Stupid people make mistakes. And mistakes are where there is opportunity to strike.
Firstly, Trump is a bully. He is not a negotiator. He is not a diplomat. He gets his way by bullying others. In this he is little different from his Russian counterpart Putin. When he wants something he doesn’t care who or what he has to destroy to get it. And if there is one thing that we have all learned about bullies it is that IT IS WRONG TO APPEASE A BULLY. The more that a fascist bully like Trump is appeased, the more that it emboldens him to hurt and destroy others. While he is most certainly an existential threat to America, there are ways to contain and limit his damage that do not require lying down and letting him destroy everything in his way. Here are a few of my thoughts on how to deal with a traitor who has become king. They all involve ways to find opportunities when Trump is being stupid.
1) Do not stroke his ego – break it!!!
We all know that Trump’s biggest weakness is his ego. Trump thrives on chaos. The more the world is on fire, the more that he can pretend that he is saving it. This pumps his tires and makes him feel like a big manly man. We cannot be afraid to piss him off. When Trump gets annoyed he does and says stupid things. I mean, he does and says stupid things regardless, because he is not an overly intelligent man, but when he is angry or has a bruised ego he becomes even MORE stupid.
And stupid people make mistakes. And mistakes are where there is opportunity to strike.
2) Waiting game – he’s getting dumber by the week!!!
Trump has plenty of enemies within his own party that are not quite ready to cede to authoritarianism and oligarchic rule. Trump and the Oligarchs are looking to squeeze America dry, much like their opponents do in Russia, or in other such oligarchic setups around the world. Trump and the Oligarchs are attempting to replicate this at home. Make no mistake, Trump and his buddies are playing Risk right now, and American lives are as meaningless to them as Russian lives are to Putin and the Russian Oligarchs. But for all of his brashness in a campaign and in his tent politics, Trump is no diplomat. He does not know how to negotiate. He only knows how to make people do things or fire them. Trump erodes his own power base precisely because he is a businessman rather than a diplomat. Government may not be a charity, but neither is it a business, and it cannot be run like one – as witnessed by Trump’s last chaotic term in office. Couple his tenuous hold on the GOP with his mental instability, and time becomes Trump’s greatest enemy. Trump is not getting younger. He is bordering on mental instability already (one could argue he has from the beginning), and as his mental faculties decline he is becoming even MORE stupid.
And stupid people make mistakes. And mistakes are where there is opportunity to strike.
3) Allies – both at home and abroad
Trump is the second greatest threat for WW3 after only Putin. While he does his best to isolate America for the financial interests of himself and his fellow oligarchs, America suffers. This does not matter to him. BUT it should matter to everyone else. The EU, the G7, Canada, NATO – all of these allies are threatened by Trump’s threats to wage world war. America losing it’s allies in the G7 and the EU are acceptable losses for Trump and the Oligarchs. They only care about how much bank THEY can make off of the misery of others. The damage to Americans is irrelevant to Trump and the Oligarchs so long as they financially benefit themselves. But They only have 4 years; 2 if America wakes up in time for the midterms. This may seem like an awful lot of time, but it isn’t and much can be done about it. A lot of the destruction that Trump is promising for America is going to take a stronger hold on his own Party than he has. Much of the GOP backs Trump out of political necessity, but that necessity erodes over time as the length of Trump’s term shortens with each passing day and the light at the end of the tunnel brightens. People not doing what Trump wants makes him angry. And when he gets angry he gets stupid.
And stupid people make mistakes. And mistakes are where there is opportunity to strike.
4) Stop treating Trump like a rational adult
Trump lies. This is not news. It is what he does and almost ALL that he does. The border crisis, trade deficits, all nonsense. Trump is not rational. He does not function like a normal human being. He says what he thinks will get him what he wants and makes lies to cover the lies to cover the lies. Treating Trump like a rational adult human being is a failure. He is irrational, unpredictable, uncaring and selfish. So long as he is recognized as such then there should be no surprises. Trump is a psychopath. He does not have the same emotional connections to people and society that normal humans have. We cannot treat Trump as somebody with whom you negotiate a trade deal. Trump is somebody with whom you negotiate a hostage crisis. Or a toddler’s bedtime. He is only capable of thinking in terms of personal benefit or immediate gratification. He is stupid this way.
And stupid people make mistakes. And mistakes are where there is opportunity to strike.
What are your thoughts?