Here we are, five months into a presidency that may last another 3.5 years or longer. Any hope we had that Mr. Trump would actually lead the country responsibly are gone, and many around the world wonder what kind of place the U.S. and the world will be after his term. I think we must consider impeachment. It could result from any number of “high crimes and misdemeanors” Trump may have committed, including but not limited to collusion with a foreign government to sway our election, accepting money or favors from foreign governments or businesses and possibly granting return favors, obstruction of justice, abuse of power, or something we can’t even imagine at this point.
In the recent Senate Intelligence Committee hearing with Jeff Sessions, Republican Senator Tom Cotton asked him if he liked spy novels and then expressed skepticism about the lines of questioning by Democrats, asking, ”Have you ever…heard of a plot line so ridiculous that a sitting United States senator and an ambassador of a foreign government colluded in an open setting with hundreds of other people…?”
They had a good laugh. But I didn’t. I have frequently said and heard scholars of U.S. history say recently, “you can’t make this stuff up,” or “this is the stuff of spy novels,” or “anyone who wrote a novel in which a preposterous character like Donald Trump gets elected president couldn’t find a publisher.” Unprecedented has probably become the most used word in media these days.
I would like to engage in my own penchant for writing fiction and send a message from an imaginary centrist Trump supporter who has decided he or she made a mistake.
“I believed him when he promised he would make America great again. I believed him when he said he would put Democrats and Republicans in a room and make them solve problems, I believed he would repeal and replace Obamacare with something better that would cost less, bring back all kinds of great jobs, rebuild our infrastructure. I believed we would have such an economic boom that he could cut taxes and still have money for tax cuts and infrastructure projects without raising the debt. I believed him when he said he would protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
“I believed him when he promised he would make America great again. I believed him when he said he would put Democrats and Republicans in a room and make them solve problems, I believed he would repeal and replace Obamacare with something better that would cost less, bring back all kinds of great jobs, rebuild our infrastructure. I believed we would have such an economic boom that he could cut taxes and still have money for tax cuts and infrastructure projects without raising the debt. I believed him when he said he would protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
“But now I’m beginning to understand that his exaggerations and boasting are something more than campaign strategy. I don’t see how he could claim that the House health care bill, which the CBO said would cause 24 million Americans to lose their health insurance could be the “great plan” he said it was. Now he calls it “mean.” So I wonder what the Senate will come up with and how much less “mean” that will be. Does that mean it will only kick half as many off their insurance? Will we really be covered for pre-existing conditions? And during the campaign he railed against Wall Street and said he would go after hedge fund managers and make them pay their fair share. But I haven’t heard anything about that since, and now there’s a bill to roll back the protections they passed after the financial crisis of 2008.
“I know in his first couple weeks he made a big deal about calling some CEO’s and talking about keeping jobs in the U.S., and maybe he helped save a few jobs, and the economy seems to be humming along, but it doesn’t seem much different than it was in the last few years. We’ll see. But when you combine all that with some of the crazy tweets and the way he just goes after everybody, including Comey, who, you know is a pretty straight shooter, and now supposedly Mueller, the former FBI director who is investigating him, well, it just seems like he must be hiding something to be so afraid of just letting them do their jobs.”
Yeah, I know, it’s fiction. Trump supporters for the most part are die hards wearing blinders and reading, listening to, and watching the media that reinforces their belief in Trump. But actually only about 38% percent of voters view him favorably (according to FiveThirtyEight.com), down from a high of 48% after the election. So, perhaps, before the 2018 mid-terms, Republicans in Congress will decide he’s more of a liability than an asset and start impeachment proceedings. If not, the other 50-60% of us better get to the polls and elect a Congress that will.
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