A Tale of Two Geniuses

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, the Michael Wolff tell all book on the inner workings of the Trump White House tops the best-seller list and, at face value, seems to confirm all the worst fears of the Trump resistance. What's less than clear is how much of Wolff's work should be passed off as gossip and how much is fact. Wolff has faced some controversy around the accuracy of the some content but some of the most damning quotes against Trump came from former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon who has apologized for some but denied none of them.

In the end, it is Trump himself that has given the book the most credence by replying to the questions it raises about his mental fitness in a way that gives anyone pause to question his mental fitness:

....Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018

....to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018

The label of stable genius with which Trump brands himself is too close to Wile E. Coyote's self proclamation of super genius not to be found ironic and comical. Yet there really is nothing comical about Trump or his administration.

While the sensational highlights of the book has captured public attention the past week, the Trump administration continues its malevolent march into history. Thursday, the administration unveiled a plan to open vast new stretches of federal waters to oil and gas drilling going against decades of bipartisan agreement to the contrary. On Friday, federal immigration officials said they will proceed with the deportation of an Ohio man who is the sole provider and trained medical caregiver of a 6-year-old paraplegic boy.

The former continues the doctrine of pillaging the planet for profit Trump notably began with the Paris climate accord withdrawal. The latter continues the deliberate torture of individuals Trump sanctions at the hands of the common thugs into which he has transformed agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The values demonstrated by those two decisions do not reflect those of much of the nation but they were enacted by the man rightfully elected president. Or were they? The most concerning question raised by the Wolff book may not be about the President's mental fitness to govern but rather, while Trump flails about in a childlike manner, who is actually drafting and executing policy?

Fire and Fury purports Senate Leader Mitch McConnell allegedly saying, “He (Trump) will sign anything we put in front of him.” However, during the press tour for the book Wolff also said of the administration, "the train will hit the wall." It's easy to believe the cabal of GOP leaders are deliberately trying to squeeze as much loot out of the country for their rich contributors before the end of the line. Trump and his disorganized band of ideologues and lackeys provide the perfect cover.

Trump finds himself in a spot familiar to that of fellow genius Wile E. Coyote. The latter is no stranger to train wrecks. Two geniuses, one a cartoon, the other a coyote. Both have illusions of grandeur destined to fail, often being out thought and out maneuvered by those around them.

Beep Beep.