THERE IS NO TRUMP CARD

 

THERE IS NO TRUMP CARD

 

As a writer, a student of philosophy and history I approach Trump’s ascendancy to the White House slightly different than most.  One can divine quite a bit from Trump’s character based on his first term and how it ended; his refusal to admit to an election loss and rather than fading away in the background with grace he acted like a president in waiting.  Trump never went away. He got his wish for another term, granted him by the American electorate, electrified by the antics of the great disruptor and agitator.  For some strange reason his antics, his bluster and tough talk ignited the worst in the people who gave him their vote.  This is a man who got bailed out by several bankruptcy courts, by mob money and he literally got away with murder (5 people died in the January 6^th storming of the Capitol), and with inciting an insurrection.  It is amazing how past and present some of the worst psychopaths have risen to the highest office in the land and all of them have led their nations to ruin and disaster.

Trump’s behavior is like that of a bull in a china shop; in words and in actions he is all over the place and to put it bluntly; you don’t go around throwing shit at the wall in the hope that some of it will stick.  But he does.  Time and time again.

His mental state or acumen can only be described as delusional.  He actually thinks that the world fears him, his power, and that he can say and do whatever he wants and with impudence.  He imagines himself as the supreme ruler of the world and everybody kowtows, bows and does as he commands.

Discerning heads of state know that when it comes to the complexities of state, of nationhood and your role on the global stage you move within a pre-existing framework of accepted behavior and negotiated trade agreements.

The expected rules of state conduct apparently don’t apply to Trump.  He makes things up as he goes along.  He feels invincible and beyond reproach.  You don’t go around making fun of people straight to their faces or behind their backs.  And you most definitely don’t invent government policy on the spot, on a whim, hoping that some of that brown stuff will stick.

Trump is a typical bully, a narcissistic psychopath, and you don’t negotiate with bullies by catering to their impulses and vanity.  Canada and the world need to stop making excuses and coming up with ways to placate and cater to his demands.

You will never please a bully.  You don’t make excuses for crackpot psychopaths and delusional dictators.  It simply doesn’t work.  It didn’t work for Hitler, for Mussolini, for Stalin, Putin, Mao, just to name a few of the deviants that have set the world on fire.  Trump will be Trump until the day he dies and he will carry all his grudges and grievances to the grave as ignorant as when he was alive.  Luckily he is old and he will keel over one of these days and the world will be a better place.

Before he has even taken office he has threatened Canada and Mexico with steep trade tariffs.  His reasoning is as pathetic as the bulk of the rhetoric and lies that spew forth from his lips on a daily basis.  There is no fact checking with Trump.  No advice, no careful consideration or how decades of a successfully integrated economy between the U.S. and Canada is being undermined by his absolute ignorance and stupidity.

There is no right or wrong when you are dealing with a delusional, narcissistic moron, drunk on power and self-importance.  Did Hitler listen?  Did Stalin?  Did Saddam Hussein?  And look what they did to their countries!

The big mistake everybody makes when dealing with a psychopath is the notion that you can reason or negotiate with them.  You can’t.  Those of us who believe in democracy, in freedom, in justice and equality have a reason to fight evil, whereas evil fights without reason.

Who really cares whether he likes us or not.  Trump deals with reality like a child picking the petals from a flower in a game of; I love you, I love you not.  He will continue to surround himself with people who will do his bidding, who will whitewash his lies and who will attempt to explain what they think he thinks.  Sucking up to Trump comes at a cost.  Throwing people and nations under the bus is one of his favorite tactics.

For Canada it is important that a long and prosperous trade relationship between the two countries survives the carnage that Trump may inflict with his proposed 25 percent trade tariffs.  As a nation, as Canadians we need to draw a line in the sand and fight fire with fire.

Canada is not for sale.  We’re not for sale.  And if Trump cannot appreciate decades of mutual and respectful cross-border trade and success, too bad!

What the world fears is not Trump the man, but how a delusional psychopath can upset and ruin an already fragile global balance.  We’ve got enough problems to deal with as it is and we don’t need a loose cannon in charge of one of the world’s biggest economies.  Well, he is not really in charge of the economy, and the White House is not a boardroom, although he thinks it is.  But he is someone who can really sour things in a heartbeat, signing decree after decree, order after order.  There is that throw enough shit at the wall analogy again; some is bound to stick!

Throughout human history nations have been swayed by outright psychopaths to let them lead.  For whatever reason; either the rhetoric has been persuasive or the timing was just right, firing up the masses with misplaced hubris and discontent.  I can explain psychosis in an individual, but not in the masses.  Once we go for bad, we’re all in.  I don’t think Americans deserve this, but they’ve made a choice and Bozo the clown has come to town and the circus has arrived.  So, buckle up and hang on tight because you’re in for a bumpy ride.

If Trump decides to make good on his threat of imposing stiff tariffs on Canadian goods we do have the option to stand firm and to fight back.  It doesn’t matter whether you throw him kisses or give him the finger, in Trump’s case he couldn’t care less because he will move on with delusional impunity from one thing to the next.  Canada today, China tomorrow and whatever else erupts in his fertile mind.

We have the option of closing our border to everything coming in or going out.  No more cheap crude, natural gas and electricity.  No nothing.  Yes, it will hurt our economy, but so will steep tariffs.  We’ve got nothing to lose.  It will cost us either way, but I don’t think selling out and bending over is a desired option.  Our position should be clear.  Yes, we are willing and able trading partners, but we won’t stand for blackmail and bullying tactics.  Canadians should not be yelling at Canadians, Canadians should not be yelling at Americans, but we need to make sure that Americans are yelling at Trump.  You put bullies in a box and you make sure you keep them there.

Psychopaths belong either in jail or in an institution and you never hand them the keys to the looney bin.  Narcissistic psychopaths like Trump are never able to move on beyond their limitations, stunted as they are by a lack of a moral compass, devoid of empathy and true feelings.  They will always run to extremes and none of them can deal with criticism or will ask for sound advice.  They will lie, yell, blow kisses, smile, wave, whatever the moment calls for and America and Americans will only be prominently paraded if it suits his agenda or improves his ranking. 

America is no longer the powerhouse it used to be.  America is slipping on the world stage and America’s debt load is stupendous in size.  Having a vainglorious buffoon strutting around in the White House, totally out of touch with reality, is scary.  History has not been kind to bad choices.  It only takes a single match to start a fire.  Putting it out is the costly part.  If . . . there is anything left to put out!