In his first term The Don proclaimed that he had “the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States.”
If you recall, another president, Richard Nixon, in a 1977 interview with David Frost, claimed “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Nixon was still justifying his illegal break-in of the Democratic headquarters in what became known as the “Watergate.” However, back In 1974, there was substantial pushback from Republican senators that convinced Nixon he would be impeached and convicted if did not resign. And so he did. If he had our present Supreme Court he would never have left office.
The present moment is very different. Not only is The Don acting out his belief that as president he has the right to do anything he wants, but the Supreme Court rubber-stamped this belief by granting him immunity from any action taken as president. For The Don “It’s His Party and He’ll Do What he Wants To.” Like a king, only those that genuflect, flatter, do his bidding, and support his version of reality are invited to the party. If you don’t deliver the goods, or stray from his wishes, then, as they say “Off with their heads”.
What we are witnessing is a masterclass in authoritarianism, which depends on the squelching of all independent centers of thought, and that includes universities, law firms, and scientists.
His attack and disinvestment in science is particularly frightening. His firing of the head of the C.D.C., Susan Monarez, was justified by RFK Jr because she was “not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again”. Included in MAHA’s vision is firing scientists and experts in their fields, defunding important research that can save lives, including research on mRNA that was responsible for the Covid vaccine and saved approximately 14 million lives worldwide. It involves hiring unqualified people to make decisions that will have a profound impact on the health and safety of Americans. He hired Andrew Wakefield who was disbarred in multiple states for defrauding patients and falsifying research on the link between vaccines and Autism to be an integral part of the research team on the relationship between vaccines and Autism.
Science is about facts. Facts, truth, and knowledge are The Don’s kryptonite. Experts are for idiots. He knows best. “The experts are terrible,” he told the crowd at a 2016 rally in La Crosse, Wis. “Look at the mess we’re in with all these experts that we have.”
The recent attempt to fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Fed as well as the continued assault on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, is part of an effort to take control over monetary policy in this country. It is an attempt to eradicate the Fed’s cherished independence; an independence necessary to protect the economy from someone like The Don. It has always been apolitical, beholden to no one. Its decisions are based on facts about our economy-rate of inflation, labor statistics- as well as ensuring that we sustain our position as a safe haven for foreign investment in the U.S. Treasury Bonds. The Don has already fired the head of Labor, casting doubt on whether the numbers reported about unemployment and job creation are valid. With a Fed that does the president’s bidding, we are at the mercy of a man who declared bankruptcy seven times, and believes he knows more about the economy than anyone. Obfuscating real numbers for his numbers, puts The Don exactly where he wants to be. It’s his truth. After all, it’s his party and he’ll do what he wants to.
The Don is intent on whitewashing American history that doesn’t align with his vision of American exceptionalism. A perfect example of this is his comments about the Smithsonian Museum. According to The Don the “Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — nothing about success, nothing about brightness, nothing about the future,”
Slavery, what’s that? Hey, it’s his party and he’ll reimagine history the way he wants to.
Then there is the military presence in Los Angeles and Washington, D. C. as well as threatening to send the National Guard to Chicago and other Blue Cities. These acts are unconstitutional, but in his mind, he is protecting people from a “Mad Max world”. Here’s The Don on deploying troops to Chicago: “We go in, we will solve Chicago in one week.” This week he issued an order that appears to call for the creation of specially trained National Guard units in Washington and all 50 states to ensure “public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate.”
Is this, as some say, a distraction or the beginning of a police state?
His targeting of his enemies, most recently Letitia James, Adam Schiff and James Comey and removal of security detail for Kamala Harris and other prominent figures, is a frightening throwback to McCarthyism. Like a mafia boss, he decides who gets his protection and who is targeted.
Even his tariff policies are like this. Just look at what happened with India. The Don wanted President Modi, an ally, to support his bid for a Nobel prize, claiming he was responsible for ending the most recent conflict between India and Pakistan. When Modi denied his request on the grounds that The Don was not responsible for the cease fire, The Don had a shit-fit and raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. That action is no different than a mob boss raising the percentage he collects from a business because they are unhappy with the business. To quote The Don, the U.S. is a “giant department store. I own the store and I set the prices, and I’ll say, ‘If you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay.’”
The more emboldened he becomes the more we have to fear. We better figure out how to crash his party or it just gets worse and worse.
The Grand Offal Party 