Trump’s Secrets and the Sad Truth About His Apologists

Donald Trump has world class baggage.  He has so many skeletons in the closet that he needs a whole mansion full of closets to house them.  But the most revealing thing about his baggage and skeletons is what their existence has to say about his supporters.

Some of his skeletons have remained in the closet and others have emerged.  His tax records, for example, have mostly remained a secret.  Unlike all his predecessors, Trump refused to make them public.  And then there are his records from high school and college. According to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, these schools have all been threatened with legal action if they publicize any of their records for Trump.  Do his supporters believe that these records are of no importance?  Do they believe the records would show normal, healthy financial and business practices, or stellar academic performances?  Of course not!  They know that his business dealings have been highly questionable, unethical and ruthless, if not downright illegal.  And they know that he hasn't the slightest interest in educating himself.   But they simply don’t care! 

They don’t want them released any more than Trump does, because that will just be one more thing that they have to rationalize and attempt to defend.  In the end they feel that Trump is pushing their conservative policies and appointing conservative justices and they don’t really care how pathetic a human being he is. 

And of course, his supporters in political office are all running scared, knowing that any opposition to Trump will energize his base against them and they may lose their precious power and position.

It must be exhausting to be a Trump toady.  First having to defend his sexual predation and the paid-off stripper and Playboy girlfriend (and God only knows how many more there are under his ubiquitous non-disclosure agreements).  Then excusing his unbelievable number of lies, conspiracy theories and outright insane tweets.  Then tuning out his constant, almost cartoon-like bragging.  Then ignoring the fact that two of the most highly regarded conservative voices – George Will and Charles Krauthammer – wrote tirelessly warning of how incompetent and corrosive Trump is.  Then rationalizing the fact that his cabinet and advisors have been a revolving door with many of them speaking out about how horrible Trump is as a President.  Then shrugging off the impeachment accusation that he used American foreign policy support as a bribe to get a foreign government to provide ammunition against Biden (which many republican senators conceded but were unwilling to act upon).  Then somehow not reacting to the fact that even historically non-political senior military leaders have come out with very damning criticisms of Trump’s leadership and decision-making (ADM Mullen, GEN Mattis, GEN Kelly, GEN Allen, ADM McRaven just to name a few).

And now they will be forced to go to the mattresses again to find some way to rationalize John Bolton’s devastating critique of Trump. 

Any support of Donald Trump is an exercise in cynical, dangerous, political desperation.  It is a classic case of doubling down on a bad bet, of stubbornly refusing to see the writing on the wall.  Everyone, including his supporters, knows what a pathetic human being he is.  But it is hard for human beings to admit a mistake, and partisanship is a very addictive drug.  

The Faustian bargain that otherwise sane and good people have made to keep Trump in office will go down with the support of fascist and communist leaders in the 20^th century as another chilling example of mass hysteria meeting widespread ignorance.  Let us hope and pray that it does not have the same consequences.