Trump Being Trump

The Saturday Night Massacre didn't work out well for Richard Nixon.  It's not unreasonable to think a Friday Nighe one won't work out well for Trump.  And that's from the perspective that Nixon's Friday Night Massacre was limited to that single Friday.  It's profoundly unlikely that Trump's actions will not be limited to one day.  Given his past actions during three years in the White House firing those who've stood up to him and his actions over the past 40 years, along with following his mantra that "If someone hits you, hit them back 10 times harder -- and given that's he's actually said that there will be retribution, and seeing his crazy tantrums the day before, at a Prayer Breakfast (!) and in the legendary East Room of the White House -- It's reasonable to think that Trump will continue on this path for months, even the next 10 months.

There are many character traits that Trump has shown so blatantly that you can bump into them with your eyes closed, but one that leaps out loudly is that for all the good his bombast has done him, Trump is his own worst enemy and grabs defeat from the jaws of victory.

Consider:

By Trump standards, he had a good week.  He got acquitted in the Senate.  One poll showed his approval go up a few points.  He gave the State of the Union Address which his base liked.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore up his speech which helped rile the Trump base.  Democrats had a total mess in their first primary.  Trump could have glided on that for weeks. He could have just kept repeating it all.  Pointing out the facts, even if they weren't as meaningful as he'd make them appear.  He could have sat back, gone to a conference, played golf, stayed above it all, and seemed "presidential."

But this is Trump.  People waiting for Trump to finally be "presidential" have long-since given up in exhaustion.  So, instead, Trump was Trump.

He gave a pompous, cringe-worthy, prancing appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast, slamming those who prayed to God for him as hypocrites.  Decrying the difficulty of loving others.  And the same day, he gave an infantile, meltdown tantrum in the East Room of the White House, where some of America's most-honored events have taken place.  Spitting out epithets like "bullsh*t" and calling a former FBI director a "sleazebag."  On and on, in near-derangement, saying that he "won" the impeachment vote in House by a vote of 197-0 -- never mind that they actually impeached him 230-197.

And the very next day, he fired two men -- a Purple Heart Medal recipient on the National Security Council, and a Trump loyalist ambassador appointed by Trump himself, after having given a million dollar donation to his campaign -- both of whom had been subpoenaed to testify in the House, appeared as required by law, and gave what they believed to be their honest testimony under oath, critical though it was of Trump's actions.  Oh, wait, sorry, Trump fired three men -- the third was a National Security Council lawyer who had absolutely nothing to do with the Ukraine hearing or impeachment trial, he just happened to be the twin brother of the Purple Hear recipient.  So, apparently, that's a fireable offense.in Trump Tantrum World.

This is all in just two days after Trump was acquitted.  And had that good week for him.

And it doesn't include Trump's son Don Jr. publicly saying that Sen. Mitt Romney, the only Republican who voted to convict Trump, should be expelled from the Republican Party.  A concept that doesn't exist in democracy,  where anyone can join whatever political party they want, though it probably has a comfortable spot in fascism.

And all this came after Republicans rose up in outrage -- outrage, I say! -- when House Manager Adam Schiff dared reference a news story that reported Trump had threatened to put any Republican senator's head on a pike if they went against him.

Gee, go figure.

(And there's more, like the Senate saying they're considering opening an investigation of...Hunter Biden??!  And the Treasury Department actually releasing private tax reports on...Hunter Biden??!  That, after denying the release of Trump's own tax reports requested by the House which was therefore required by law.)

And again, this is all just two days after being acquitted.  Acquitted by a Republican senate that refused to hear witnesses and admit new evidence which 75% of Americans wanted.

Two days.  And it will get worse.  We know it will get worse.  Though, in fairness, all this in two days is plenty bad enough.

After being acquitted, Bill Clinton apologized.  He asked forgiveness.  He had apologized at least half a dozen times before the acquittal.  And his approval skyrocketed.

After Trump was acquitted, he has been on a Vengeance Tour.  I don't sense that that's what most Americans want.  Americans wanted witnesses and evidence for a fair trial.  Americans want Congress to pass laws that will improve their lives -- even if they don't necessarily always agree on what those laws should be.  Americans want the president to execute the laws -- not those who dare go against him.  And were the very witnesses providing the evidence 75% of the public wanted.

Trump is his own worst enemy.  Time after time, we've see the Republican Party have a briefly good period, and what happens next is that Trump feels emboldened and does something so egregious he throws it all away.  For goodness sake, the Mueller Report got released with damning conclusions, but it didn't say Trump had committed any crimes.  With the help of Attorney General William Barr lying about that, Trump was able to do a victory dance.  And the very next day after Robert Mueller himself testified in a lackluster appearance...the very next day, Trump committed the act that got him impeached.

Trump is his own worst enemy.  And he has a proven record of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  And he's already begun.