Trump Frankenstein Redux: Composite of Bad Former Presidents Rolled Up Into One

Lab Assistant “Igor Pence” Looks On 

(As the “reel Donald” takes shape)

This post about the real or “reel” Donald J. Trump is summarized perfectly in this excellent Trump-related Atlantic article in part below:

Donald Trump is testing the institution of the presidency unlike any of his 44 predecessors.

We have never had a president so ill-informed about the nature of his office.

Or, one so openly mendacious, self-destructive, or brazen in his abusive attacks on the courts, the press, Congress (including members of his own party), and even senior administration officials within his own administration.

Trump is the Frankenstein monster of past presidents rolled up into one with far worst combined attributes like: (1) Andrew Jackson’s rage; (2) Millard Fillmore’s bigotry; (3) James Buchanan’s incompetence and spite; (4) Theodore Roosevelt’s self-aggrandizement; (5) Richard Nixon’s paranoia, insecurity, and indifference to law; and (6) Bill Clinton’s lack of self-control and reflexive dishonesty.

James Madison known as the Father of the Constitution, wrote in the Federalist Papers during debate to approve or not the Constitution: “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.”

He was absolutely right, but he never could have imagined Donald Trump at that helm.

At this point in the singular Trump presidency, we can begin to assess its impact on American democracy. The news thus far is not all bad. The Constitution’s checks and balances have largely stopped Trump from breaking the law.

While he has hurt his own administration, his successors likely won’t repeat his self-destructive antics. The prognosis for the rest of our democratic culture is grimmer, however.

Trump’s bizarre behavior has coarsened politics and induced harmful norm-breaking by the very institutions he has attacked. Those changes will be harder to undo or redo.

Appropriate analogy: Trump is wielding a Soprano touch on American institutions just like Tony Soprano told his therapist: “I’m fu*king King Midas in reverse here. Everything I touch turns to sh*t.”

My 2 cents: Enjoy the fine article linked above. It is truly worth reading as we head into the 2020 campaign full swing.

Thanks for stopping by.