gracchusdixit

To the countless pundits who predicted that Donald Trump would “pivot” from his inflammatory rhetoric during the election campaign toward a more moderate, presidential demeanor if he won; to the traditional conservatives who excused his rhetoric as mere “talk” and embraced Trump to pass their social and economic agenda; to the current President of the United States who opined that “reality” would cause Trump to “transition from election to governance;” to the millions of Americans who were hoping, against all evidence to the contrary, that Donald Trump in the White House would not be the same monstrous Donald Trump we’ve seen and heard on the stump—to all these people, I say:  It is time shed your illusions.

With Donald J. Trump, what you see and have seen for a year and a half is what you are about to get.  Thanks to the arcane, antiquated, and anti-democratic electoral college, an autocratic, erratic, and narcissistic bully will soon become our president, and his first actions as president-elect have eliminated any doubt regarding the dismal reality that his presidency is going to inflict upon the nation.

As his closest personal advisor, Trump has appointed a one-time investment banker, who, as the head of the right-wing website, Breitbart.com, has forged a lucrative second career stoking racism, misogyny, and white supremacy.  As his National Security Advisor, Trump has appointed an unstable ex-military officer, who is not only a hot-headed bigot but also the paid agent of two foreign autocrats.  As the Attorney General of the United States, Trump has nominated an unrepentant white racist who once called the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP “un-American” and has for decades opposed every attempt to protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable minorities. As the Director of the CIA, Trump has nominated a congressman from Kansas, who is a bought-and-paid-for tool of the Koch brothers and a leading figure in the witch hunt against Hillary Clinton, and wants, among many other shameful things, to reinstate the illegal use of torture.

Talk that Trump may be considering Mitt Romney or Nikki Haley as potential nominees for the position of Secretary of State has been interpreted by many as signifying a turn toward moderation and realism.  That interpretation is nonsense.  Put aside the fact that neither Romney nor Haley has the slightest qualification for the job, the dangling of these names in front of the media is either a tactic intended to divert attention from the outrageous appointments Trump has already made or a vengeful ploy designed to tantalize and then humiliate two former critics.

Worse yet, Trump proposes to give his children and his son-in-law active roles in governing the country, complete with top-secret security clearances, all the while they continue to enrich themselves by running the family business.  The conflicts of interest resulting from such an arrangement would be unprecedented, but Trump himself doesn’t seem to care.  Indeed, he has already eviscerated established political and ethical norms by meeting with three Indian business partners—all shady customers—after his election. It is clear that Trump is utterly indifferent, not only to established norms, but to the laws governing conflicts of interest and nepotism.  It is as if he is saying:  “Try to stop me.  I dare you!”

We must stop deceiving ourselves and see Trump’s behavior for what it is.  In scarcely more than two months, a reckless, autocratic, and dangerous demagogue is going to become the President of the United States.  This demagogue has made a sulfurous bargain with his supporters:  Vote for me, and I will restore white privilege, I will ostracize or expel minorities, and I will clamp down on dissent; in exchange, you will let me run the country precisely as I choose.

The result of this bargain, of course, will be that Trump betrays the economic interests of the very people who voted for him.  His so-called “infrastructure plan” is little more than a give-away to real estate developers. His so-called “tax reform plan” is little more than a gigantic gift to the richest corporations and people in the country.  His so-called “healthcare reform plan” is little more than a scam that will produce untold profits for insurance companies and the drug industry.  All along the way, Trump’s supporters—if you will forgive the crude expression—will simply get screwed.

At this point, to be perfectly blunt, I don’t really care if Trump’s supporters do get screwed.  We have their bottomless stupidity and blinkered selfishness to thank for the disaster that is about to afflict the country.  When Trump betrays them, they will be getting merely what they deserve.  The problem is that millions of innocent Americans who opposed Trump will also suffer.

It is time to stop pretending that the prospect of Donald Trump becoming our next president is in any sense tolerable or  “normal.”  It is time to recognize that he is an existential threat to our most fundamental institutions.  Democratic legislators who think they can fastidiously pick and choose, supporting some Trump proposals while opposing others, are deluding themselves.  Ordinary citizens who, because of their fair-mindedness, want to give Donald Trump “a chance to prove himself,” are living in a dreamworld.  Fascist bullies like Trump must never be accommodated and do not deserve “a chance.”  The only thing they deserve is total repudiation and complete, unremitting opposition.  If you are among those who think that bargaining with a monster like Donald Trump is going to end well, it is time for you to shed your illusions.