Dear America,
It may have been mentioned before or since, but last night is the first time I have heard anyone bring up the primary reason for which Donald Trump should be convicted in The Senate. The fact is that he withheld aid appropriated by Congress for a foreign country, and it is clear also that he did so to further his own campaign for reelection. Congress denominated that concatenation of events "abuse of power," and that should be sufficient to remove Trump from office. But the real reason that his nefarious conduct merits removal is this: Trump arrogated to himself the identity of the United States as Adam Schiff briefly stated last night. But that brief acknowledgment of the gravity of Trump's malfeasance does not sufficiently describe the threat to American democracy.
Donald Trump has proudly declared Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin and R.T. Erdogan to be "good friends." What those three men have in common is that they are not just the leaders of their countries' politically. They are their countries in that whatever formal efforts anyone makes to deal with North Korea, Russia and Turkey respectively, they must satisfy the demands of the leader personally. Decisions are not made by the North Korean government; they are made by Kim. Russia doesn't take actions on the world stage like annexing Crimea; Putin does. People aren't arrested by the Turkish government for expressing opposition to political repression; Erdogan does that. And Trump, in that he is nothing more than an ego with feet, thinks he merits the same deference and veneration that the others ostensibly have. After all, who's better than Trump. Kim, Putin and Erdogan are the embodiments of their nations and they have complete autonomy. They are for all intents and purposes kings. That's what Donald Trump thinks he should be. He thinks that his opinion should be the law, and that is in fact the way in which he governs. That is why Trump's actions in that "perfect call" are so important and don't just merit, but require his removal from office.
If you read these letters regularly, you may remember me writing that I predict that Trump will attempt to get the 22nd Amendment to out constitution repealed, and as evidence of the likelihood I recounted an event at one of his Texas rallies. A chant of "4 more years" went up in the crowd, and Trump stepped up to the microphone and unabashedly said, as near as I can remember exactly this: "If you want to make them crazy, ask for 12." He didn't say 8 more years, which would equal the length of FDR's full terms if he had lived to serve them. He said 12...one more term than even one of our most beloved presidents was elected to serve. That's how much he thinks of himself. That's how entitled he feels. That is at least a glimpse of the extent of his arrogance and conceit.
Donald Trump's crime is not abuse of power or office. It is that he thinks he is, like Louis XIV, the state: L'état C'est, Moi, old King Louie said, and that is the nature of Trump's real crime. It's not that he believes that he is the state. It is that he requires of the rest of the world's leaders that they believe it. He wants the same reverence from Putin that he, Trump, has given to Putin. He wants the same adoration from Kim that he has given, and likewise Erdogan. Trump doesn't give a fig about North Korea, Russia or Turkey as nations. He cares only about the exclusive club in which those three autocrats are members, and Trump wants to be a member...in fact, he thinks he is. That is his crime. He thinks of himself as an autocrat strutting on not just the national stage, but on the world stage. He doesn't like the fact that there are others who have more peremptory power than he does, so he calls the President of a sovereign nation and says, and not too subtly either, "I'll give you money if you do me a favor." But the gravamen of that offer is, I'll give you money, the American people's money, because it's my money to give, and what's more, there is no other way for you to get it than to mollify me and gratify me. That is the true nature of Trump's high crime or misdemeanor. He all but said, L'état C'est, Moi. And whether that quote attributed to Louis XIV is apocryphal or not, and even though those aren't the words that came out of Trump's mouth, that's what his acts and deeds meant.
So, America, we are at a fork in the road. Do we want a president or a de-facto king. I know how I'd vote if I were a senator. What about you.
Your friend,
Mike
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