By Donald A. Collins | 20 November 2020
Church and State
Trump reprimanded a reporter at a recently rare news conference on Saturday, November 28 saying to the person I did not identify by name that “You don’t speak to a President of the United States like that”.
I don’t know what the reporter said but I do know what my reaction was to his retort! Sorry I wasn’t there to say “If you behaved like you were President instead of lying and ranting about your recent thrashing at the polls I wouldn’t have had to ask the question which you answered like the dictator you hoped to become and now won’t!”
Deranged pic.twitter.com/eyphLaQy9y
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 26, 2020
Trump will, exactly as his niece Mary Trump predicted, continue to behave in ways unfortunately unfitting for the holder of our democracy’s highest office, but then the standard for unethical behavior has been set by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In addition to not ceding his defeat, will he show at the inauguration? With the pandemic in progress, the traditional location may be different and size of the crowd will doubtless be smaller than his pre-pandemic audience!
Unlike the incumbent, Senator McConnell has just been re-elected to his seat for 4 more years. Whether he retains his position as Majority Leader will shortly be determined by the 2 Senate runoff elections in Georgia in January. This is now considered likely to happen, but one never knows for sure.
Emotions are mixed about whether complete control of Congress by one party is good, but clearly if he retains his position McConnell’s likely blocking of any major Biden legislative initiatives will result in gridlock.
I would think both sides will want to get together on an interim bill to provide benefits to the unemployed who now are suffering so badly.
Speaking of total control, the other tyranny McConnell engineered with the weak spined concurrence of his Republican colleagues was the packing of the Supreme Court, something FDR failed to do in the 1930’s. I am sure Trump will add the fact that 3 new conservative Justices were confirmed on his watch was his major accomplishment.
So here we are, enmeshed in a vicious pandemic, with unemployment affecting many particularly small businesses while the stock market hits historic highs.
Of course the lame duck incumbent quickly lauded the stock high as proof of his excellent handling of his job, as COVID deaths hit 265,000!
And of course Trump claims great credit for the astonishing speed drug companies—many not US companies—accomplished in producing vaccines which now await final FDA scrutiny. Probably months will pass while the vaccines are distributed before we can all feel comfortable in resuming pre-COVID activities.
So gridlock looms for Biden and Georgia voters have a key decision to make on January 5th. Question: would you as a Georgia voter want Trump to come to campaign for the incumbent Republican senators?
Actually, as a Democrat, I guess I would hope he comes, even as he flies in on Air Force One at taxpayer expense to try to maintain Congressional gridlock and expand the wealth gap between rich and poor!
Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC., has spent over 40 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013.
From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013
By Donald A. Collins
Publisher: Church and State Press (July 30, 2014)
ASIN: B00MA40TVE
Kindle Store
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