On July 22, 2016, during his Presidential campaign, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: “Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find the 33,000 emails that are missing [from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s computer]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
Hours later, the Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow targeted Clinton’s personal office and hit more than 70 other Clinton campaign accounts.
He fired FBI Director James Comey.
On May 9, 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey for investigating Russia’s subversion of he 2016 Presidential race. Comey had refused to pledge his personal loyalty to Trump during a private dinner at the White House in January.
He gave CIA secrets to Russia, which had intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump win.
On May 10, 2017—the day after he fired Comey—Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office—and gave them highly classified Israeli Intelligence about an Islamic State plot to turn laptops into concealable bombs.
He has repeatedly violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which forbids Presidents to profit from office.
On January 27, 2017, Trump signed an executive order that blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
But four other Middle East countries were not covered by Trump’s travel ban: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Why? Because they are all countries where Trump has close business ties.
He hypocritically claimed “I am your President of law and order” after a lifetime of law-breaking.
He has been forced to shut down a fraudulent university and a fraudulent charity. He has bragged about buying politicians. He has been impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He ordered police and military forces to attack peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park so he could film a photo op there.
* * * * *
Donald Trump’s rise to power has been fueled by bribery and intimidation. These methods served him well—until the advent of Coronavirus. The pandemic remains impervious to bribes or intimidation.
He has repeatedly lied about it:
- It’s a Democratic hoax.
- “One day, it will disappear.”
- There is no need for wearing masks or social distancing.
- There is a cure for COVID-19—the malaria drug hyroxychloroquine.
When the nation partially shut down in March and April, he offered one “solution”: It must immediately reopen. Those states which did so—mostly Red ones in the South and Midwest—are now flooded with COVID-19 cases and deaths.
By July 30, COVID-19 cases in the United States stood at 4.6 million—and COVID-19 deaths stood at 155,333.
Trump planned to win re-election as the President who had created a booming economy and high employment. But businesses across the country remain shuttered—or likely soon will be. Nearly half of all Americans are unemployed.
To force frightened Americans back to unsafe working conditions, Trump demands they send their children back to COVID-19-threatened schools.
Meanwhile, there is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19—and no treatment to cure it.
Trump can only falsely accuse his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, of being a socialist—even as he regularly praises Vladimir Putin, the Communist dictator of Russia.
In his book, The World of Herodotus, Aubrey de Selincourt writes that the Greek historian filled his book, The Histories, with “stories of the perils of pride—pride of wealth, pride of power, pride of success, and, deadliest of all, the pride which leads a man to forget that he is nothing in the sight of the gods.”
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THE PRICE OF HUBRIS
In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on August 3, 2020 at 12:08 amThe ancient Greeks defined hubris as overweening pride. For them, acting as if you were equal to or more powerful than the gods—or trying to defy them—was the most serious crime you could commit. And it came with a divine punishment.
Donald Trump has acted with hubris his entire life—but never more so than once he declared himself a Presidential candidate in 2015.
He savagely insulted his opponents. From June 15, 2015, when he launched his Presidential campaign, until October 24, 2016, he fired nearly 4,000 angry, insulting tweets at 281 people and institutions—including his fellow Republicans, journalists, news organizations, countries and even celebrities unconnected with politics.
Donald Trump
During debates, he belittled his Republican and Democratic opponents with insulting nicknames.
Political pundits expected that voters would reject Trump for violating long-held niceties of political discourse. But they never did.
He openly called for the subversion of the American political system.
On July 22, 2016, during his Presidential campaign, Trump said at a press conference in Doral, Florida: “Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find the 33,000 emails that are missing [from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s computer]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
Hours later, the Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow targeted Clinton’s personal office and hit more than 70 other Clinton campaign accounts.
He fired FBI Director James Comey.
On May 9, 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey for investigating Russia’s subversion of he 2016 Presidential race. Comey had refused to pledge his personal loyalty to Trump during a private dinner at the White House in January.
He gave CIA secrets to Russia, which had intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump win.
On May 10, 2017—the day after he fired Comey—Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office—and gave them highly classified Israeli Intelligence about an Islamic State plot to turn laptops into concealable bombs.
He has repeatedly violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which forbids Presidents to profit from office.
On January 27, 2017, Trump signed an executive order that blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
But four other Middle East countries were not covered by Trump’s travel ban: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Why? Because they are all countries where Trump has close business ties.
He hypocritically claimed “I am your President of law and order” after a lifetime of law-breaking.
He has been forced to shut down a fraudulent university and a fraudulent charity. He has bragged about buying politicians. He has been impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He ordered police and military forces to attack peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park so he could film a photo op there.
* * * * *
Donald Trump’s rise to power has been fueled by bribery and intimidation. These methods served him well—until the advent of Coronavirus. The pandemic remains impervious to bribes or intimidation.
He has repeatedly lied about it:
When the nation partially shut down in March and April, he offered one “solution”: It must immediately reopen. Those states which did so—mostly Red ones in the South and Midwest—are now flooded with COVID-19 cases and deaths.
By July 30, COVID-19 cases in the United States stood at 4.6 million—and COVID-19 deaths stood at 155,333.
Trump planned to win re-election as the President who had created a booming economy and high employment. But businesses across the country remain shuttered—or likely soon will be. Nearly half of all Americans are unemployed.
To force frightened Americans back to unsafe working conditions, Trump demands they send their children back to COVID-19-threatened schools.
Meanwhile, there is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19—and no treatment to cure it.
Trump can only falsely accuse his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, of being a socialist—even as he regularly praises Vladimir Putin, the Communist dictator of Russia.
In his book, The World of Herodotus, Aubrey de Selincourt writes that the Greek historian filled his book, The Histories, with “stories of the perils of pride—pride of wealth, pride of power, pride of success, and, deadliest of all, the pride which leads a man to forget that he is nothing in the sight of the gods.”
And, in the pages of The Histories lies this warning: “Look to the end, no matter what it is you are considering. Often enough, God gives a man a glimpse of happiness, and then utterly ruins him.”
Donald Trump has spent a lifetime committing crimes. Holding the Presidency is his only defense against prosecution—since a sitting President cannot be indicted. If he is turned out of office, state-level prosecution awaits him in New York and possibly at the federal level as well.
Trump’s lifelong glimpse of happiness may be about to end.
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