Yes, mark today.
When talking to grandkids, historians, others over at Starbucks, August 23, 2019, was the confluence of all things insane in the Trump presidency, the tipping point.
Why today? Because today brought forth the perfect storm in cascading bad news involving Trump problems politically, the country’s fate economically, our international relationships, Trump’s issues with the Democrats in Congress, and it’s all wrapped in and around questions regarding Trump’s fitness, his competence, frankly, his mental health.
I suspect historians, in pointing to today, will all start with this, as posted by Urs earlier today:
….better off without them. The vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must STOP. Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019
“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China …”
We could start with this: Does he actually believe he has the authority to order American companies to change their business plans? If he knows he doesn’t, then what motivated a quote that any sentient person knows will send markets tanking?
One can find a great deal of fault in our China policy, I sure do, but it seems important to note that “our great American companies” would not BE American companies if the president could order them around. Moreover, if there were viable and economically sensible alternatives to China, our “great American companies” wouldn’t be manufacturing in China, nor selling stuff there. But he tweeted it anyway, which makes one wonder if he’s now just tweeting economic “orders” off the cuff, as the “leader of the free world.” This is terrifying.
Today was the day we heard that a whistle blower from the IRS went to the Democrats in the House with inside information on Trump’s tax issues, stating that he/she saw irregularities. Whistleblowers only become whistleblowers when they have no confidence in the usual channels. The usual channels in this case involve reporting to Trump sycophants. This whistleblower could easily have handed the Democrats in the House all that is needed to sink Trump, on their own, and there would be a bit of a lag before we knew.
Today was the day that the markets figured out that our trade war with China will not be ending soon, and will not be ending any more favorably than when it began. It certainly will not end with an economic gain that makes up the economic pain imposed upon the beating heart of the American economy, the agriculture industry.
Today was the day that opened with news about the new AP poll showing Trump had only a 36% approval rating and a 62% disapproval rating. Nearly 2 in 3 Americans disapprove of Trump, as of today. Horrid poll numbers.
Today Trump winged off to the G7 Summit in the south of France where he will meet with real world leaders who have no reason to take him seriously, other than to seriously fear what he’ll fuck up next. Oh! They already fear his new “thoughts” on letting Russia back into the “G” and making it “8” again, because “we talk about Russia all the time.” Right now, I think it more likely that the G7 kicks out the United States before it will bring in Russia.
Trump is never worse than when he’s on the road at an international summit. We can expect complete unbridled bullshit heading our way from “over there.” It will not get better over the next three days. It will get worse.
As of today, 130 Democratic Representative joined the calls for impeachment hearings. Speaker Pelosi cannot hold off much longer. The most recent additions changed their minds before the events of the end of this week. I predict at least three, perhaps 6-10 will join that caucus by the beginning of next week.
Personally, Trump has never been worse. Today ends a week where Trump asked who was a greater enemy of the United States, the leader of Communist China, or Trump’s own handpicked Federal Reserve Chair? Earlier this week Trump referred to the leader of a cherished and stable ally as “nasty.” He called himself “the chosen one” and accused Jews of being “disloyal.” Even measuring by the Trumpter scale, this week would stand out as breathtakingly insane. People are openly talking about Trump decompensating before our eyes.
It happened today, a Friday, the confluence of a crazy day, with insane news, the end of an insane week, with the country holding its head, wishing all the noise would just stop for two minutes.
But it won’t. It never has.
So what is different today?
Republicans.
They have their two Supreme Court justices, they have their tax cut. But they do not want a trade war taking the country careening off a cliff into the Recession Sea. They definitely don’t want to piss of more powerful allies, or the American business community, made up of our “great American companies.” But, more than anything, they do not want to be the last ones supporting a political loser, someone polling at 36% – – and that 36% is made up of polling finished mid-week, it only got digested today.
One wonders if a poll were taken right now, if Trump’s numbers wouldn’t dip into the low 30s territory.
Today was the day that everything changed.
The net is far more permanent than love. This column will be sitting fresh in the nets next year. If I look foolish in 12 months, I will point it out myself, and y’all can make me eat some humble pie. I hope part of it will have to do with the country doing better.
But I don’t think so.
Despite hundreds of horrid moments, days and weeks in the past, despite all the embarrassment, gaslighting, and, yes, pain, none measured up to this week, ending today. And he is no more capable of turning it around than he is capable of learning from a mistake.
No, it all changed today.
That’s not necessarily good news.
Hold your heads, this is going to get uglier before it gets better. But mark your calendars, because we cannot get to the end until we begin. We began, today.
****
Peace, y’all.
Jason
Is anyone feeling as stressed out as I am?!!! I can hardly wait to see some video from the G7 – hopefully he will be ignored major big time!
I’m impressed that your nerve endings still have enough sensitivity to still be stressed, as mine have long gone into a coma. I’m thinking that they will ignore him as much as they can get away with, might even coordinate with China to ensure his exit.
For whatever my opinion is worth, Jason, you look neither foolish nor premature in saying what you just did. We have been building to this flashpoint for two and three quarters years now. We always knew it was going to end in tears.
I would add one other interesting event to your list, though it’s more of an omen than an actual meaningful event: the passing of David Koch as confirmed this morning. Funny how all the rest happened on the day of his exit from the scene, yes?
China owns a $1.11 TRILLION debt from the U.S. as of May 2019. Does 45 not know this? This is why there has always been deals made with China – so they don’t call in the phucking debt! They are our largest debt holder. Hope the repugnants wake up and figure out the 25th Amendment might save their jobs. (Doubt it.)
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-debt-to-china-how-much-does-it-own-3306355
A cover for J. Michael Stracynzski’s comic series “Rising Stars” comes to mind: “Change the world…or we’ll change it for you.”
I like your idea about the G-7 throwing the U.S. out before it lets Russia back in. HA! Maybe they’ll throw Trump out. Wouldn’t that be rich? Trump has run out of tricks. He’s recycling all the bullshit ploys that got him elected in 2016 and they’re not working now, the racism and the lies about the economy. I think he may have gone too far this time. He may be through. It will be interesting to see how the dialogue changes post G-7. I agree with you totally that this is a turning point.
His insanity can no longer be ignored by those who wanted to benefit by imposing their own swampishness through him. The pilot has gone insane. Time to put on the parachutes.
Just like the infamous Japanese kamikaze of WW2, they have no parachutes. They are divine wind…pretty stinky too.
I can’t help but think of a real world analogy from my youth – the explosion of the oxygen tank on Apollo 13. The three guys in the command module heard it and the subsequent bangs & also saw and heard all those warning lights and audio alarms on the console in front of them. Back at Mission Control in Houston the engineers refused to believe something catastrophic had taken place, believing in the system redundancies and that the readings they were getting on their computer screens HAD to be telemetry/instrumentation problems – even as the reports from the spacecraft were telling them about the large bang & subsequent ones and the difficulty controlling the spacecraft.
The GOP of today are those engineers in Houston, refusing in the face of real information being transmitted by highly trained and experienced test pilots who had all been through in-flight emergencies during their careers to believe what the evidence on their computer screens was telling them. Every second turned out to be precious and it was only by skipping a ton of procedures and the astronauts & engineers making things up as they went that the crew was saved by powering down the command module and starting up the lunar module – both procedures done by the book should have taken several hours yet the had mere minutes – the estimate once everyone was on the same page that it was indeed an actual explosion/emergency was fifteen minutes max. Even then, a mistake that turned out to figure large was made regarding power although to be fair nothing like this had ever been anticipated. But shutting down the fuel cells not only didn’t stop the oxygen (and other) leak but resulted in only batteries that would be affected by extreme cold to handle most of the rest of the mission.
It took some extremely bright and talented people working almost without break to get the crew safely back to earth.
We don’t have that kind of talent in the Trump administration. And while you may be correct that the GOP will finally accept the reality of what’s going on AND that unlike the engineers at NASA who wouldn’t die if they fucked things up Republicans will also suffer mightily during what is to come. They haven’t merely tied themselves to the anchor of the Trumptanic, they’ve welded themselves to it. Turn on Trump now to prevent a calamity worse than the 2008/9 recession and their political careers are toast. Their investments will take a big hit of course but most of them won’t face the kind of ruin their voters and the rest of us will. I have little faith that come next week the GOP will quietly sit down with Democrats and engineer Trump’s prompt removal from office and agree on a plan to mitigate the economic (and other damage) that’s already assured.
I hope I’m wrong and you’re right. I really do. But I grew up eight miles from the Mississippi and Missouri so I’m quite familiar with the “show me” attitude from my neighboring state which they made their nickname – they literally call themselves “The Show Me State.” I’ll believe today truly was a turning point if within a couple of weeks we see significant numbers of GOP leaders in Congress and elsewhere calling for Trump’s removal and pledging to support both removal via the 25th and Articles of Impeachment – and a public pledge by the majority of GOP Senators to convict.
Talk is cheap and we’ve had all too much of furrowed brows and talk of being “troubled” by this or that from Trump with them turning right around and ignoring it when it matters. I don’t trust them to do what’s right for the country or to stand up in opposition if Trump tries to declare a national emergency and cancel elections next year. After all, they still control most of the government.
His bag of crap is moldy.
Superb writing, Jason.