The April 23rd White House Press Briefing, during which President Trump unveiled his controversial “Bleach Theory” for combating coronavirus, caused a global gasp of horror; but not as much disbelief as one might expect…say if President Obama had said it, or…any other past President for that matter (maybe Dubya). One certainly couldn't imagine Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, or Justin Trudeau making the same statement. That would be cause for legislative discussion.
The President's rude “ask China” tantrum with reporters during a press briefing Tuesday would have been unthinkable in the period Before Trump.
The sad truth is that the world has become dangerously inured to Trump's outrageous statements over the past three-and-a-half years. Familiarity blunts perception. President Obama's outgoing observation that Trump was “uniquely unqualified to be President” has certainly been vindicated daily with each mad, rambling fantasy and paranoid-populist Tweet. Frankly, most people who didn't fall asleep back in high-school have been scratching their heads since election night 2016.
How is he still in office? It's not as though the thought of removing him hasn't already collectively dawned.
There are options.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment, for instance.
In 2017 it was reported on CBS that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stated Justice Department officials were so taken aback by President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, that they discussed recruiting Cabinet members to remove Trump from office. A February 2018 article in the NYT reported on a memo written by McCabe, "We discussed the president's capacity and the possibility he could be removed from office under the 25th Amendment." In a 60 Minutes interview, McCabe confirmed that “There were meetings at the Justice Department in which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment…”
Theoretically possible.
Then, there is Impeachment.
The Democrats tried. On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump was subsequently acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate on February 5, 2020.
Unlike most Presidents before him, Trump has also survived (so far) an alarming number of criminal investigations.
How did Trump ever win the Republican leadership race to begin with?
He wasn't loved by the Party. A March 19th, 2016 NYT headline read “Republican Leaders Map a Strategy to Derail Donald Trump”. The article continued, “Republican leaders adamantly opposed to Donald J. Trump's candidacy are preparing a 100-day campaign to deny him the presidential nomination…” Many initially expected Jeb Bush to win the leadership contest, and more are now sorry that he didn't. Bush often repeated “You cannot insult your way to the Presidency”, but he was wrong.
So why do Republicans, recognizing the damage (perhaps irreparable) to the reputation of the GOP and to America abroad that Trump has caused, continue to support their reality-show President? Why did Republicans not vote for Impeachment? Why has Vice President Pence not invoked the Twenty-fifth Amendment on grounds of obvious cognitive impairment? What the heck is The Donald still doing in the Oval Office, pretending to be President?
Perhaps the Republicans perceive some value in the President's front page, attention-grabbing antics.
The concept of Strategic Distraction is a well-recognized military tactic, dating back to Sun Tzu. Misdirection, often defined as “the intentional deflection of attention for the purpose of disguise”, is known as “sleight-of-hand” to theatrical magicians. British magician Nevil Maskelyne wrote "It consists admittedly in misleading the spectator's senses, in order to screen from detection certain details for which secrecy is required." With audience attention focused upon the magic wand, they don't see the bunny-bag being slipped into the hat. As in Bosch's “The Conjurer”, you can have your pocket picked while watching the magician.
During the 2016 election cycle, the media provided massive free advertising for the Trump campaign, covering his every increasingly unimaginable statement. How could they not…really? Since becoming President, media scrutiny has continued to focus primarily upon his increasingly bizarre and un-Presidential behaviour, often diverting attention from what the Administration is actually doing. But while POTUS is congratulating himself at the podium, other Republicans in Government are actually working their agendas. We don't see them because the spotlight is on our Host.
Perhaps this is the devil's bargain that Republicans made back in 2016. Party affiliation in exchange for strategic distraction.
According to the Federal Register, President Trump has signed 155 Executive Orders and 257 other Presidential Documents including memoranda, notices, determinations, letters, messages, and orders since taking office in 2017. These orders and other documents pertain to a wide range of issues, including National Defense, the USMCA, Health Care, Iran Sanctions, Human Trafficking, Science and Technology, Justice, Terrorism, collecting Citizenship Information, Energy, Veterans…and a host of others. During his Administration 583 Laws have been passed, 1271 Resolutions and 22,465 pieces of other legislation (GovTrack). Most received little media coverage.
PEW Research reported, “…more than two-thirds of Trump news stories that Pew studied were framed in terms of his personality and leadership style, as opposed to his policies and beliefs.” Frankly, personality is mostly what President Trump offers.
The very nature of the subject has corrupted mainstream Presidential journalism into crass tabloid fare.
It's show business, folks!