a red herring. Perhaps we can say the same thing about all of his stupid tweets, which offends and angers so many. We focus on "covfefe" and not so much on all of the things that he is actually doing, all of the legislation that he is working to get passed, and all of the executive orders that he has already pushed through.
It is strange to talk about this, because it suggests a more serious and dangerous side to Trump, when really, he is a clown. Yes, a dangerous clown right now, to be sure. A clown who wields frightening power.
But for all that, a clown just the same.
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