The Brat, The Baby and the Bathwater

For over a week the world, tired, dispirited, horrendously worried about the pandemic, has had to deal with one more thing: the both sad and scary spectacle of the President of the world’s first power lying, hiding, throwing unsubstantiated accusations, cutting off heads and generally having a meltdown, some of it on camera.

The rest of the time he has been either playing golf or tweeting in caps refusing to acknowledge the truth, that defeat is part of the game and that holding the country together in a time of crisis is still his first responsibility.

He is too busy having a tantrum instead of leading the fight against the pandemic.

We have to ask, where are the famous adults in the room now? The ones who were supposed to keep the US administration on track and Trump from smashing his toys because he doesn’t want to play anymore?

Like other unfortunate parents they are afraid their brat is also a bully who will not listen to reason and hit them instead. He’s already doing that.

Many lessons will come out of this. First that Trump has never put America First it’s always been Trump First; if it also benefits America, so be it. A guy who puts his name in HUGE letters on anything he owns, rents, or franchises is not about to let go. He probably sincerely thinks of The White House is His House and Air Force One is His Plane. He wants the motorcade, the Beast and the 21-gun salute. It is all about him. He is a business man whose primary target is money and whose main concern is the Trump brand; to add value to the brand he needs all the trappings he can get.

The Presidency is just the last rung on the ladder to get him the best ratings, the biggest audiences and the most power so he can cower and coerce people into doing his biding. He thinks he is starting a dynasty with the cast and values of "Dynasty".

This is his sweetest deal.

Now there is very little that separates him from the bona fide dictators of this world, the Kims and Putins, his best buddies. He seems to fit the profile perfectly.

Trump has warned us that he will not recognize results if they are adverse and give Biden first place, even when his own DHS (Department of Homeland Security) declares that this is the most secure election ever held.

He will not contribute to a peaceful transition of power –a widely-admired feature of American democracy that many a country envy- thus guaranteeing the safety of the nation.

He is steamrolling through republican values, and destroying patiently-built and carefully-guarded democratic foundations and traditions. He will be not doing anything remotely graceful that could reflect well on his Presidency like congratulating his opponent and falling behind the new Commander-in-Chief as to assure his allies that the United States remains united.

He wants to punish Joe Biden and those who voted for him with zero regard for the wellbeing of his country, he doesn’t care if he throws out the baby with the bathwater.

Down south there is a midsize country of midsize importance called Peru who is going through a terrible crisis of its own.

People attribute the crisis to the last President which is the easy way out. The present crisis met no resistance because longtime ago Peru stood silently conceding while republican values and institutions where whittled away by a clever operator who believed in results first, democracy second.

The people were both tired and afraid and let him have his way. Many good things were achieved by him, but a high price was paid.

Thirty years later and we are still paying.

The American people must not stand by while Trump disregards their institutions, leap- frogging over the checks and balances that have kept American democracy strong and vital, that have made America truly great.

And that have kept a large part of the world out of the hands of crazy dictators and safe.