To serve him is to either be corrupted by him, or mocked by him, or both.
I’m still wary of the election outcome. I can’t rejoice until Trump’s ass is actually gone from the White House. He’s going to figure out some way of maintaining sheer spite and chaos in the remainder of his lame duckery. He’s going to continue the temper tantrum to the very end.
You may recall the TOS episode where Kirk and McCoy talk about Kahn and what he accomplished in Earth’s history. Spock is dismayed that they extol his virtues despite his massive villainy. So, along those lines, don’t mistake this for admiration. Trump represents everything that is immoral to me, with his constant lying, refusal of anything negative he didn’t want to deal with, his disbelief in science and actual research, and so on.
But, he had qualities that made him practically superhuman, like Kahn.
He refused to be torn down by criticism. He may have responded like a giant spoiled baby, but he had absolutely no shame holding him back or making him reluctant to do anything.
He exploited the weakness of those who opposed him by consistently taking the low road. His opponents didn’t think he would sink so low, but he did all the “you’re not supposed to do that” shit. You’re not supposed to profit from the presidency, and indeed he did refuse the salary. However, he completely ignored the consequences of any conflict of interest, with his quid pro quo policy and leasing of his hotel rooms to foreign business interests. He could count on his party backing him no matter what, effectively holding them hostage by ending their careers if they didn’t tow his line. Those GOPs who did oppose him chose to retire and slink away rather than fight him. Impeachment didn’t have any adverse effect on him. It showed he still survived a trial by fire. He never succumbed to shame, never did the honorable thing, and never showed remorse for any of his misdeeds. He didn’t just push the envelope: he launched it with the force of a million starship engines.
He inspired loyalty, even though he was abusive and vindictive toward even his staunchest allies. His force of personality inspired his followers with strength and determination, fighting and clawing to the last without a shred of dignity. Even though no parent would want their kids acting like him, he somehow became a hero to them. He had his supporters believing in myth that had no basis in reality.
Despite his overt racism, he attracted blacks and latinos because he was “pimp.” Despite his abuse of women, he attracted them like flies because they were magnetized by his power. Despite his contempt for the military, they saw him as a symbol of strength and patriotism. He never resorted to any skullduggery or behind-the-scenes manipulation. He didn’t have any damaging secrets because he never attempted to hide anything about himself. He may have screamed about leakers who told on him, but it at least got him good ratings. He saw himself as benefiting from high drama. Negative publicity is still publicity.
So in these senses, he was wildly successful, and this definitely inspires others who see vast potential rewards for following his example. The hard right activists will continue to cause trouble. Those indicted for white collar crimes will see benefits to delaying the process of justice as much as possible and clogging the bureaucracy with disorienting lawsuits. Ethics will be violated more than ever, because the process of amending those violations will become massively cumbersome. Chances are you’ll be dead before you’re properly prosecuted, or at least meet a quick death when you’re imprisoned with those you screwed over.
Trump was the atom bomb damage that takes a few generations to repair. That’s power. He may have lost the election, but he became a cornerstone of history, which is ultimately what he wanted all along.
And we will line up to piss on his grave. Probably not the history he was after.
That’s an awesome and accurate rant, great job, Knowed_Out. The only thing I might correct is that there has also been tons of grifting going on in every dark corner of this administration and that maybe Donald’s noise and ability to attract attention was part of a larger strategy of distraction.
[wails]We have to wait?[/wails]
Maybe not for long. What odds is Vegas giving for Chump popping a cerebral aneurysm in the coming days?
My impression is that running_coach is bewailing the queue itself, not the delay in preparing the site.
Ah, yeah, that does seem kind of unfair.
I think more he’s bewailing the “in a grave” condition imposed.
I think he forgot Trump is into that kind of thing.
He’s pissed me off (but not surprised me) by still sulking and still complaining of non-existent massive vote fraud.
On the other hand, this made me smile:
Well, he is an overachiever in his speshul category.
The colors are wrong, considering all the iDJiT’s pandering to white supremacists.
Gives new meaning to the term, Individual One, doesn’t it?
Trump is the only president to lose the popular vote twice! Kudos!
Actually, no. Benjamin Harrison and John Quincy Adams lost the popular vote twice as well.
“Achieving things no other president has accomplished.”
I’d quit too if I were him. Trump’s going to start tweeting about a coup and calling for his generals as soon as the election is certified.
And the “losers” will ignore his fat orange ass.
MSNBC must be reading this thread, but bailed out between my post and the follow-up correction - because they put up a chiron (after my post) saying “TRUMP - FIRST PRESIDENT TO LOSE THE POPULAR VOTE TWICE”.
Maybe they’ll be considerate and scatter his ashes in many locations, to keep lines short?