Strongmen Connive With Strongmen: The Nature of Tyrants, Dictators, and Rogues

Some Trump is cozy with, emulates, but why

(Strongman wannabe copies strongman)

One-man rule according to Trump: Interesting story from CNN –

Background for this report: 

Responding to White House counsel Pat Cipollone's letter to Rep. Jerald Nadler (D-NY), House Judiciary Committee Chairman saying that his obstruction investigation was "outside" the constitutional rights of the House, Nadler argued that the White House was taking a stance that is "unprecedented and unsupported by law, history and practice."

We have seen four major precedents that Trump is setting into place that could have enormous long-term consequences on the institution:

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Precedent 1: Delegitimizing oversight: 

He suggests that almost no oversight is legitimate unless he agrees to a congressional investigation.

Even without invoking executive privilege, Trump has been firm he will not cooperate with almost any of the investigations taking place.

Trump has argued he has blanket authority to say no to the demands from all congressional oversight operations anytime he wants to do so.

Simply deeming an investigation to be partisan, a claim that most presidents have made when under the spotlight, in his mind appears to be sufficient to undermine the right of Congress to oversee his office.

If Trump's posture is legitimated by Congress and the courts through their own inaction, this decision would constitute a major step in significantly eroding the ability of the capacity of the legislative branch to hold the president accountable.

Precedent 2: Using the bully pulpit for disinformation:

Trump has also gone beyond his predecessors when it comes to using the bully pulpit to propagate disinformation. Trump lies in a different, more sweeping and indiscriminate way. Yes, all presidents lie.

The Washington Post says Trump has made more than 10,000 lies or misleading statements.

He spreads false information without any sense of shame and with a regularity that normalizes this action as part of his political strategy.

He spreads false information, conspiracy theories, and outrageous accusations to confuse public debate, direct the national media focus, and to undermine the legitimacy of his opponents.

He uses the presidential platform to pollute the public discourse with falsehoods is a brazen and aggressive use of authority.

Precedent 3: Legitimating conflict of interest:

Trump has also used his power to legitimate a massive, unprecedented conflict-of-interest problem at the heart of this administration.

Trump from his earliest days was his refusal to disclose tax information and then his resistance toward creating a serious firewall between his presidency and business.

Rather than give up ultimate control of his company, he would only go so far as to put his sons in charge of the business, which meant little in practice. There never has there been a conflict situation of this scale and scope. Trump’s ownings are directly related to major policy decisions that he makes on a regular basis, including foreign policy.

Example: The use of Trump resorts for presidential weekends and the fact that Trump International Hotel in Washington is a favorite stop for overseas dignitaries from countries such as Saudi Arabia exposes the problematic structure he kept in place. Trump’s insistence that the business did not have to be broken up or placed far away from his immediate family was a raw assertion of power.

Precedent 4: Using national emergency power to replace legislating:

Trump has been imperial with his power in other ways, such as his using executive power to roll back government policies and unilaterally withdrawing from international agreements, such as the Iran nuclear deal (which was working BTW) simply because he did not like it or was not part of it – now look: war looms with Iran.

Though this use of executive power is certainly not new among presidents, there have been instances when he has gone well beyond others who came before him.

But Trump’s decision to invoke national emergency power to obtain funding for a border wall that Congress refused to fund several times is the most egregious example of how freely he is willing to flex his authority. 

If the courts don't strike it down, this will offer a model for future Democratic and Republican presidents to obtain monies that they want without congressional approval.

Every time that presidents expand the power of the office and Congress fails to respond, the institution of the presidency becomes stronger.

Summary – three points:

1. Unlike the 1970s, currently strong partisanship has been offering Trump a clear playing field as he moves forward in his imperial presidency. There has been essentially no Republican pushback to this point.

2. The GOP's blind loyalty to Trump has been a big disincentive for House Democrats to pursue impeachment proceedings (they seem to fear their efforts will be stifled in the GOP-controlled Senate).

3. Unless Congress pushes back, the Oval Office will be much more imperial when Trump is done. That leaves future Congresses to confront a White House that will be able to inflict much greater damage on other institutions without any sense of restraint if another Trump sits there.

My 2 cents: Trump loyalists will think the CNN story is “Fake news” (no surprise about that line of thinking). Some think just about anything that Trump says, tweets, tells them to believe (or not). 

That is his skill – being an expert and convincing con man. 

Precedent two above says it all: “Trump spreads false information without any sense of shame and with a regularity that normalizes this action as part of his political strategy. He spreads false information, conspiracy theories, and outrageous accusations to confuse public debate, direct the national media focus, and to undermine the legitimacy of his opponents. He uses the presidential platform to pollute the public discourse with falsehoods is a brazen and aggressive use of authority.”

That is 100% spot on and anyone who not does believe that is truly and fully a rock hard, narrow-minded Trump sycophant to the proverbial hilt.

He shows how awful and dangerous he is every single day while in office – how will we recover from this man’s damage? Well have to show our true American spirit wherein we are able to recover from any terrible disaster, for surely this is one of biggest ever. Trump tops the charts in the disaster category all by himself.

Thanks for stopping by.