Trump’s baseless assertions that the 2020 presidential election was ‘rigged’ which is why he lost, continues to undermine the very foundations of our democracy – not that he cares. And his acolytes continue to fill the coffers of his recently established Super PAC for his legal defense fund, to retire his campaign debt and to gear up for creating political chaos in the future. There is, however, another risk I see looming on the horizon with Trump on the loose after he leaves office.
Do you really think Trump will keep his mouth shut after he leaves office? I don’t mean the usual Twitter rants we’ve all come to know and love or the rambling diatribes on Fox News airing every perceived wrong done to him during his entire life. Think about the fact that Trump, for the last four years, has had access to the most sensitive intelligence in this country. Does anyone really think that he will keep a tight lid on this knowledge? Given his track record of being careless with classified information and security clearances, I personally doubt it. So, just for fun, think about the following.
The Russians are masters at espionage. And don’t forget that Vladimir Putin is a former KGB agent. For me, it is not much of a stretch to envision a scenario in which one or more Russian plants begin to cozy up to Trump through business dealings or just being neighbors in the same Florida neighborhood. And don’t fool yourself into thinking that these people will have Russian names and speak with Russian accents. They will have America names, a manufactured American past and speak impeccable English. If you think such people don’t exist, you are extremely naïve. They do.
Since Trump is so receptive to flattery and has such a love of any ‘deal’ which will make him money, such individuals could approach Trump by trying to join the country club at Mar A Lago. Trump loves to talk about himself. He will be talking about how the election was ‘stolen’ from him for years. It appears he is in some financial distress. In espionage circles, he would be considered a prime target. Skilled agents could pump all kinds of info out of him without him even being aware that he was being used. I would bet huge amounts of money that Putin has already set the wheels of this or a similar little misadventure in motion. That should make us all sleep well tonight – not. “America First” my ass. It is a 100 percent probability that Trump’s ego will take priority over protecting the interests of the United States of America.
And speaking of putting the country first, it appears that Trump will be a virtual wrecking ball on his way out the door. He has fired the Secretary of Defense and other top Pentagon officials have either been fired or have resigned only to be replaced by Trump loyalists. It appears that, in spite of most of his current military senior staff telling him that withdrawing troops right now from Afghanistan and Iraq is a really bad idea – he will be issuing the order anyway during this last two months of his presidency. I guess that’s a little going away present for Joe Biden.
His administration is also trying feverishly to sell licenses to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Refuge before he leaves office. Biden will be in the position of having to try to stop it after the fact. Probably another little present from the current president. America is currently one of the top energy producers in the world and there is really no urgent reason to do this other than Trump just trying to be an ass on his way out the door.
It is still beyond me why people continue to support this man when a quick look at his legacy looks more like a trail of destruction than ‘Making America Great.’ Hate crimes in the US are at a ten-year high. It is being reported that Iran’s nuclear stockpile is now 12 times larger than it would have been if Trump had not pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated with our allies. Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, engaged in a trade war with China and now 15 nations around the Pacific Rim have signed on to the RCEP trade agreement led by China. The pandemic is raging out of control across the country and Trump has never, since day one, implemented any kind of a national response to this viral war which has so far resulted in the deaths of almost a quarter of a million Americans. In spite of a record high stock market, the economy is still teetering on the brink and the national debt is through the roof. What the hell has this man done to deserve the rabid adulation and following he has.
He truly reminds me of one of the pastors of these mega-churches who flies around in a private Gulfstream jet, lives in a mansion, has a lavish lifestyle and people continue to follow them no matter what they do. What the hell? The sad fact is, even with Trump losing and having divided the nation so deeply, it does not bode well for the long-term survival of America. He and his followers will continue to spread division, hatred and chaos under some warped interpretation of what patriotism means.
One can only wonder what else Trump has in store for us before he is forced out the door. It reminds me of someone who has been fired from their job for nonperformance and then decides to engage in as much sabotage as possible before they are escorted out of the building. I have fired people before and when I did, Human Resources, I and Security walked them directly out of the building, took their badge, disabled their access codes and accounts immediately to ensure they could not cause any more problems. Given the current childish and dangerous behavior of Trump, the nation would be much better off if that were an option today.
Good article and so true. James Madison warned us about factions in the Federalist 10 Papers and the potential danger of someone like Trump in charge.
“The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good. So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.”
I guess James Madison worst fears for our democracy are coming true.