Trump’s
words and actions continue his march towards authoritarianism
President Trump has yet to see
the distinction between running a family business empire and being president of
the United States. Whereas in the past
he could call the shots, he has been frustrated by those pesky checks and
balances, which are contained in our Constitution—a document I’m willing to bet
he never completely read. #hocopolitics
Starting with a flood of
executive orders (legal) at the outset of his presidency he has taken it upon
himself to do things on his own. As he
has achieved some footing, his autocratic posture seems to be gaining, and he’s
been using “patriotism,” “love of country,” and most recently “treason” to
stomp on those with whom he disagrees.
These tactics are becoming
alarming. It was manifested this past
fall when he bludgeoned NFL players for taking a knee during the national anthem
as a means to protest social inequality for African-Americans. He twisted the protesters’ message to make it
sound like they were criticizing the military, the flag and what-not. Unfortunately, Trump seemed to have won that messaging battle, conflating the first amendment right to protest with
sticking a finger in the eyes of our troops.
This has emboldened him to go
all-out patriotic.
This past Monday, he derided
Democratic lawmakers who attended the State of the Union Address for not
cheering and clapping his Stephen Miller-written words. At a speech in a plant outside Cincinnati where
he was touting the economy that he produced and which the plunging stock market
values were juxtaposed on television screens, Trump complained half jokingly
but also half seriously that Democrats didn’t cheer like the Republicans did.
“They would rather see Trump do
badly than our country do well," the president said of Democrats’
response to his speech last week. “They were like death. And un-American.
Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah. I guess. Why not?”
“Can we call that treason?” he
asked the crowd. “Why not? They certainly didn’t seem to love our country very
much.”
His frequent Kim Jong Un-ish self-applause seemed to have made up for the lack of Dems' enthusiasm.
His frequent Kim Jong Un-ish self-applause seemed to have made up for the lack of Dems' enthusiasm.
Nonetheless, imagine if President Obama had
called the Republicans treasonous when they sat in stone cold silence as he
enumerated his vision for the country.
The Republican noise machine would go off the charts.
The White House said he was saying
it “tongue and cheek.” But as the president, words matter.
To be responsible, “treason” should be
used only when referring to a person “levying war against [the United
States], or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
His base may not understand the
seriousness of the term, and it was unwise for the president to say it,
displaying his ignorance, just for a few yucks from his cultist supporters in
attendance.
Sadly, except for a few
Democrats like Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the Dems were too silent on Trump’s
accusations. Where are they? The GOP was even more quiet except for Sen. Jeff Flake.
If that wasn’t enough, the
Washington Post reported that Trump wants a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.
To be clear, when countries put
on such displays, it is mainly to show off to the world their military might,
should there be any doubts. The U.S.
rarely has had to go through this garish exercise since the world already is aware
of our military power.
But the need to feed Trump’s ego
will probably be enough to appropriate funds for this costly spectacle. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump invites “patriots”
to march following the procession of military vehicles, armaments and matériel.
Expect to see a few confederate flags to pop up held by some very fine people,
maybe a swastika or two, perhaps a march with a goose step.
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