Our Time in Two Photos
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o question, this thing is now officially overwhelming. Every day, more Americans throw up their hands, battered by our political typhoon, seeking relief by turning away--from newspapers, TV, even social media feeds. “Enough!” It’s no secret that long ago Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters tuned out, locking their minds and cementing their biases.
But now, many of Trump’s detractors are also dropping off the information grid, victims of news exhaustion. All of the scandals, all of the testimony, all the denials of reality. Emotionally, some are buried alive. People have jobs…and families…and less taxing ways to spend time. So sure, it’s easier—maybe even wiser—to give this up for a while. Just wake them when it’s election day.
Thus, let me ask this. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could reduce all this muck to just a couple digestible bites? Maybe even pictures—two photos that would tell us all we really need to know about the state of affairs in Washington?
Maybe that seems impossible.But let’s give it a shot anyway.
f history remembers Nancy Pelosi for just one thing, it might be the photo above. You’ve probably seen it, but if not, this was the moment during a White House meeting where she’d finally had enough. So, she stood up and let Trump have it.
Despite her anger, ironically this became a moment of joy and celebration for many women—not just Democrats, but also for no small number of independent and even Republicans. Somebody finally told off that misogynistic blowhard.
But what historians will regard most is not what she did, but what she said. In that moment, she put her pointed finger on exactly the meta-issue constantly swirling around this President—the questions of his loyalty to the Constitution…to his oath of office…and to his very country. “Why,” she asked him, do “all roads lead to Putin?” And there it was. Clarity.
The evidence of his treachery now rises higher than Trump Tower:
All of his associates who’ve gone to jail for their dealings with Russia.
His open invitation to Russia during the 2016 campaign to release stolen emails from the Clinton campaign.
The enormous funding provided by the Russians to Trump businesses (news volunteered by his own ever-helpful son, Fredo).
His attempts to undermine NATO and cancel economic restrictions against the Russians.
His conversations with Putin where observers—even translators—were barred.
His withholding of vital aid from the Ukraine, thus weakening an ally fighting an active war with the Russians.
His pullout from Syria, undermining another ally, the Kurds, and also giving Putin an expanded foothold in the Mideast.
It was that last one that triggered Pelosi’s ire. And with that simple question--”all roads”—she marked the beginning of the end for Trump’s presidency. Only members of the U.S. Senate and America’s voters will decide how long his reign will last. But this red stain isn’t going away.
So, end of story? Not quite. Take a look at photo #2.
his is how every progressive pictures every Trump voter. Angry old white yahoos, marinating in their own hatreds, with itchy trigger fingers and questionable personal hygiene. Note the slogan on the shirts: “I’d rather be a Russian than Democrat”. This is how far we’ve plunged. These guys are old enough to remember the Cold War, and who the enemy was. But of all the evils in the world, they now say fellow Americans with different political views are more vile than Vladimir Putin’s Russia. As in Putin, the guy who corrupted our last election, and is now at work to do it again. These guys are morons.
But here’s the thing—Trump did not create these guys. He just gave them permission to shout their prejudices. A friend in her 80’s recently told me, “these people have always been at the bottom of the garbage can. Trump just took off the lid.”
The strategy Trump employs is eternal, because it works. As long as there’s been war, or politics, the secret of generating loyalty and passion in your followers is to define “the other”. Make it a dangerous one. Fervently convince people who it is that personifies their fears…tell them over and over again…and followers will storm right out of the trenches or into the voting booths.
Right now, a majority of Americans believes Trump should be impeached and removed from office—a tad more than 50%. But consider this. During his own presidency, at one point 30% of Americans thought Barack Obama should have been impeached! For what? I don’t know…and it doesn’t really matter. For 30%, he was the existential enemy. He had been made “the other”.
The GOP campaign of vilifying Democrats as “big spenders” and “weak” and “unpatriotic” has been going on as long as the lifetime of anyone reading this. It doesn’t matter that it is the Republican party which is guilty of all these sins they allege.
The real difference between the parties is this. Democrats try to be fair. And Republicans try to seize power. To date, Trumpworld isn’t ceding an inch.
eople will argue for decades over who was the real victor in the 2016 election. Hillary got more votes. Trump got more electors. But the undeniable truth is that the decisive winner was Vladimir Putin.
On the day that Trump historically was served with his Articles of Impeachment, who showed up hours later in the Oval Office? The Russian Foreign Minister, of course. How convenient. No phone calls to be overheard, or electronic messages later to be subpoenaed. Just a nice friendly chat where no one could listen.
Let’s face it, a textbook narcissist like Trump would never do what anyone told him to do—ever. Unless, of course, that someone had something on him.
Bet on the fact that Putin does. Occum’s Razor has never been clearer—the simplest explanation is the true one. Putin lets Trump know exactly what he needs, then Trump dutifully mobilizes his MAGAs. Bingo. Putin is effectively in control of the White House whenever he wants to be.
And these two simple photos don’t just describe the present; they also foretell the future. Putin is hunting a second term.
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