Failed Leader, Failed State

Failed state. There was a time when these words conjured up images of faraway places like Somalia or Syria. Not anymore. Donald Trump has made this phrase applicable right here at home.

Of course, America’s basic administrative functions will continue more or less as before, but the nation’s moral leadership is gone. Because now, at the heart of the Trump presidency, instead of valorous virtue, there festers an ineradicable foul and acrid stench, the stench of unapologetic racism.

Trump didn’t absorb his bigotry the way people like David Duke did - that is, by coming of age in some benighted sector of the old Confederacy. No, Trump identifies as a racist for the same reason he places himself into any category: it serves his interests. He believes that a lot of bigots were included among those who voted for him, and so he feels compelled to throw those bigots a lifeline. If they hadn’t voted for him, he would surely be denouncing them as “very bad people.”

In a way Trump is like the Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Park, the monster predator that could only see entities if they moved. It was completely blind to stationary objects. In Trump’s case, he seems only to be responsive to people who reflect on him, for either good or ill. If you support him or praise him, you are the most amazing specimen that ever walked the earth; if you oppose or criticize him, you are a failing entity, a loser, a purveyor of fakery. Sad!

Anything that is neither for nor against him, he doesn’t seem to notice at all.

 

                                    T. Rex - Thanks, Science Daily

His Tuesday press conference was an exercise in barely controlled rage. Apparently, he was frustrated at having been convinced on Monday to issue a condemnation of the white supremacists that paraded through Charlottesville over the weekend shouting slogans like “Jews will not replace us!” and “Blood and soil!” So, seething with anger, Trump lashed out Tuesday in a furious effort to bully the media into reporting the news the way he wanted it reported – that is, in praise of him.

One thing that might come out of Trump’s bigoted temper tantrum is an opportunity to test the mettle of hopeful politicians. Here in Florida, for example, we have several Republicans who will be running for governor next year, most prominently Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam. In addition to this, current Governor Rick Scott is said to be eyeing Bill Nelson’s senate seat. What our media should be doing is probing these politicians, finding out whether or not they support Trump’s pro-white supremacy statements.

If nothing else good comes of Trump’s moral failure over the Charlottesville tragedy, at least we might be able to see who among Florida’s Republicans has the courage to do the right thing here. So, what do you say, Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, etc.? Isn’t it time to step up and find out where these leaders stand?