God Help Us

 

We’ve just returned from visiting my brother and his family in NYC, which we hadn’t done for several years. Between getting up at 4:30 a.m. for both flights, long and sleepless, staying in one of the smallest hotel rooms anywhere, I’m still uncombobbled. This offering, therefore, will lack my usual cohesive brilliance.

Even if back to “normal” it’d be hard to process Trump’s inaugural speech and its sequelae. I still haven’t, dark as it was and dully delivered. Bravado and bull. Claiming a mandate where none exists, but joyously received by the select crowd.

Sidebar: why is the Vice-Presidential Oath so much longer than the Presidential? Perhaps the Founders anticipated the current short attention span and difficulty reading. But he managed to articulate the lies and contradictions. 

Trump swore that he would faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and would, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. It might not have been a lie. “To the best of my ability” is the escape clause. He’s made it clear he has no inclination to preserve, protect, and defend. But ability? Based on the last eight years, four in, four out, not much. So, no matter how bad, it’ll be the best he can do. Plus, he’s been granted immunity by the SCOTUS Five.

His speech was surprisingly listless, even when he described the past four years, in which a pandemic ended, employment and markets soared, businesses were created at a record pace, infrastructure finally began long overdue rebuilding, as the most bleak in all of history. And took credit for the (three) Israeli hostages being released.

As soon as circumstances were unpomped, he headed downstairs, where he unloosed a more typical tirade, the usual disproved untruths, the self-pity, the threats. It was far more nefandous and much more in character. 

Later, sitting behind the Resolute Desk, he signed out of the Paris Climate Accords, benefitting fossil fuelers and harming everyone else, especially those alive in twenty years or so. Same with abandoning the World Health Organization, saving a few nickels, potentially costing many lives. Also, making JD Vance look like an idiot for saying he wouldn’t, he pardoned or commuted all of the anti-constitutional actors of J6, including the most violent and those convicted of seditious conspiracy. There’s no clearer evidence of his disdain for the law and love of those who share that disdain in his favor. Has any Congressional R criticized the pardons? Does a bear fly in the sky? 

This is the lesson to be learned from his pardons and commutations of the J6 criminals: the rule of law no longer applies. It impedes his agenda and he has no intention of following it. Now he has 1,500 grateful foot soldiers ready to be the core he’ll call upon, to threaten lawmakers, federal and local. Scare them into falling into line. Fear worked during his two impeachments, even without an army of directed mobsters.

This time, the Proud Boys and their ilk, the “militias,” the racists and anti-Semites know they’ll not have prosecutions to worry about, whatever they do. They’ll be the core of Trump’s Gestapo, his SS, and he’ll use them to cow every Republican in office. Am I over the top? No. I got the message, is all. He made it clear: The era of Constitutional government is over. It had a good run, though. Will any of those who voted for him care? Before the election, he couldn’t have made it clearer. They saw it and voted him in. 

15,000 trans people are serving in the military, honorably. Trump has banned them. As usual, cruelty, not the best interests of anyone but himself, is the point. Same with his banning of further refugee admissions, which includes Afghan citizens and their families who aided Americans during the Afghanistan war.

Nor can I ignore the “my-chance-in-the-spotlight,” hyperbolic praise of Trump, the least religious, most un-Christian man ever to occupy the White House, by the inaugural clergy, including the Rabbi, virtually anointing him God’s avatar on Earth. To any but the most besotted, Franklin Graham’s elegiac effusiveness and prayerful praise, barely short of equating Trump with God, was borborygmic.

Next day, in his presence, a brave lady bishop preached love and charity. He’s demanding an apology. Too Christ-like, evidently. I can’t define “evil,” but I know it when I see it.

So let’s end happier: Importantly, people speculated about Melania’s hat. Some pointed to the similarity to the Pizza Hut logo; or the Hamburgler; or Spy vs Spy. Clearly, though, the purpose was to fend off any attempt by Trump to kiss her. It mostly worked. So there’s that.

Also, far as I can tell, day one has passed. Did the war in Ukraine end?

Post-Inaugural Thoughts

In a post-inaugural interview, Congressman James Clyburn quoted Alexis de Tocqueville: America is great because its people are good. If its people cease to be good, America will cease to be great. That it was an inaccurate paraphrase of a misattributed quote is beside the point: in recent years, more clearly in recent weeks, we’ve seen the truth of it.

Trump’s insurrectionists who trashed the Capital, whose internet sanctum, Parler, is now hosted by Russia, aren’t good people. Nor are the politicians and media propagandists whose outrageous lies they believed. The result is a stain on America: A Green-Zone inauguration secured by thousands of troops; streets cleared; the National Mall – if movingly decorated – empty; the building still bearing wounds.

Addressing the tens who showed up to see him off, the blame-worthy “president” was absent; the first since 1869 to abscond from that confirmation of enduring democracy. Trump et uxor chose not to welcome the Bidens to the White House, nor did they join his predecessors and successor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Amazing gracelessness.

Exiting, Trump, who only started domestic wars, pardoned a parade of perfidious politicians, tax-evaders (including a Fox spouse), and secret-keeping cronies. Among the excused, though, were some who deserved it, including several who’d received harsh sentences for minor drug crimes, mostly marijuana-related. Good for him. (For those whose lips are forming the words “Clinton” and “Marc Rich,” virtually all Democrats were outraged.)

Showcasing the scamanality of his “presidency,” Trump’s penultimate act was reversing his own “swamp-draining” order preventing his hires from lobbying, for five years; they’re now free as he to access the grift. “So long, suckers,” should have been his final words.

While Trump bunkers at Mar-a-Lago, we turn to President Joe Biden, recalling the astounding difference between his and Trump’s inaugural words.

Trump inherited a soaring economy, history’s longest run of rising employment, decreasing budget deficits, nuclear containment of Iran, and the tail ends of wars President Obama didn’t start but from which he was trying to disengage. Yet Trump spoke darkly about “American carnage,” a weirdly dystopian view of a country that was, but is no longer, surging forward; a speech foreshadowing the cascade of lies for which his “presidency” would become known, ultimately leading to the insurrection from which we’re trying to emerge. 

(If only one is feasible, let Congress invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment rather than finishing impeachment.)

In contrast, President Biden heads a nation deeply divided between fact and fiction; reeling from a pandemic so poorly managed by a mocking “president” that hundreds of thousands died unnecessarily, and the delivery of vaccines for which has been a cavalcade of disinformation and absent planning. Businesses closed by the thousands, staggering unemployment, people struggling to maintain food and shelter.

Yet, not ignoring the source and implications of the insurrection, he spoke with optimism and words of healing; reminders of what can be done when Americans cooperate with one another (already falling on many senatorial and rightwing media deaf ears.) Without specifying Trump’s biggest lie, he called for a return to truth -- tough for Tucker, Sean, et. al., whose success depends on inflammatory untruth. It’s doubtful they’ll reassess their complicity. (One sane Foxian approved.) 

Opposite to “I alone can fix it,” acknowledging it’ll take all of us, President Biden enumerated the challenges: racism, domestic terrorism, climate change (we’re back in the Paris Accords!), the economy. And, of course, the pandemic (we’re staying in the WHO!) Which is not to say he, or anyone, expects Congressional kumbaya; just a remembrance of commonality when arguing. It’s happened before, if so long ago it seems like an illusion.

Afterward, Kevin McCarthy, leader of the Republican insurrection in Congress, mouthed pleasant words. Likewise Mitch McConnell, who, after four years of catalyzing Trump’s destruction of Constitutional separation, comity, economic sanity, trust in elections, and pretty much everything else, had just, belatedly, acknowledged it was Trump’s lies that led to the attempted coup. Action, not words, are what’s needed now.

She gave no inaugural speech, but Kamala Harris’ presence was powerful. So many welcome firsts. The tie-breaker in an evenly-divided Senate, she might become the most consequential VP, ever.

Sincerity. It’s said if you can fake that, you’ve got it made. Wordlessly holding a never-read Bible after gassing peaceful demonstrators, Trump faked it and seventy-four-million Americans bought in. You can’t fake the sincerity we heard in eighty-one-million-vote-getting President Biden’s speech. If we can’t all agree with his plans, let’s agree on that. And, with a little cooperation, see what happens.