Concerning President Trump and his missteps, a reader writes:
Just under half of all Americans, including one out of five who vote Republican, now describe Trump’s behavior as “treasonous.” I’m not sure he can distract, doubletalk, or accuse his way out of this one.
And isn’t that an amazing fact? An American President so untrusted, whose behavior is so awful, and yet he doesn’t resign, and his party, despite the dismay of many members, refuses to do much more than mutter among themselves. Now, it’s true other Presidents have suffered such poor reputations, but some – such as Lincoln – have rebounded in their reputations, while others had the grace to resign (Nixon), die, or be ignominiously trashed by history.
Of course, it’s possible Trump will manage that rebound. Perhaps he’ll take Putin prisoner when Putin visits the White House in the fall, put him on trial, and then onwards to jail.
But it seems unlikely. Trump’s affinity for autocrats, an inclination which should horrify every American, will forbid him from doing so.
His followers may believe he’ll do that, though, or may even believe that it’s OK for Russia to interfere in our election because “their” side won, not realizing how much this embitters and energizes their perceived opponents – and forgetting the critical point that we’re all Americans, and therefore we’ve agreed that we will play by the rules. Egged on by conservative media, we continue explore a series of ever-more horrifying abysses.
It’s becoming a measure of the failure of the moral systems in America. Perhaps we fail to take morality seriously any longer, with the evangelist movement leading the way.
