Trump’s current behaviour is so bizarre that it has become the chief talking point at very meeting and every dinner party. His inopportune and cruel sacking of Jim Comey, head of the FBI, has had a dozen explanations, all contradictory, from the White House. So, for the benefit of non-American readers the following is a short rundown of the current theories about the man(?) in the White House:
1. Conflicts of interest are coming to light: Trump is known to have borrowed large sums of money from Russian banks. Maybe there was a quiet threat to call in the loans unless he cooperated and reversed the Obama sanctions on the Putin associates who are shoveling stolen public money into Cypriot or Caribbean island banks? Since we don’t know what the state of Trumps’s finances are, and he won’t reveal his tax return, Trump Inc might be more financially dodgy than we think. Many think Putin has something on him.
2.Trump team collusion with Russia. It is a fact that the Russians intervened in the election to help Trump. Why? They didn’t like Hillary, and this might seem sufficient reason for them to back an inexperienced outsider with half-baked advisors. Collusion with the Russians my seem far-fetched, but here is Trump sacking the very man who is heading the investigation into him, his campaign and theRussian machinations, and then claiming that the deputy head of the Justice Department recommended the sacking of Comey (it seems in fact that Trump dreamed that up). Ham-fisted? Richard Nixon anyone? By sacking Comey at this moment in time Trump is encouraging the idea that there was indeed collusion with the Russians. Which is called treachery. If there is something in it it calls for his resignation; if there is nothing in it then he is a grossly incompetent politician and his own worst enemy.
3. It’s about Amour propre: the word is that Trump has been fuming about the several investigations of the confirmed Russian interference in the election process and into the involvement of some of his lieutenants. It hurts his image and his self-esteem, and shows him up as a loser. Before he stood for President he was admired by some as a “billionaire” and media showman, laughed at maybe by others, but never accused of disloyalty to his country, even by extension. Now the Establishment is starting to join hands, a non-stop parade of talking heads all calling Trump an incompetent, self-absorbed baby who is out of his depth, and possibly much, much worse. Meanwhile his feelings about himself personally seem to be all that matters to him. He will throw anyone under a bus to save his own feelings of being sorely done by, however inconsistent it looks to outsiders. Meanwhile, he is being attacked 24/7 and is making one mistake after another, lurching from story top story, from ad hominem attack to ad hominem attack.
Is there fire along with the smoke? Seems increasingly likely, from what we know so far.
My only hope from the Trump presidency is Democratic landslides in 2018, 2020, and every year until the Republicans expunge themselves of the jingoism and xenophobia that got Trump elected, but has been festering in the party since the 1960s. The GOP ought to make a serious pitch to black and Hispanic voters, which means thoroughly distancing themselves from Trump and openly regretting him winning the nomination.
Equally, the Democrats need to learn. It has long been obvious that Trump is a corrupt and selfish man; no serious political commentator ought to be surprised that these scandals have come to light. But the Democrats shouldn’t have chosen someone perceived to be corrupt due to their close ties to Wall Street and their own (albeit not as serious) scandals. If Trump’s unusually low popularity continues, 2020 will be a Democratic shoo-in. They should use that opportunity to show that they genuinely care about honesty and integrity, and are not just as hypocritical as the Republicans. If they do, perhaps the long talked about permanent Democratic majority may finally come to fruition.