I am constantly astounded by the number of people who have been staunch Trump supporters and yet seem surprised when Trump turns on them or will not support them when they want something in return for this slavish loyalty to him. In this regard, as mercurial and whimsical as Trump is, he is as predictable as the sun rising. Fall in line or take your place under the bus. The latest in this lengthy line of Trump acolytes who find themselves alone and out in the cold is, Lauren Boebert, the representative from Colorado.
Boebert pushed the legislation for the Arkansas Valley Conduit that was to be enacted to bring fresh water to Eastern Colorado which is an area represented by Boebert. The non-controversial measure was passed with bipartisan support and yet, when it reached the desk of Trump, he vetoed it. The flowery words he used to justify the veto were simply more White House window dressing but as they say, it was like trying to put lipstick on a pig.
There is no doubt in any rational thinker’s mind that the veto was an act of pure and unadulterated revenge and retaliation. Boebert had committed one unforgiveable sin personally and just happened to be from Colorado which was already in Trump’s crosshairs.
Boebert, like her colleague Marjorie Taylor Green, had pressed for the release of the Epstein files. We all know, that despite Trump’s rhetoric, he does not want the full complement of the Epstein files released because it is quite likely that even if there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Trump himself, the optics will be terrible that he had such a close and enduring relationship with a convicted pedophile. Boebert was one of the few Republicans to sign the discharge petition leading to the vote that mandated the release of the Epstein files. That was a huge sin in Trump world.
Colorado, where Boebert is from, has become a recent target for Trump because the governor is not bending to Trump’s demands to release, Tina Peters, the woman who was convicted of election tampering under Colorado state laws and is currently serving her sentence in prison. Since Ms. Peters did her dastardly deeds in support of Trump’s unproven allegations that the 2020 election was stolen from him, regardless of the law, he wants to reward her support and free her from prison and her conviction. His pardon power does not extend to state laws, so he is using the next best thing – federal financial extortion.
This situation is so representative of how Trump governs that it should be a lesson to everyone and yet, it seems like people continue to think that Trump is ‘governing’ or that his retaliation or revenge won’t touch them. The sooner people around Trump and those that support him understand that it is only a matter of time before their time will come and they will find themselves under the bus alongside many who have taken the fall already.
Trump views the role of president as essentially the same as that of a mob boss. You do Trump’s bidding and toe the line, and all is well. If you step out of line, he will use all the levers of government to have you ‘whacked’ politically. (And if he thought he could get away with it, he would actually imprison his political enemies instead of sending them to political Siberia.)
As Lauren Boebert and many before her have learned, loyalty to Trump is a one-way street. In Trump world, people are just tools to be used to achieve an end and then cast aside when they are no longer useful. Welcome to the ‘under the bus’ club, Lauren!
