One year into the Trump administration, it’s obvious that the Chaos Theory of Government isn’t working and that the president either is an idiot when it comes to governance, Putin’s stooge, or both.
For Putin, it doesn’t matter which. He and his henchmen oligarchs gain every inch of ground that America loses.
“Look at the insanity of America. That’s what democracy gets you,” the world’s most powerful murderer tells his Russian peasants. “Forget free and fair elections. Be glad you have Uncle Vlad to safeguard your values.”
During his first administration, Trump chose qualified or experienced lieutenants who stalled, rebuffed or blunted the worst of his ideas. Not this time. Now the mad king has stocked his cabinet with fourth-string yes-men, who for a fancy title would steer our nation straight into a telephone pole.
Trump promised he would drain the swamp in Washington. He was good to his word. He drained it of the capable bureaucrats who made it a manageable but slow-moving wetland, then stocked it with poisonous snakes and pond scum billionaires.
For a generation, Republicans all over America said, “It’s time to run government like a business.” So now we’re running our nation just like Trump ran his businesses, into bankruptcy and ruin.
It’s important to note here that when Trump was elected in 2016, he had zero experience in government. He never was elected dogcatcher, never led men in battle, never worked for taxpayers or held any position that made him accountable to others.
We hired a burger chef to lay the carpet in our living room and now we’re surprised the job’s not getting done.
The latest numbers are in: 1.1 million layoffs in the past year, the highest number since COVID in 2020, the most recent previous year that Trump was president. Manufacturing has shrunk for nine months in a row.
Politico reports that 46 percent of Americans say the cost of living has never been higher, a belief supported by 37 percent of citizens who voted for Trump. Forty six percent also blame Trump.
No wonder the president is gearing up for war against Venezuela. Nothing distracts a dissatisfied nation like giving another nation a good whupping. George Washington cautioned against foreign entanglements but most presidents appreciate that finding some enemy abroad plays well at home.
Americans as a whole like a good fight and can be trusted to cheer for the home team.
But you can’t stay at war forever. Eventually, the conversation returns to the price of eggs.
This is how Bill Clinton beat George H. Bush and how Barrack Obama beat John McCain. “It’s the economy, stupid,” was the rallying cry that gave Clinton two terms he squandered. McCain was left trying to justify an illegal invasion of Iraq and an unregulated Wall Street that brought down the housing and finance industries in a single stroke.
Eventually, politics comes down to the price of eggs.
Trump, who is too indebted to Putin and too old to give a damn, isn’t likely to pay a price for wrecking the economy. The White House is his only refuge from jail and his mortal coil is unwinding. The Republican Party, on the other hand, is likely to pay dearly, again.
All three U.S. presidents during the “roaring” 1920s were Republicans. They also bought into Chaos Theory, precipitating the Great Depression.
Then a single Democrat – Franklin Delano Roosevelt — was elected president 16 years in a row.