“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”
― The Brothers Karamazov
I think that the above quote is about as good a diagnosis of what ails Donald Trump as you are going to find anywhere. Trump told the Associated Press all kinds of strange things in his Tuesday interview, where he sat in the Oval Office hugging himself, but probably the strangest of all was that if the Republicans lose the House, or both chambers of congress, it won’t be because he wasn’t absolutely wonderful, and it certainly won’t reflect upon the job he’s done as *resident.
Trump told The Associated Press he senses voter enthusiasm rivaling 2016 and he expressed cautious optimism that his most loyal supporters will vote even when he is not on the ballot. He dismissed suggestions that he might take responsibility, as his predecessor did, for midterm losses or view the outcome as a referendum on his presidency.
“No, I think I’m helping people,” Trump said. “I don’t believe anybody’s ever had this kind of an impact.”
He’s right about that, only not the way he thinks. The impact he’s had so far as been nothing but negative. If this is winning, yes, we are tired of it, how soon can we stop, please?
Then Trump summoned up his imaginary followers, who always appear to him at convenient times, probably as the voices in his head.
He said he believes he’s doing his job, but allowed he has heard from some of his supporters who say they may not vote this November.
“I’m not running,” he said. “I mean, there are many people that have said to me … ‘I will never ever go and vote in the midterms because you’re not running and I don’t think you like Congress.’” He added: “Well, I do like Congress.”
And he’ll like the Democratic congress that may become a reality on November 6. He’ll like it just fine.
If Democrats take the House and pursue impeachment or investigations — including seeking his long-hidden tax returns— Trump said he will “handle it very well.”
On the ongoing Russia investigation, Trump defended his son Donald Trump Jr. for a Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer offering damaging information about Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump called his son a “good young guy” and said he did what any political aide would have done.
Trump again cast doubt on climate change, suggesting, incorrectly, that the scientific community was evenly split on the existence of climate change and its causes. There are “scientists on both sides of the issue,” Trump said.
Who those scientists are or where they might be found, he did not say. But not to worry, Trump’s got it under control. Whatever happens, it won’t be his fault, and he’ll deal with the subpoenas that will be flying at the White House like bats, no problemo, and everybody is lying about everything anyway, and he’s just going to trust his instincts — no matter how far afield they may be from empirical reality.
Speaking of reality, Trump is going to get a taste of a lot of it in the near future. The nature of the business that Trump is now in, like it or not, is that the midterm elections are a referendum on the president. The recent Morning Consult/Politico poll found that voters see little difference between GOP candidates and Trump.
A majority of voters (56%) say President Trump represents the majority viewpoint of Washington Republicans. That is 13 percentage points higher than a similar poll conducted in April, and up 23 points since August 2017.
Together, it marks a net 45-point swing toward Trump as the face of the GOP in D.C., since Morning Consult first asked the question eight months into his first term as president. The trend polling shows Democrats, Republicans and independents all growing more likely to say Republicans in Washington are reflective of their party’s standard bearer.
What a fool believes, he sees.
This was really good.
You see how effing out to lunch and in a dream world this man is? He is going to be held to the same standards as Obama, Bush, Clinton, just keep reciting names backwards — like it or not. But nooooo, in HIS case, he’s not responsible.
And that’s fine, actually. I can’t wait to hear what he says about the Rethugs who lose races, how they were lousy candidates or whatever. That will be a hoot.
We will find out very, very soon. I am voting this weekend, it will feel so good.