­­It’s Almost Funny, Almost… When You Think About it

 

It’s Almost Funny, Almost… When You Think About it

“There were some people who were talking about what their agencies were doing… But generally, what you heard was a competition for who could tell President Trump that he had saved the country more and they started trying to one-up each other.” 

Journalist Maggie Haberman acknowledged.

“I am not a crook.” 

President Nixon said in 1973.

“I’m not a dictator.” 

President Trump said on August 25th

They gathered to pay homage to the Dear Leader, showering him with compliments. Each governmental official was in serious competition for who could heap the greatest praise, offer the greatest token of appreciation, and provide the clearest description as to why Dear Leader was among the greatest of all time. It was a 3 hour and 17 minute marathon White House cabinet meeting on August 26th, not a North Korean Kim-Jong-Il worship session. It followed a litany of fearful corporate and national leaders bearing gifts for Trump, highly placed members of Congress suggesting the Kennedy Center be renamed for the First Lady and even suggesting that Trump’s face should be added to Mt Rushmore (which would look as pictured above). All this at time when Trump’s disapproval level, in virtually all of his policy decisions, was well above his approval level in all relevant polls. Most Americans sensed Trump’s efforts to be a dictator.

As Republican House members were getting trashed in townhall meetings, it was increasingly apparent that in a free and fair election, even with incumbent advantages, that the GOP was very likely to lose both houses of Congress in the 2026 midterms. Trump immediately set about ensuring that there would never again be a free and fair election, by demanding that red states gerrymander the Democratic Party into oblivion (and several red state governors immediate set that effort in motion, as some governors of blue states suggested a counter), Trump ordered a new census (always a once in a decade event, with next constitutionally scheduled census set for 2030) and pledged to eliminate the very popular vote-by-mail system (based on a recommendation from Vladimir Putin to Trump). Gerrymandering? The Supreme Court smiled and feigned helplessness to stop it.

I think Jackie Calmes, LA Times Columnist, said very well on August 28th: “When a president has to say ‘I’m not a dictator,’ we’re in trouble… It took months more for Nixon’s crimes to force him to resign in 1974 ahead of his all-but-certain removal by Congress. But a half-century later, Trump is unabashedly showing every day that he really does aspire to be a dictator. Unlike Nixon, he doesn’t have to fear a supposedly coequal Congress: It’s run by slavish fellow Republicans who’ve forfeited their constitutional powers over spending, tariffs, appointments and more. Lower courts have checked Trump’s lawlessness, but a too-deferential Supreme Court gets the last word and empowers him more than not.

“Americans are indeed in proverbial uncharted waters. Four months ago, conservative columnist David Brooks of the New York Times wrote — uncharacteristically for a self-described ‘mild’ guy — ‘It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising.’ It’s now past time.

“Perhaps more troubling than Trump’s ‘not a dictator’ comment was a related one that he made on Monday [8/25] and reiterated on Tuesday [8/26] during a three-hour televised Cabinet praise meeting (don’t these folks have jobs?). ‘A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator,’ he said. Alas, for once Trump isn’t wrong. MAGA Republicans are loyal to the man, not the party, and give Trump the sort of support no president in memory has enjoyed.

“A poll from the independent Public Religion Research Institute earlier this year showed that a majority of Americans — 52% — agreed that Trump is a ‘dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy.’ Those who disagreed were overwhelmingly Republicans, 81% of whom said Trump ‘should be given the power he needs.’ Americans’ split on this fundamental question shows the extent to which Trump has cleaved a country founded and long-flourishing on checks and balances and the rule of law, not men.

“That Trump would explicitly address the dictator issue this week reflects just how head-spinningly fast his dictatorial actions have been coming at us… The militarization of the nation’s capital continues, reinforced with National Guard units from six red states, on trumped-up claims of a crime emergency. Trump served notice in recent days that the thousands of troops and federal agents will remain on Washington’s streets indefinitely despite a federal law setting a 30-day limit — ‘We’re not playing games,’ he told troops on Friday [8/22] — and that Chicago, Baltimore, New York and perhaps San Francisco are next.”

And yet nothing seems to deter Donald Trump’s quest for subservience and total control. Is it complacency, apathy or that a stunned public simply does not know what to do? This explanation seems consistent with the election of every modern dictator on earth, from Hitler to Orbán. Usually, those that might have been legitimately elected do not destroy elections until far later in their terms of office, but Trump is not certain he will be able to run again, so he wants an election process where only he, his party and his designee can win. And if the American public does react, he just might get his wish.

I’m Peter Dekom, and as factionalized bickering hamstrings the Democrats, the Trump dictator train is accelerating to the targeted victory, a permanent change in how the United States will be governed hereafter.