New Orleans This sounds crazy, but I honestly and truly believe we are coming to the outer limits of the American peoples’ willingness to continue to tolerate Trump’s constant harangues and grievances. Maybe that’s wrong. The hardest core of his base loves the harangues and shares the grievances. Where we are coming to a sell-by date on Trump’s shtick is his constant need to pick risky and petty fights for no rationale reason that endanger us both domestically and internationally.
One thing that almost every organizer learns about people is that they get tired of conflict, whether right or wrong, whether they agree or disagree with the issue or the provocation. People simple wear out when there is constant bickering and fighting. After two years, Trump is knocking loudly on that door. Coupled with the rest of his myriad problems with women, taxes, family conflicts, and endless other real threats, that spells huge trouble for him and his fragile coalition.
For no good reason he has now embroiled himself in a dispute with Chief Justice John Roberts in the conservative’s favorite playground, the Supreme Court. After two years of studied silence, Roberts was finally forced into having defend the judiciary when Trump attacked a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judge as an “Obama judge.” Roberts, finally standing firm, rebutted that there was no such thing as a Bush or Clinton or Obama or Trump judge, but all judges trying to interpret and uphold the law. Yes, we could argue with him about some of that, given the way Senate Majority Leader McConnell has tried to pack the courts ideologically, but my point here is simply that no rationale politician, much less the president, would pick a fight with his own Supreme Court, which is one of the few unparalleled accomplishments he can point his followers towards.
Recently he went after a respected Admiral who oversaw the capture of Osama bin Laden, saying he was too slow to get the job done. He was too much of a ninny to get out in the rain to visit American graves on Armistice Day in Europe. He has troops babysitting and twiddling their thumbs on the border. It takes a lot to move the deeply conservative military against him, but somehow, he’s managed it.
Having gone after all the countries in Africa, picked fights with the Korea, Mexico, most of Europe, Canada, his buddies in France until recently, and any number of others, he is now picking a fight with Pakistan as well. It won’t be long before no one is left.
He sulking around the White House after his beatdown in the midterms, shadow boxing with the world.
This is scary stuff. Talk to any Trump voter, and you will have trouble hearing much in the way of a full-throated endorsement. They may like some of his policies and agree with some of his harangues, but they are recoiling from his style, from his Twitter finger, and from the constant conflict.
Mark my words. If he doesn’t straighten up, the public first, and then the voters, are going to punch his ticket as expired. They are worn out, just like the rest of us.