You may think George Soros is really digging deep into his pockets to cause the former Trump officials who knew him best to seemingly press the panic button and speak out against their former “boss.” It is well known that if you cross “da’ boss” you will be subject to enough bad words, threats, scowls, and slurs to put the worst 6th grade school yard bully to shame.
“But the fact of the matter is, he is a consummate narcissist. And he constantly engages in reckless conduct that- that puts his political followers at risk and- and- and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk…He-will always put his own interests, and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest, there’s no question about it.”
Thus, spoke former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr- one of Trump’s “best people” in his cabinet and advisory positions.
Wait! How did Barr go to the dark side on Trump so badly. Maybe Trump’s former Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, had something to do with it.
Kelly cites Trump’s comments about Hitler where Trump said ‘Well, Hitler did some good things.’ According to Kelly, Trump also thought that Hitler maintained strict loyalty from his generals. Loyalty (or perhaps fealty is a better word in Trump’s case) is an absolute must for Trump. (Trump did not know of the times Hitler’s Generals had tried to assassinate Hitler.) Kelley saw enough further evidence to understand Trump’s tough guy infatuations.
Trump admires Chinese leader Xi Jinping as “brilliant”, Kim Jong Un is “an OK guy”, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban is “fantastic.” Viktor even received gushing praises from Trump at Mar-a-Lago recently – “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban, he’s the boss and he’s a great leader.” Keep in mind that Orban is well known for causing significant democracy backsliding in Hungary. And there is no need to emphasize that Trump is a huge fan of America’s lead adversary – Vladimir Putin (the Poisoner).
But Kelly really jumps into the deep end when he described Trump as: “A person that has no idea what America is all about…A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.” But Kelley is only a former 4 star Marine General and war veteran, what would he know about loyalty to country– right?
Maybe former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton also influenced Barr when he describes Trump; “He views himself as a big guy. He likes dealing with big guys, and big guys like Erdogan in Turkey get to put people in jail and you don’t have to ask anyone’s permission. He kind of likes that.”
Then there’s former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper who stated, “He wanted to deploy active- duty troops on the street of Washington DC and suggested actually that we shoot Americans in the street.” Esper dug in further and said Trump is not “fit for office because he puts himself first and I think anyone running for office should put the country first.”
Has Trump Derangement Syndrome gone viral here? How did these former Trump officials get this way? (And this is just a partial sample of the disillusioned- Mike Pence is an example of the growing number.) It certainly does not seem that even Trump’s bleach Covid vaccine will help at this point.
No doubt, there are people who find an authoritarian type of tough guy appealing. But is it more appealing than maintaining and improving upon a democratic style government?
We are about to find out as this coming November election is providing the biggest variation in vision and direction for this country that we have seen for many decades if not longer.
For those that are so disenchanted with our current state of affairs and think Trump is a viable option, keep in mind that even among those that think the opposite, there is a shared sentiment that we can do better. The difference is that the contrary view does not see giving into the “tough guy” style is a better option. Most with the contrary view, are willing to compromise a path forward and do not feel ramming things down the throats is the only way to make things better – particularly when the ramming is led by as Bill Barr says – a “narcissist” or as Kelly said, a person with “contempt of the rule of law.”
Let’s hope most of us think that working within the framework of our democracy is still worth trying.
W Laurence Doxsey, Retired, Former Director of Office of Sustainability for City of San Antonio, former Environmental Officer for US Department of Housing and Urban Development, former Sustainability Officer for City of Austin, resides outside Medina.
