Today was a sad day in America’s history as we watched Trump being arraigned at the Federal court in Miami and being charged with 37 counts including obstruction and violating the Espionage Act. He is now the first American president to be indicted on Federal charges. He has already been indicted on 34 counts in New York in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. There are also two more investigations underway – the Federal investigation into the January 6th insurrection and the investigation in Georgia into Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. He also recently lost a civil defamation suit regarding a sexual molestation/rape allegation and was ordered to pay the plaintiff $5,000,000! And don’t forget he is also the first American president to be impeached twice.
In addition, many people in Trump’s orbit have been indicted and some have served prison time – namely his former attorney, Michael Cohen, the Chief Financial Officer of the Trump organization, Alan Weisselberg, and Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign lead for a short time. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, Roger Stone, a political advisor to Trump, Steve Bannon, a political advisor to Trump, and several others have been charged with various crimes. Does anyone else see a trend here?
Regardless of whether you like Trump, it strikes me that most reasonable people should look at all the above and conclude that it is just not in the best interest of the United States of America to have to deal with all this drama! It also would seem to call into question the integrity of Trump and those around him. It is very depressing, considering all the above, that millions of people seem to overlook these issues and the adverse impact it must have on the country. These same people claim they are patriots! How can it be patriotic to put the country through all of this. Surely there are other qualified candidates who do not have all this baggage that will, if Trump stays in the presidential race, once again, result in the country being dragged through the mud.
The other thing that should give reasonable people pause is the fact that, given Trump’s history and his penchant for seeking revenge, most experts agree that if he were to be re-elected to the White House, the primary focus of his administration would be seeking retribution against everyone who he believes wronged him. There are many, many complex issues facing this country from all corners of the world, and we certainly don’t need someone in the White House who spends most of his time trying to figure how to use the levers of government to punish his real and perceived enemies. Our foreign adversaries would love it, but it would be a huge betrayal to the American people at large.
I make no secret of the fact that I believe Trump is a despicable person with absolutely no moral compass or empathy for anyone other than Donald Trump. However, given everything I’ve written above, my question to the Republicans and all his supporters, “Is this person the best you have to offer?” And if the answer is, “Yes,” that is an extremely sad commentary on the state of the country and the state of the Republican party.
