April 24, 2020
One definition of the word ‘responsibility’ is; “the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something, or, of having control over someone.” Synonyms of that word are: authority, burden, duty, importance, liability and obligation.
A person of reasonable intelligence would think that Donald J. Trump would have made the decision that he really wanted to be the President of the United States of America before he announced his entry into the 2016 Presidential nomination campaign. I doubt that there is any position of leadership in this country that requires accepting a level of responsibility greater than being the President of the United States of America. However, I think his decision was based solely on his enormous and totally unjustified ego and desire for self-promotion. After looking at the evidence provided by his words and actions of his three years in office, I now believe that ‘the Donald’ had not given the matter of his ‘responsibility’ in that position one iota of thought. (The fact that he doesn’t seem to give any decision he makes much thought is beside the point, for, at least, a moment or two, in this blog.)
Donald Trump is an extreme example of a ‘showman/con-artist’. He could have been a great ‘snake-oil’ salesman. In real life, he has been a great low-value, low life, property developer who has cheated almost every bank, investor or contractor who has worked with or for him. When recently asked why the United States was unprepared for testing or did not have a sufficient amount of face masks or personal protective gear to deal with the Novel CV-19 pandemic he replied, “I’m not responsible for that.”
Let’s accept reality. Donald J. Trump is not capable of, or interested in, being responsible for anything other than his own welfare. He has proven himself absolutely incapable of accepting the responsibilities of the office of President of the United States of America. Now, the United States is dealing with a Pandemic and financial chaos and we have a totally irresponsible person as our President, i.e., our ‘Leader’?
So, let’s take another look at the meaning of the word ‘Leadership’. I’ve already devoted previous blogs to the difference between good and bad leaders and the last thing we need now is more ‘bad’ leadership. It didn’t take much research to find the qualities of a good leader. They are: integrity, accountability, empathy, humility, resilience, vision, influence, and positivity. Other critical elements are: puts the people’s interests above his own, takes responsibility and ownership for problems, has the ability to lead, has the ability to teach, and is a team builder and a team leader.
Sorry, I can’t find any evidence of any of those character traits in Donald J. Trump other than ‘resiliency’ and that’s only because he has managed to survive so many bankruptcies and still pretend to be a person of great wealth. However, a person of great wealth who promised to show the people of this country his tax returns—as a condition of being allowed to accept the office of the presidency—and has, as yet, failed to keep that promise—is either not as wealthy as he has claimed to be or has something serious to hide.
Just consider the enormous turn-over in his top level cabinet positions and also evaluate the character of any of his toadies who not only put up with him but must praise his every word or action to ensure his continued favor. By the way, what ever happened to John Bolton and his book? And, last but not least, we can usually judge the character of a person by the character of the persons they profess to admire or emulate. For Donald Trump that’s Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mohammad bin Salman, and Rodrigo Duterte- all known killers- just for starters. Donald also claims to admire North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, and China’s Xi Jinping. What a bunch! Are we lucky, or, are we just not paying attention?
And now we have a pandemic that we were totally unprepared for—primarily due to the actions of Bolton and Trump (ref. Blog #62, Mar. 24, again) —and because we already had a very fragile and debt laden economy, the pandemic has triggered a financial collapse which now looks like it will take us into another Great Depression. And now we have a ‘leader’ who doesn’t know how to lead and refuses to take responsibility for anything that has happened or is going to happen. Do we, the people of the United States of American, need Donald J. Trump as our leader and President? I think ABSOLUTELY NOT! Not by a long shot! The problem is—- how do we get rid of him?
Given the Republican control of the Senate, it looks to me like there are only three ways he is going to leave the office: he could resign, lose the election on November 3rd, or die –and be carried out of the White House feet first. Let’s consider those three possibilities. If Trump had even one iota of ‘character’ he would resign. Unfortunately, he has been proven to have not even one of those ‘iotas’. However, as the charlatan that he really is, if the public outcry increases, he may show his true cowardly character, put his devil’s tail between his legs, and run to Mar-a-Lago for cover. Or, his Republican enablers could realize their vulnerability in the coming election and insist he resign ‘for the good of the Grand Ole Party’. Let’s hope he does that for either reason—for his sake— and ours!
The trouble is, we have 5 months to get through before the November election. What happens to our health and our economy in those next 5 months is critical to both the election results and the future of this country and its’ people. Without a silver bullet (called a vaccine) it is unlikely that the need for extreme ‘social distancing’ will end within the next 2 months. Given the trajectory of our present economy, we should be very close to Great Depression levels of unemployment, lower GDP, bankruptcies galore, and severe social chaos at that time and up to the election. Trump, McConnell and a Republican Senate majority re-elected? I don’t think so.
The third possibility is the one that I’d rather not consider but—–what the heck, I do have a possible scenario in mind. Imagine: that Donald J. Trump gets the CV-19 virus and, contrary to his doctor’s opinion’s, self-administers a dose of the Hydroxychloroquine he has been touting—and dies! This would be a truly Shakespearean result. The great Donald J. Trump ‘hoisted with his own petard’ (fm. Hamlet, mn. a bomb maker blown up (hoisted) by his own bomb). What a way to go (out) Donald!
I told this story to Hubris and he thought a while then said, “Lou, maybe you should try eating a few carrots instead of sipping Uncle Jack’s finest every afternoon? On that note, I saddled up and with a hearty Hi Ho Hubris, Aawaay! we were out the gate and onto the ditch banks for our Friday evening ride. Until next week—Adios, and stay safe!
Lou
Copyright, April 24, 2020, Louis J. Christen