For all of his failings, you have to admit that Trump does seem to have a sense of irony. As the person who made 30,573 fact-checked false or misleading claims whilst president, he calls his social media site Truth Social. And as the president who added $7.8 trillion to the national debt, gave tax-breaks to the uber rich and did nothing for the poor and the working classes, and generally diminished America in the eyes of the world; his mantra to his knuckle-dragging support base is Make America Great Again.
You could almost admire his gall!
And then having had his ass handed to him in 2020, Trump decides to run again in 2024 and chooses J D Vance as a running mate. Another bottom feeder and unprincipled opportunist, Vance had already said these things about Trump:
“He never offers details for how these plans will work, because he can’t. Trump’s promises are the needle in America’s collective vein… Trump is cultural heroin. He makes some feel better for a bit. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it.”
“I’m a Never Trump guy, I never liked him.”
“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful), or that he’s America’s Hitler.”
But once on board as part of the ‘dream team’, the hatchet is buried and Vance reverts to the Trump administration’s tried and tested tactic… if you can’t actually Make America Great Again, let’s denigrate other countries instead. One of his first announcement after becoming Trump’s running mate was to say about the UK.
“I was talking (to a friend) about what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon, and we were like, maybe it’s Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts, and then we sort of finally decided maybe it’s actually the UK, since Labour just took over”.
Hilarious, and it reminded me of another Trump appointee making himself look stupid.
Republican and Trump supporter Pete Hoekstra once said that Holland had “no go” areas, and that cars and politicians(!) were being set on fire.
Then he became Trump’s ambassador to Holland and a reporter challenged him about his statements. Hoekstra replied that he was incorrectly quoted and claimed that he didn’t say that… it was “fake news”.
The reporter was ready, and immediately played a clip of Hoekstra saying exactly that. Wrong footed, Hoekstra then tried to deny that he’d called it “fake news”. The reporter then plays the tape from a few minutes earlier proving that he did call it “fake news”.
A great start to his service as an ambassador!
So what can you say about a GOP that chooses Trump to represent the party in 2024? Are they so desperate for power that they choose a man, knowing what a poor job he made of his term as POTUS #45. His complete lack of dignity and gravitas, his name-calling, his disrespect for America’s closest allies, whilst cosying up to Putin and Kim Jong Un; his tacit support for white supremacists, his undermining of his own experts during the pandemic, his denial of his 2020 defeat, his failure to welcome Biden to the White House, his sanctioning of the insurrection, etc.
He’s a corrupt, narcissistic, morally bankrupt, self-obsessed, racist, philandering, lying, braggart. He’s also a serial sex-offender, and now convicted felon.
They know he cares little for the US constitution, and even less for the country. His main motivation for seeking re-election is:
- because his fragile ego got bruised in 2020,
- Retribution on those he perceives as his enemies,
- But mostly to stay out of jail.
They know he’s a toxic, divisive influence in America, and incidentally, an inspiration to all the unprincipled, bottom-feeding politicians in other countries.
So returning to the question, is the current GOP desperate for power at any price? The answer is clearly yes… faced with choosing from several honourable, intelligent, moral people who might make good party leaders and possibly president, they went instead with twice impeached convicted felon and career con-artist, Donald Trump because of his popularity with his gullible support base. They clearly want power at ANY price. And they also clearly don’t give a damn about what’s best for America.
And get this… Trump is only able to seek re-election due entirely to a huge hole in the US constitution; convicted felons may not vote in elections… but they can become president!
In my 70-odd years on the planet, no US party has sunk so low, so I’m hoping fervently that Trump will be handed his ass again in November, and the Republicans lose control of both houses. Furthermore, if there’s any justice in the world, the GOP having sold their souls, will be unelectable pariahs for the next century.
