For years, I had been hoping to be wrong about the 2024 election. There was just this gut feeling that I got - a few days after Biden took office, actually - that Donald Trump would be back, and would win back the White House. That all of the nonsense, all of the reasons why he lost the 2020 election, would be forgotten. That his crimes in trying to intimidate election officials in Georgia would pretty much be dropped, and his role in January 6th largely forgotten or forgiven. That in effect, he would get away with....well, pretty much everything. As he always has before.
Now, ever since the election results, I have been dreading 2025. It feels like it's going to be a bad year, at least politically, and possibly in numerous other ways, as well.
Sure enough, it has gotten off to a rough start. There are massive wildfires around Los Angeles. Already, it is being called the worst fire in the history of that city. As I am writing this on the morning of Thursday, January, 9th, there are still at least five, and possibly six, major wildfires that are burning out of control. Let us hope that the brave firefighters there get everything under control soon.
That should be the major news story. Realistically speaking, it should be the news story which pretty much all Americans - including the sitting President, Joe Biden, as well as the President-elect, Donald Trump, are talking about.
But of course it's not.
To be sure, there are plenty of people talking about it. It is a major news story, and both Biden and Trump have spoken about it. But Trump discussed it in an unhinged tweet, blaming Governor Newsome and President Biden for the wildfires.
Even that perhaps might have been news under more normal times.
Yet, it has been overshadowed by Trump's most unhinged press conference ever. And that's really saying something.
Everyone has been talking about that, instead of the wildfires. Or at least along with the wildfires.
So what did Trump say during this press conference? Well, much of the same kind of incoherent ramblings which we have grown used to. And when it's not incoherent, it is terrifying. Trump has been going on and on about how he might use the military to take back the Panama Canal, and to take over (and possibly annex) Greenland. He also has been relentlessly pushing forward the idea that Canada will become the 51st American state, although he backed off from the threat of use of military force on Canada. And let's remember that about a month ago, he was threatening to take military action - including possibly boots on the ground - in Mexico.
Trump is showing himself to possess an old-time, expansionist, imperialist mindset of the 1800's. The problem is that we are now in the 21st century.
Talk about a "leader" with antiquated ideas. He keeps insisting that he will take America "back" to days of greatness. It seems that when he says that, he is talking about days when racism could be declared boldly and openly, and when imperialist attitudes still looked to the days when the United States could carve out parts of the world to make a 19th century style empire all it's own.
Except that it is now 2025.
How embarrassing.
Certainly, this is still yet more proof that Trump has dictatorial tendencies, or that he thinks of himself as a king or an emperor. He already is backing off major campaign promises, such as lowering the price of groceries, or ending the war in Ukraine, admitting that those two promises might be too difficult for him to actually keep. But an aggressive, military takeover of the Panama Canal and/or Greenland? Constantly badgering Canadians about becoming the 51st state? In other words, taking over territory of other sovereign nations through the use of military force in order to expand the American empire of the 21st century?
Yes, Trump has been going on and on about how he might use the military to take back the Panama Canal, and to take over (and possibly annex) Greenland. He also has been relentlessly pushing forward the idea that Canada will become the 51st American state, although he backed off from the threat of use of military force on Canada. And let's remember that about a month ago, he was threatening to take military action - including possibly boots on the ground - in Mexico.
All of that, and of course, one more thing. He wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
Anyone else feeling that Trump is showing himself to be, once again, a snake oil salesman and a master manipulator? He promises things when running for office. There were promises which he did not keep - never possibly could have kept, frankly - when he ran for, and won, the presidency the first time around. He never built the wall and made Mexico pay for it, which was a major campaign promise. He could not deliver on a Muslim ban on immigration because it was deemed unconstitutional, even though that was also a major campaign promise. He promised to build a healthcare system that would be affordable and would cover everyone, and moreover, claimed it would be "easy" to do this. Then he lifted not one finger while in office to actually achieving that. He promised that he would pay the national debt in eight years, but instead raised it by over 25% in just four years in office, much of it for more tax breaks and incentives for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. He promised that the United States would be a respected force the world over once he was in power, but instead, we became the laughingstock of the entire world, with crying baby balloons depicting Trump flying in Britain every time he visited there, and assembled leaders of the world literally laughing in Trump's face during an address before the United Nations.
Now already, long before he ever took the oath of office, he is backing off from two major promises: lowering grocery prices and quickly putting an end to the war in Ukraine. Of course, many of us knew that he could not deliver on those promises, much like he could never make Mexico pay for the damn wall, or pay the national debt, or "easily" create a national healthcare plan that would be affordable and cover everyone. This man has a long and very established and documented history of being a masterful scam artist. Possibly, the best in history. But the entire world is on to the scams that define him. Everyone, that is, except for the 75 or so million people who voted for this clown, this farce. Twice, in most cases. In fact, I am guessing that most of those people probably voted for him to be president three times.
Some people never learn.
And you can bet that these people, far from being bothered by still more lies and deception and misleading the masses, will simply find excuses and become apologists once again. You can bet that groceries and Ukraine will not be the only promises which he backs down from, or which he forgets to fulfill. Because when he tells you that he will fix something, that he is the only person in a country of over 330 million people who can fix something, he is selling you one of his trademark scams, like Trump Vodka, Trump Airlines, Trump Magazine, Trump Steaks, Trump Water, Trump Bibles, and of course, Trump University. This was a man so bad at running businesses that he declared bankruptcy six times and ran a casino into the ground.
And so instead of admitting to not being able to deliver on certain promises, he builds up grandiose distractions. Like getting rid of daylight savings, which I personally do not have particularly strong opinions on, but which feels strongly like an intentional distraction. Or renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, which of course will likely only be recognized here in the United States, until we quietly (and with a curious lack of shame or embarrassment) revert back to the old name. Much as we did with "freedom fries" (remember those)? He might be serious about taking military action to reclaim the Panama Canal, or to aggressively take over Greenland. Curious, though, how he never mentioned either of those things, or making Canada the 51st state, during his presidential campaign, eh?
He has not even taken the oath of office for a second term, yet already, here we go again. Same shit, different term. One which has not even officially begun yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment