The Cheese Has Slipped Off The Cracker

A while back a MAGA acquaintance opined that Trump was playing 3-D chess regarding one of the multiplicity of crises that Trump had initiated. If I remember correctly it was a few months ago when Attorney General Bondi was claiming that there was no "Epstein Client List" after previously asserting that it was literally on her desk, waiting for review. Trump had made releasing the files one of his oft-repeated campaign promises, which he hoped everyone would forget about after the election. Once it became clear that he was making no effort to release them, Democrats, as well as the segment of his cult for whom releasing the files was the main reason they voted for him, began to lobby for releasing them. 

The supposed 3-D chess maneuver was Trump tricking the Democrats into agitating for the Epstein files to be released, setting themselves up to be revealed as the core of Epstein's clients. This is pretzel twisting of logic worthy of a theological apologist. The simple answer — that he promises things that he has no intention of honoring — which he has a long track record of doing — is abandoned in favor of an implausible explanation that no one with enough brain cells to register on a postal scale will believe. 

I have written extensively in the last year regarding my conclusion that Trump is a dictator. I have taken to using the term "autocrat", or "authoritarian", since people often believe that only the most extreme of dictators rate the epithet "dictator". Use the search function to find some of my opinions on the matter. But just because we are functionally under one man rule, with dozens of sycophants standing by to put his whims into action, doesn't mean that he's not losing his mind.

"Incompetent" is a word I've been assigning to Trump since his first term. That and "ignorant". Of course a president can't know everything. Can't be an expert on everything. They have to be able to delegate, and to listen to experts in many fields, and even listen to different points of view before making a decision. The problem with Trump is that despite all evidence to the contrary, he believes that he is the smartest person in the room, no matter the subject. He rejects the input and advice from people who know more than he does in favor of his own ill-informed opinion. His tariff "policy" is a perfect example of this. He is ignorant of how tariffs work and what a trade deficit is. He is ignorant of the basic fact of who pays for them. He thinks that a trade deficit equates to the United States losing money. Yet, he barrels ahead with his tariffs regardless. Surely he has had the concepts of trade deficits and tariffs explained to him, but he refuses to listen, although I doubt anyone bothers anymore. 

Something the MAGA acquaintance that I mentioned in the first paragraph told me once was that he doesn't pay attention to personalities, just policies. This is a typical excuse that the Trump Cult uses to justify their support for such a horrible human being: they like his policies. Their vote for him in 2024 was based on his campaign promises about the economy. Today's NY Times had an article about his economic performance. Surprise! It's not good. But despite the MAGA rationalization, personality matters. Character matters. Cognitive health matters. Trump may not be able to be diagnosed as suffering from dementia, but actions are not that of a man who is tethered firmly to reality. 

Trump spends a lot of time praising himself. He constantly invents stories about people showering him with respect and even adulation — the famous "sir" stories — manly men with tears in their eyes thanking him profusely for saving the country, or bringing back something or other. He has always done this. But since his re-election it has gotten worse. His Truth Social posts are rambling rants, he regularly veers off topic into incomprehensible word salad when asked questions, he often makes absolutely no sense. His best days make President Biden's debate performance last year look supremely articulate and inspiring. But the scary thing is that he has enough awareness to know when his unhinged orders aren't being followed — his people, afraid to incur his wrath, will execute any order that he issues. The "adults in the room" have all been fired. 

In the last few weeks he has ordered the military to kidnap a foreign head of state of a country with which we are not at war. He is threatening to invade Greenland, which, as a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is a NATO ally. NATO, which was formed as a defense against Russia, is now gearing up to defend against the United States! Whether it's dementia, some species of mental illness, or just his narcissistic ego, he is freakin' nuts!