Tales from real life |
Donald Trump is the turd that floats in the bowl and won’t go down, no matter how many times you pull the handle. Maybe we should bring back high-flow toilets. Nothing else seems to work. MAGAnaughts were quick to proclaim that a ‘deep state conspiracy’, headed by Joe Biden, orchestrated the Trump assassination attempt. If so, then it was completely legal and acceptable under U.S. law as defined by Trump’s Supreme Court. Joe has already said that Donald Trump is a threat to America. His oath of office gives him a duty to "preserve, protect and defend" our country, and the SCOTUS ruling on presidential immunity gives him the authority to assassinate a political opponent as an official presidential act. Right-wing political hacks are trying to blame the assassination attempt on incendiary rhetoric from the left. But talk of murder, assassination, and civil war comes almost exclusively from the right. And Donald Trump sets the tone. Let’s review a few of his greatest hits. Trump began his political career with a boast that he could commit a public murder and not lose any support from his deplorable base. Why did he use such violent rhetoric? Why mock the fifth commandment? He could have simply confessed to committing adultery with a porn star. That would have been literally true, he wouldn't have lost a single vote, and he still could have mocked the sixth commandment. At his white trash rallies, the Don has suggested that police officers bang a suspect’s head when putting them into a patrol car. He urges the police not to be too gentle. He also told his followers to punch hecklers in the face and offered to pay their legal bills if they were arrested for assault. Why use such violent rhetoric? Why mock the teaching of Jesus by telling his people to "hit back harder" rather than turn the other cheek? Trump also hinted that it might be necessary to assassinate federal judges if he didn’t win the presidential election in 2016. He noted during his campaign that Hilary Clinton could appoint liberal judges to lifetime positions with no recourse for conservative voters. He went on to suggest that maybe the "second amendment people" could do something about it. Again, why use such violent rhetoric? Was he hoping that the MAGA mob would take his remarks to heart and rid him of these troublesome judges? His MAGA minions do hear his violent rhetoric and they do respond. Trump inspired an angry mob to attack the Capitol, assault police officers, and destroy property in a vain attempt to overturn the 2020 election. He waited until the insurrection had failed before calling for an end to the violence. And after the rioters had been arrested, tried, and convicted of insurrection, he called them true American patriots. The legal proceedings that resulted from the conspiracy to overturn the election gave Trump yet another opportunity to degrade the U.S. legal system. His defense team argued before the Supreme Court that a sitting president should have absolute immunity from prosecution for any crime committed during their term of office. The Trump lawyers insisted that even the assassination of political enemies would be covered under that blanket immunity. Again, why such violent rhetoric? Why would an honorable man need to assassinate those who disagree with him? The conservative members of the court agreed to legalize political murder, adding only the minor restriction that presidential crimes must be ‘official acts’. And we don't have to speculate about whether Trump judges will find his crimes to be official acts. Judge Aileen Cannon, who had already shown blatant favoritism toward Trump, immediately dismissed his indictment for mishandling classified documents following the SCOTUS ruling. Surprisingly, I find myself unable to cheer for the murder of Donald Trump. As much as I despise him, murder is always wrong. I believe such violent rhetoric only further damages our country and society in general. However, neither can I summon any sympathy for a corrupt and spiteful man who bases his entire political career on violent, hateful, and incendiary rhetoric. It's not a coincidence that a man who advocates violence becomes a target of violence. Karma is a bitch. |