But it’s doubtful, about growing up. He is who he is. A showman, a huckster, a Joker. An adolescent. Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore had about as much political meat as Nixon meeting Elvis in the White House. All that was missing was the cape. Great photo op, the lights were on, but no one was home.
It was another not-so-brilliant diversion in the shell game we call the Trump Administration. He’s running out of diversions. He can run but the can’t hide. He can’t hide behind Manafort anymore, or behind Cohen ...or Kushner, or Ivanka ...the Trump boys - Erick and Donald Jr. ...Sessions, Flynn (where is he now?) ...McMaster, John Kelly, Hope Hicks ...the only friend he may have anymore is stalwart Kellyanne Conway ..and transients Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.
And where the hell is Melania!? ..and Barron? Where is our "First Family"?
Personally, I don’t buy it that North Korea is a “nuclear threat” just because they broadcast themselves beating their chest shooting missiles over the Sea of Japan, some in tandem and some in multiples to show, what? ..coordination? It’s like synchronized swimming and just as foolish and harmless.
This has been a coordinated show of dignity from an indignant leader of a country in crisis. Trump took the bait hook line and sinker. So did the news media, and subsequently so did most of America. Isn’t that how it works? Monkey see monkey do? North Korea played this smart. Trump played it dumb. Yeah, dumb. We watched the “historic” handshake, the flags. It was an empty box. I feel cheated on news.
Think Dennis Rodman.
I started out half liking Donald Trump as president. Aside from his obnoxious personality and wacky hair (no reason to not like anyone) I liked the idea of a new guy in Washington, a gun slinger who wanted to “drain the swamp” and “make America great again”. His hard talk about crime, immigration, drugs, etc. spoke to me in a non-politically correct tome I wanted desperately to hear. I was tired of the weak, fastidious, mealy-mouthed assembly line politicians and administrators and their meaningless rhetoric.
It was interesting, and expected, to see Paul Ryan fall and Lindsey Graham rise ...and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer whine and cry.
You can’t say Trump didn’t turn the tide, turn things upside down. That could be a good thing and we’re still in transition. Moving people out of their comfort zones is always exasperating, generating hard feelings. Moving our nation’s allies out of their comfort zones is having the same effect. Things could settle down for the better ...or things may just escalate to Armageddon, a small town on the outskirts of oblivion.
I think Trump fooled me for a minute there. But I came to my senses soon thereafter. After I saw through the facade of “Make America Great Again”. After Charlottesville. After more careful review.
You never know what emotions, feelings or sincerity lie deep in a person’s heart. You can only hope for the best. But as a general rule, hope for the best, expect the worst. Can you tell a book by it’s cover? Sometimes you can. Sometimes not. Your character will dictate how you judge another person’s character. Meaning, if you are an as**ole, you will likely team up with another as**hole. If you have character and integrity, you will likely seek out and team up with the same.
The jury is still out on Donald Trump, but it’s not looking good. Many Trump supporters are starting to fade away while others grow stronger. His approval ratings are, frighteningly, growing. Conversely, his detractors are beginning to give up and sadly looking at a Trump repeat in 2020. They see no post-Trump era in sight. This is Trump’s wheelhouse and he is enjoying himself. His willingness to humiliate himself is the only thing he has going for him, an apparently it’s enough to keep him going.
The focus is now totally on Robert Mueller’s investigation and findings which could lead to an indictment and impeachment. But this widely hopeful outcome is starting to look improbable as legal and constitutional loopholes enter the conversation. Mueller’s report could turn out to be another ‘Warren Report’. Trump could waltz through this like a breeze, he could pardon everyone, he and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West could laughingly ride off into the sunset with all our hopes and dreams.
Where does this leave America and the American people? It should leave you with more questions than answers. Questions about character, dignity, responsibility. Questions about the value of civil rights and freedom, their use and abuse. Questions about America’s role in the global community. Questions about truth, lies, assumptions, show business and optics.
Questions about America.
If anything, Donald Trump has jolted the system of America, a system that we can now better judge as better or worse. A reference point. Trump has freed us from the mundane, shown us another way, cleansed us like a political enema in full view of the world to see like an open-back hospital gown. And what do you see there? He grew up to be president.
So, just as a warning ...you could grow up to be president too.
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-george-kushma-379a5762
http://newsbout.com/a/John+Kushma
