Let’s think about this one
You would think President Trump is in a lot of trouble. It seems every day reveals more lies, more displays of thuggish behavior, more rounds of childish tweets, more name-calling and more evidence of cheating.
You would think, if Trump knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing, that he would happily go along with the investigation. His actions and words, however, are those of a guilty person desperate to divert the spotlight away from facts that may indict him. Trump’s own lawyer, Michael Cohen, stated under oath that Trump directed him to make payments to two women for their silence. This was done for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election. If true, then Trump broke campaign finance laws, which would make him a criminal.
You would think that this would spell the end of his political career. It certainly would for anyone else. But Trump is different. Most everyone, including his supporters, knows that Donald Trump is not a decent person. Some may publicly debate that he has done nothing wrong, but in the back of our brains, yeah, we know he did those things. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and so forth.
You would think, with the looming takeover of the House by Democrats, that Trump would be worried about impeachment. I think he is not. Narcissism won’t allow that thought to take shape in his mind. Those who are against him are no match for his brutish force of personality. His tribal base, more interested in “winning” than governing, will carry him through.
You would think that good people would finally get fed up and not take it anymore. But, no, the constant media attention of his antics has desensitized the public. We can only be shocked so many times. He lies. He cheated students out of an education at Trump University. Contractors have accused him of cheating them out of payment for services. He cheated on all of his wives. He cheats at golf. But, then, everyone cheats, right?
You would think we would be appalled by the lack of polished speaking from our current president. So what if his vocabulary is at the sixth-grade level? He says what “normal” people are thinking, even though they won’t admit to having those thoughts. Words don’t really matter, right? Except for those times stocks have risen or fallen based on a comment or tweet made by Trump, or a country changes its trade policy based on his unhinged comments.
You would think the coming elections could change things for the better. Really? Let us speculate. Assume the House goes to the Democrats this November. With a majority they can bring charges for impeachment. However, it would take a twothirds majority vote in the Senate to actually remove Trump from office, and the votes aren’t there for that to happen. Republicans have shown very little inclination to stand up to Trump, and so any impeachment vote will die in the Senate. But what
about the 2020 election? Do you honestly think the electorate will even remember or care what happened in 2018? Chances are good that the Democrats will put up a candidate that will once again underestimate Trump and be defeated in the Electoral College. Any chance of charges being filed against Trump once he is out of office in 2025? Well, he could find a reason to “retire” in 2024 and the Vice President then becomes President. The new President then issues a full pardon to Trump.
Trump goes back to New York and resumes his good life once again.
You would think we should know better. All of this happened because politicians from both parties underestimated the anger of the electorate in 2016. Perhaps enough “outside” social media interference occurred to cause 77,000 voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to hand Trump an Electoral College win. What do you think now? — Devin Houston is the president/CEO of Houston Enzymes. Send comments or questions to devin.houston@ gmail.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.