Recent events in Washington inspire nothing so much as sheer disbelief. Is this a government or a sitcom? Impeach Trump? Why not offer him a prime time gig on Fox News instead?
For the right price, he might take it.

“The Trump Show” could qualify as a brand new genre: “unreality TV” — whining, boasting, empty threats, laugh track and all.

Advertisement

Recently humiliated by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the president of the United States has taken to feuding with far-right insult comic Ann Coulter. Until recently his champion — Trump seemingly shut down the U.S. government because she demanded it — Coulter reacted to its reopening by tweeting:

“Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush. As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.”

Advertisement

In the real world, the recently deceased President Bush flew 58 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II, before and after being shot down and rescued by a U.S. submarine. Later in life, however, he was often polite to Democrats, making him a coward by Coulter’s reckoning.

No less an authority than former Speaker Newt Gingrich rose to Trump’s defense, pointing out that the blonde ectomorph had no clue how to put together a congressional majority. Because when it comes to shutting down the government and throwing public tantrums, nobody knows better than Newt.

Advertisement

Coulter responded rudely: “To those who would attack Newt, please remember that just as collusion is not a crime, kissing the emperor’s ass violates no federal law.”

Meanwhile, Emperor Trump broke into rhyming couplets that sounded like nothing so much as O.J. Simpson’s late defense attorney Johnny Cochrane.

Advertisement

Cochrane: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

Trump: “Build the wall, and crime will fall!”

But, hey, it worked for O.J., right? Perhaps Trump can come up with a fitting trope for his old pal Roger Stone, busted last week for lying to Congress about his 2016 dalliances with Wikileaks, Russia and the Trump campaign.

Striking Nixonian poses outside his Florida home, Stone whined that FBI “storm troopers” had treated him more harshly than Osama bin Laden — who, readers may recall, was shot to death in Pakistan by U.S. Navy Seals.

Advertisement

Somebody should familiarize Stone with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s won-loss record as a prosecutor. Mueller doesn’t fool around. He indicts you, he’s got you. Better make a deal.

As for the FBI’s pre-dawn raid, that’s what the Feds do when they think a criminal suspect might destroy evidence. Stone alibis that if he were guilty of wrongdoing he’d already have done so. Judging from the indictment, however, that’s far from clear.

Advertisement

After all, what halfway rational person would threaten to kill a witness (and kidnap his dog) in a high profile federal investigation and do so via text message? That’s what the indictment says Stone did to one Randy Credico. While endlessly duplicitous, the man may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

Indeed, the dirty trickster’s latest pratfall reminded me of the time he accused Bill Clinton of making improper advances toward his wife at a funeral. It turned out that somebody paying with Stone’s credit card had been taking out ads in “swingers” magazines: “Hot, insatiable lady and her handsome body builder husband … seek similar couples or exceptional muscular well-hung single men. She’s 40DD-24-36; he’s 195, trim, blonde, muscular and 8′ +. Prefer military, bodybuilders, jocks. No smokers or fats please.”

Stone later admitted to The New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin that the swinger was he. He’s one of Donald Trump’s oldest friends.

What, then, do you think are the odds that he and Trump never discussed Stone’s communications with Wikileaks regarding stolen Democratic emails, as the president supposedly told Mueller in written interrogatory? The two spoke on the phone constantly during the 2016 campaign, but never about that.

Advertisement

Trump reportedly also denied that he was ever told about the infamous June 6 meeting between his son Donald Jr. and Russian operatives at Trump Tower.

Yeah, right.

If you believe all that, then you’re probably also taking seriously the president’s latest made-for-TV vows to shut down the government again in two weeks unless Congress funds his nonsense wall. That’s not going to happen, because if he tried it, Congress would override him overnight. The smarter GOP senators have clearly figured out that if Trump goes down to thunderous electoral defeat in 2020, he takes the Republican Party with him.

Somewhat more likely is a phony “emergency” declaration giving Trump the authority to raid the treasury on behalf of his fixed idea. A congressional majority can reverse that, too. So can the federal courts. Again, clever Republicans understand that abandoning the constitution’s separation of powers for Trump’s short-term political convenience could prove disastrous long term.

How The Trump Show ends, none can say; hopefully less in tragedy than in farce.

Be a Part of the Fight

Step up and make a difference by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times, the progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock that's been fighting for truth for 50 years. Our tough, determined, and feisty journalism has earned us over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, all of whom value our commitment to holding the powerful accountable. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Join us in the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times today.

Previous article Legislative priority: A Capitol parking deck. Who’s got the money? Next article Send us your Big Ideas to make Arkansas a better place!