The Madness of King Donald.....

 

Robert Slager

tS

The Madness of King Donald ...

Every single day a shiver runs up my spine as I open my newsfeed on Facebook. I know what is coming. I know I am going to have to type the same thing I have typed far too many times over the past few weeks.

"I am very sorry for your loss."

It is absolutely heartbreaking. There are two tragedies occurring simultaneity right now. Far too many people are losing friends and family members due to COVID-19. Others are losing loved ones because of the collateral damage the pandemic has left in its wake - the suffocating loneliness and isolation so many of us have endured, the iron grip of addiction, and the crippling pain of no longer being able to provide for their families as they once proudly did.

And as the United States continues to face its most difficult health care crisis in 100 years the president is fiddling as the country burns.

My mother used to tell me that character is defined by how we deal with adversity. Donald Trump came face-to-face with such a moment and he blinked. Instead of showing the compassion and understanding millions of Americans need from their leader right now he turned a deaf ear to their pain. Even now, near the end of his presidency, it is still all about him. It is about his grievances and how he has been victimized by sinister dark forces aligning against him. His ego cannot accept that he has been rejected by the American people. There is absolutely no evidence he was cheated during the election. There is plenty of evidence that he lost because of the self-serving way he callously handled the pandemic. He wanted to ride a strong economy to re-election. He forgot about the value of human life, and that cost him his presidency.

Watching him practically beg Republicans to overturn the election would be funny if it weren't so sad. Trump is attempting a coup in broad daylight. He will ultimately fail, but once again he is proving he doesn't care about the collateral damage he leaves behind. Our democracy is a precious - and fragile - thing. People have given their lives trying to protect it. It is what makes this country so great. We vote. The loser congratulates the winner. There is a peaceful transition of power. That is how it has always been.

Donald Trump doesn't care about any of that. He doesn't care about the 10,000 Americans who are dying every single week right now. All he cares about is gaming the system one last time so he can consider himself a "winner." He has convinced his cult that he is the victim despite all the evidence to the contrary. The damage he continues to do to the institutions we hold dear is sickening.

There is a core truth to leadership that continues to escape Donald Trump. When you are President of the United States you cannot be a "winner" if so many Americans are losing their lives every day. Leadership is about lifting the tide for all boats. It's not about sailing above everyone else.

Donald Trump only cares about his own loss. That is why he will always be a loser. That's one loss I will never be sorry about.