A nightmare is defined as “a very unpleasant or frightening experience or prospect.”
And the nightmare is getting real! Donald J. Trump has won South Carolina’s Republican primary beating Nikki Haley in her home state and it seems that a rematch between Trump and Joe Biden is inevitable. Trump for his part took the stage and declared, “You can celebrate for about 15 minutes but then we have to get back to work.”
“Orange Jesus” is a nightmare in the making and it seems that it will go on for quite sometime from the look of things. Mr. Trump seems to have an iron grip on the Republican Party not to mention his supporters and if that’s good or bad is besides the point. The fact is the man has 91 felony counts against him, add to that his incoherent babbling which makes you want to grit your teeth and the role he played in inciting the January 6 riot at the Capitol should be enough to stop him in his tracks but he is moving at high velocity towards to the White House and this should scare the bejesus out of anyone but only in America folks. He is looming large and hissing at the fringes and still there is no end in sight and that is scary to say the least.
The man with the unruly hair, the copious orange tan and with his stupidity in tow is heading into Super Tuesday on March 5 with the confidence of a bull in a China shop as if he has already won the race. If he loses, he will throw his temper tantrum, cry foul and maybe even demand a recount. He’s the same 5-year-old in a grown man’s body. Nothing has changed there. When he doesn’t get his way, he will stick his thumb in his mouth, stand on his head and scream bloody murder for all to hear.
Ron Kaufman, a Republican presidential strategist had this to say:
“There isn’t anyone who doesn’t perceive Trump as being the nominee, including Nikki Haley. Whether you like it or don’t like it, everyone understands he is the perceived nominee.”
That right there ladies and gentlemen is the stuff nightmares are made of!
“They said all dreams come true, they forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams too.” Unknown
I listened to the New Hampshire speech that Vivek Ramaswamy delivered with such fury and passion and it was riveting to say the least. Especially the part about “E Pluribus Unum” which means “Out of Many One.” It was a battle cry none the less and one that was meant to capture our attention and it did. Donald Trump stood behind him grinning from ear to ear probably thinking, “We’ve got this brother!” as rumors of a potential Veep position for the skinny man with a big voice went cascading everywhere.
It was a grand speech but who is this man with the big voice and hand movements resembling that of Trump? He’s the one who ended his presidential campaign after a disappointing result in Iowa’s Republican caucuses and quickly jumped on the band wagon, the Trump band wagon that is. He now seems to be vying for VP spot and from the looks of it his pandering to Trump and calling him Commander-in-Chief might just do the trick.
Flattery will get you everywhere and if that is the case than Vivek has it in the pocket folks. When asked if Trump was considering the former biotech executive as his pick for VP by right-wing talk show host, Glen Beck, Trump had this say:
“Well, I think he’s great. Look, anybody that says I’m the best president in a generation….I have to like a guy like that. I can’t get upset with him….I think he’s very good. I think he’s really distinguished himself.”
Does that mean a “yes” in Trump fashion?
Then he went on to say, “He’s starting to get out there a little bit, he’s getting a little bit controversial. I got to tell him: ‘Be a little bit careful. Some things you have to hold in just a little bit, right?’
Right, this bit of advice coming from the man who is in the habit of opening his mouth and sticking his foot in it. However, Vivek went on to say:
“We believe in the rule of law,” and he said it with such conviction with the man who is known for breaking every rule in the book as far as election integrity goes and much more standing behind him. Citizen Trump is facing 91 felony counts after being indicted four times within the last year. Way to go Vivek, hide your head in the sand why don’t you?
It was a fiery speech but he sounded like a numero uno salesman selling something he didn’t believe in. He raised his voice at intervals and it was impressive but his message was clear, “We need a Commander-in-Chief who will lead us to victory in the war.” How does that phrase go, “Not for all the tea in China?”
In his Third presidential debate, then presidential hopeful, Vivek Ramaswamy, had this to say, “What I would tell Bibi is that Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend itself. I would tell him to smoke those terrorists on his southern border and I will be smoking the terrorists on our southern border.”
They would make a good pairing as President and Veep but it would be more like, “E Pluribus Anus,” than the other way around!
Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis brought her indictment charges against former President Trump and it went like this:
“Defendant Donald John Trump lost the United States presidential election held on November 3, 2020. One of the states he lost was Georgia. Trump and the other Defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.” Furthermore, “That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.”
The 41-count indictment involved Trump and 18 others which included such big names as Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman. The indictment also charges Trump and his co-conspirators with conspiring to commit election fraud. The crux of the matter lies on two presumptions. First, the indictment rests on state law charges which means Trump can do little little to derail it even if he were to return to the White House because clemency power does not extend to state offences.
Secondly, if the trial is televised and it probably will be because Georgia law allows cameras in the courtroom, citizen Trump will be front and center and on full display. This might not be to his advantage as “Orange Jesus” is known for opening his mouth and inserting his foot in it.
It was looking like a slam dunk case for all purposes if it wasn’t for Fani Willis doing the unthinkable. She is accused of having a romantic relationship with special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, a member of her team which brings about ethical misconduct on her part and may be enough to derail the case and have her removed from the State’s election interference case. Trump and his allies, co-defendants, are claiming that the relationship is a conflict of interest and Willis should be removed from the case and that the case is also politically motivated.
If that isn’t a right royal mess for Ms. Willis, her combative nature on the witness stand and her bombastic testimony with her screaming, “I’m not on trial here!” got our attention, that along with, “When I travel, I always pay cash,” testimony. There were almost no receipts to show for money changing hands and that in itself is a dilemma my lady.
Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney had this to say:
“Fani Willis made a terrible decision to date Nathan Wade, and that may bring ethics issues for her, but her testimony dispelled any kickback scheme that would disqualify her. Nothing about this effects the fair trial right of Trump and co-defendants.”
However, Doug Weinstein, a Georgia lawyer wrote, “I respect her and her office, and putting the Trump trial at risk in this fashion, even if she did nothing wrong, demonstrates poor judgement.”
It seems Ms. Willis has got herself in a pickle this time, perhaps she should take this phrase to heart, “Never eat where you sh**,” and things might just work out better for her the next time around.
Both men are old, Biden is 81 and Trump is 77 years old. Both are suffering from cognitive decline in one form or another but if you listen to Fox News, it is Biden who is in his geriatric years. Both are battling to take the reins of the highest office in the land, one is currently there and wanting another four years whereas the other is giving his all to regain control of the White House which he lost and still hasn’t accepted cognitively that it was won legitimately and with no election interference. We look on in dismay or more specifically in terror as the election year moves on at a glacial pace as both men show us in more ways than one that neither one of them is the best choice and we need younger and more vibrant personalities to fill that space at the top of the tier.
Nonetheless, we are smack dub and in the middle of a geriatric year of elections. It has been an eye-opener so far and promises much more in the form of why “two old men” should not run for the highest office in the land.
Let’s look at some of Mr. Trump’s gaffes through the years.
His most famous was the word, “Covfefe.” POTUS tweeted this in May 2017, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe,” and the world sat up and took notice. Not because it was something prolific but because the word does not exist. There was a mad dash to unscramble what it meant and we later found out that it was a mistake and it was meant to be, “coverage.” Much ado about nothing indeed!
Then there was the time when Trump delivered a speech marking the 9/11 attacks and it went like this:
“I wrote this out, and it’s very close to my heart, because I was down there and I watched our police and our firemen down at 7/11, down at World Trade Center right after it came down.” He meant 9/11.
More recently, he confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi and praised Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban as “the leader of Turkey.” Shades of Biden?
Another faux pas which points to Mr. Trump’s state of mind is his September 15 speech in Washington when he warned, “that America was on the verge of World War II,” which ended in 1945.
Then on 14 September, Mr. Trump went on to say in his no nonsense and kingly fashion at a rally in South Carolina, “I’ve been saying, look, if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect, OK?” And then he went on to say that he would encourage Russia to attack Nato members he deemed financially delinquent. If that doesn’t speak to his mental state, I don’t know what does!
After a NY judge ruled Thursday that jury selection will begin on March 25 with no delays in the hush money trial, Trump again called it an election interference ploy saying that he is stuck in court instead of being on the campaign trail which is all a lie. He does not need to sit in court day in and day out. His words were, “I’m honored to sit here day after day on something that everybody says the greatest legal scholars say it’s not even a crime.” The comment “smacked of entitlement to being above the law, which prosecutors and political opponents have long accused Trump of harboring.”
According to Ian Hughes, “Politicians who live in an angry narcissistic fog pose a clear threat to democracy and peace, and Donald Trump is a classic illustration of what this means in practice.” Not only that, “People like Trump with narcissistic personality disorder are driven to live out their lives by damaging others and pursuing their grandiose destructive dreams because they are psychologically incapable of coming to terms with the ‘fire and fury’ that lie within. Add to that the advancing years and you’ve got something to contend with.
Both men have had their share of geriatric moments but Mr. Trump is ahead in that respect. Can we trust either one of them to take up the reins of the highest office in the land? Whoever takes office should have a clear head, a steady hand and an unwavering propensity to lead in the right direction. The way I see it, Biden comes off looking like a spring chicken when compared to Trump. While “stupidity” reigns supreme in Trump’s world, Biden is calm, collected and presidential, faux pas aside. Moreover, he is a gentler version of what the White House needs when compared to the “know-nothing,” “unhinged, “crass,” and “liar” Trump!
“Bullying is the result of an unequal power dynamic – the strong attacking the weak.” Maria Konnikova
Trump is toxic, he is dangerous and he is a bully through and through. He has used the bully pulpit to his advantage and used his power to belittle those he deems not worthy of compassion or kindness. The man is ruthless when it comes to spewing insults. His motto is, “Talk first, think later,” and this approach has got him into hot water more than once. It seems his toxic nature is part and parcel of his makeup, character wise I mean. Furthermore, he is sorely lacking in how a President should present himself because everything comes down to one thing and that is himself. It is not about the people but about loud-mouthed, asinine Trump and that is why he goes from one gaffe to the next all the while with that Cheshire cat grin plastered on his face.
According to James Barber, who published a well-known study on presidential character, a good President should have the following leadership qualities:
A strong vision for the country’s future.
An ability to put their own times in the perspective of history.
Effective communication skills.
The courage to make unpopular decisions.
Crisis management skills.
Character and integrity.
Wise appointments.
An ability to work with Congress.
Furthermore, he added that Presidents must wear many hats and they “must somehow symbolize what American citizens believe to be the essence of their country. They must represent what is valued now and in the past. But even more importantly, they embody the direction of America’s future.”
Do you see Trump doing any or all of the above? He is first and foremost a playground bully who marches to his own drumbeat and that fact alone makes him more than dangerous. One thing he is good at is name-calling and he does it with such prowess that it is mind boggling. From “Crooked Hillary,” to “Pocohontas,” for Elizabeth Warren, to “Shifty Schiff,” for Adam Schiff and “Sleepy Biden,” for Biden but that is just touching the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Trump does not hold back when it comes to throwing punches of the unsavory kind. He takes it all in stride and moves on like the master manipulator he is.
He is single-handedly changing the characteristics of a President but not for the better. ”From referencing a television host’s menstrual cycle to using vulgar phrases to describe opponents to his encouragement of violence at rallies, Trump’s insults have known no bounds and have been a dominant storyline of the campaign,” and continue to be so even today. Other candidates have used insults and mud-slinging but not to the extend that “Orange Jesus” has. ”His speeches have crossed lines, pushed fact checkers to their limits and incited backlash – all the while further stoking the passions of his most ardent supporters.” Just look at his recent debacle where he said he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO country that does not contribute 2% of its GDP to the alliance’s coffers. It was a reckless threat which has contributed to fierce backlash in Europe. Does he care? What do you think?
Add to that his constant posturing like a peacock, running his mouth like a loose faucet and his GOD complex mentality and you’ve got a bully at his very best alas to the detriment of the country. Biden’s mental acuity is concerning but Trump’s playground antics and all out temper tantrums are far more terrifying if you ask me.
“In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war.”
In today’s symbolism, it could also mean, “an innocuous appearing container for hiding something within to get past defenses or some other obstacle. Trojan horses can be used for both good and evil.”
That said, the news media is ripe with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Can it be, would she do it? Would she be willing to give up her more than cushy life of “just being” and take up the reins as the first female African-American president of the USA? Would she even want to try let alone put up with all that her husband, the 44th President of the United States put up with to let his light shine through the hazy, blurred and cruel world of politics where racism played a bigger than life part in his presidency.
Your mission should you choose to accept it is to knock the orange Cheshire cat off his throne of “I’ve got it in the pocket grin,” and do the world a HUGE and GREAT favor! Four more years of “all about me” politics is not my cup of tea and neither is it for all of us with half a brain I might add!
Trump’s problem might just turn out to be the no immunity ruling that Washington DC handed out not too recently. It was a major setback for “orange Jesus.” It reads like this:
“We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power – the recognition and implementation of election results.” Furthermore, it added, “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defences of any other criminal defendant.” That aside, Trump is still waiting on the Supreme Court ruling as to whether he violated an article of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and that violation could mean him being barred from running for office. Add to that the four criminal indictments and there is HOPE!
If Biden is lacking in cognitive skills, than Trump is lacking in morality, cognitive skills and has a severe lack of knowing what holding the highest office in the nation means. It is NOT all about him. Furthermore, we do not need a “dumpster fire” in the White House! Coming back to Michelle Obama. The lady has proved herself to be a worthy opponent. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, she has more smarts in one little finger compared to Trump who can’t even keep a conversation going without resorting to monosyllabic words and even than just a few words that espouse him in a favorable light or so he thinks! At 60, she is much younger than “Orange Jesus” and could run circles around him in the Presidential debate. Her cognitive skills are in top form and she has her faculties well-placed around her. If all that is not enough, the lady has hutzpah, has a commanding presence about her, oozes class and dignity and last but not least, she has an ace in the hole. It will be the man standing in the shadows pushing her on to victory and that folks is a major plus.
Of course, the Trojan Horse symbolism doesn’t quite fit here because the cat has been let out of the bag or rather it is in the works. Who cares? My money is on her!
The man of the hour won and some of us cried. Nothing surprising here but still fact is stranger than fiction. A friend wrote this, “Trump is going to make the economy better and control the border is what people are saying but ignorance is overwhelming in America.”
Wearing Cheshire cat grins on their faces, Trump stepped onto the winner’s platform to deliver his victory speech flanked by former rivals, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Ramaswamy once said when pressed by George Stephanopoulos about Trump’s actions of January 6th, “I would have handled that situation very differently than Trump did. But I do draw a distinction between bad behavior and illegal behavior.” Tim Scott whispered three words, “I love you,” and the response in return was, “That’s why he’s a great politician.” Cringeworthy! Absolutely. They looked like the cats who swallowed the cream or rather, the cat who swallowed the canary!
He went on to eye his one standing opponent. In his normal fashion, he opened his mouth and this is what he had to say, “I said, wow, she’s doing a speech like she won. She didn’t win. She lost. Let’s not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night, She had a very bad night,” and more significantly, “I don’t get angry, I get even.” His victory speech was littered with false claims but that didn’t wipe the grin off his face. ”They used Covid to cheat,” “they lost by a whisker,” and “they want to raise your taxes times four.” He knows naught of what he speaks folks.
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” MLK
However, this says it better I think. ”In politics stupidity is not a handicap.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Nikki Haley for her part made her concession speech looking poised and ready to do battle. Claiming that the GOP race is “far from over” she went on to say, “Trump is the only Republican in the country who Joe Biden can defeat.” And she might be right there. The lady is determined, has the smarts to do it but it will be an uphill battle for her.
Let’s see, Trump is facing numerous indictments both from the state and federal levels including DOJ’s and Jack Smith, Special Counsel’s investigation into his alleged attempt in trying to overturn the 2020 elections which led to the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. He calls it a “witch hunt” but facts are facts. Will the so called “witch hunt” help to wipe off the Cheshire cat grin off his face? Let’s hope so. THERE IS STILL HOPE!
Ron DeSantis throws in the towel. He officially dropped his bid for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination on Sunday saying, ”If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it. But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time or donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory.” I’ve got to hand it to him, the man knows when to fold ’em and when to walk away as the lyrics to The Gambler song goes. As if that wasn’t enough to rock the Republican world, he went on to endorse Agent Orange and that was surprising. A friend said, “Can you believe it? What a loser!!!” Loser or not, DeSantis jumping ship means there will be two left standing.
Trump, the frontrunner, is pleased as punch to say the least. On hearing the news on Sunday, the man who is known for throwing insults, was magnanimous in his praise as he always is when things go his way. ”I’d like to take time to congratulate Ron DeSantis, (not Ron DeSanctimonious) a really terrific person (see the oozing?) ……for having run a great campaign for president.”
Nikki Haley, the other one standing, was in a high school auditorium plugging her campaign. She asked, “Can you hear that sound? That is the sound of a two person race.” She will get her wish of standing shoulder-to-shoulder or going one-on-one with the man who doesn’t care if it’s right or wrong, if an election has been won legally and one who will stoop to nothing short of instigating a coup because he didn’t get his way. He is still walking with his head held high and with a smile plastered on his “orange” face.
There you have it. It’s going to be a two-person race and it’s coming down to the wire. The question is, do they even have to duke it out? Isn’t it a foregone conclusion? The orange giant is looming larger than life and like a bad dream that will never go away! I swear the man has nine lives or more, now if he’ll only put it to good use. No chance of that so we’ll have to grit our teeth, clench our jaws and see how this will play out.
I’ll take anyone BUT you know who. Four more years of GREAT! HUGE! and MOI! MOI! MOI! is not my cup of tea and neither is a daily dose of MAGA greatness and stunted vocabulary!
A great start to a new week don’t you think? Lord have mercy!
The man of the hour, Donald J. Trump, stepped onto the platform to acknowledge victory. His hair was perfectly coiffed, no runaways this time and with a smile plastered on his orange face and with his over-inflated ego in tow, he oozed graciousness and something more.
He pledged to seal up the border, stop the invasion of immigrants from the southern border, harness liquid gold or rather oil and to straighten out elections. A chant of, “America First,” broke out from his supporters and with an adoring smirk on his face, he said, “Iowa we love you. Just go out and buy larger tractors and more land. D’ont worry about it.”
The Indian-American entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy in his Third presidential debate said, “What I would tell Bibi is that Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend itself. I would tell him to smoke those terrorists on his southern border” and if elected, “I will be smoking the terrorists on our southern border.” It didn’t quite work out for him. Coming in fourth place didn’t quite make his dreams come true, he has dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump in hopes of achieving his goal from the sidelines, the “smoking” part I mean.
In his toned down victory speech, Trump called on his opponents to join him to unify America. He actually went on to praise them saying, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, “actually did very well,” and praised Vivek Ramaswamy for doing a “hell of a job.” However, his insults of past calling Nikki Haley a “Globalist Rino” and saying, ”she can never win in the General Elections because she doesn’t have MAGA and never will.” He went on to add, “Ron Desanctimonious at least is MAGA-Lite.” None of that was front and center this time. He even went on to use their names instead of “bird brain” for Nikki Haley and “DeSantimonious” for DeSantis.
A gentler Trump? A unifier? Don’t bet your bottom dollar on it! The question is, what if he had lost? Fraud! Recount! Fight! Fake! These are all words we’ve heard coming out of the sore loser or sour grapes Trump. Winning at any cost is his motto so don’t let him fool you folks. It is still there. What? The five-year-old who loves throwing a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get his way is still there and the man who will go to great lengths in trying to overturn a legitimate election result is still there too. It is just a matter of time before the real Trump will show up in all his true colors and I don’t just mean “orange” either!