No Way Out

Donald Trump is not the most physically fit example of white supremacy that he claims to be. While he doesn't explicitly declare his racial supremacy he does insist that he is the mostest and the bestest specimen ever and that by extension the best President in the history of civilization. He claims to be a "stable genius" capable of comprehending the most complex social, political, financial and military matters ever to face the country and the world. His self-assessment shows him that everyone loves him and worships him as the Chosen One.

In his mind he can do no wrong and never has. However there is a blind spot in his vision that prevents him from seeing the "frowns on the faces of the jugglers and the clowns who do tricks for you [him]." ~Dylan. Egos are as fragile as they are massive. If they were not, dictators would not become as despotic as they always do. His brand of control requires a hands-off ability to do anything and everything he wants to do. He has even declared that he has that "absolute right" to do so.

Throughout his 70 some years he has been an entitled child funded by paternal wealth and denied maternal love. He has been given everything he has without the effort it takes to appreciate the building of the estate. All of his failings have been plastered over by legal teams and backdoor appeals to greater wealth.

I'd bet Donald Trump has never actually been in court as the direct defendant, criminal or civil. His lawyers have always been in the trenches while he sat in his tower. Those proceedings were not televised or made public. He always wrangled the court and kept a low profile. Even when he lost the case it was his "organization" which was penalized, not him personally. This impeachment is not against his Administration but personally against him. Therein lies a huge difference.

As a White male in America he has come to expect he is entitled to all that he wants. Everything anyone else attains diminished the gap between his self-worth and theirs. White men in America have a predisposition for becoming "workplace shooters" and people who rampage with their own demise as the planned outcome. In their careers they were always being given promotions and pay raises. Their social stature always was gaining. They equate their importance with their jobs.

Then comes the day when a "lesser qualified" man or woman get the promotion, or they have become problem employees due to their lack of respect for greater authority or oversight. The HR Department becomes involved and through a steady progression of discipline they are fired or are about to be fired. Not being able to bear the ramifications of the discipline, their entire life comes crashing down around them. The idea becomes "everyone is against me, making things up and trying to get me fired." Thoughts of suicide and revenge come to pre-occupy their minds. They cannot cope with their own failures.

Whether or not the Senate votes to remove him, his ego will be severely wounded. He will not take it laying down. His behavior will become ever more erratic and extreme. I spent a good decade of my professional career dealing with labor relations, problem employees and the damage they can manifest until they are finally gone.

If the Senate votes to remove there will be a period of challenges and recriminations, motions to dismiss and delay, and every revenge motivated policy one can think of. Just consider what he has done to California over the 2019 wild fires there. Consider the neglect of Puerto Rico after Maria.

On the flip side, if the Senate votes to not remove him in light of the overwhelming evidence of criminality and impeachable actions, there will be an uproar of discontent that they were bought and the vote thereby invalid. Trump is already promising campaign cash to Senators who support him and will deny funds to those who do not. The jury pool has already been tainted. There will be no end in sight.

He cannot come away from the impeachment inquiry without being measurable changed by it. Facing multiple state indictments after he has been dislodged from the Oval Office, he cannot win either way. There is no easy way out.