In my entire 50-plus years as a professional political consultant on national, statewide, and local-est of campaigns, I saw candidates up close – politically naked – as I listened to their most personal thoughts and grandest ideas on how to govern. What’s more, in all those years, I never thought to ask myself whether my candidate, or even our opponents, would be dangerous, if elected to public office. By and large, all candidates believe in the Constitution and the rule of law – even if, periodically, some go to jail. So in the 2016 election cycle, I never thought to ask myself whether electing Donald Trump posed a threat to the way we govern ourselves? Now, with five months to go before our next national election, that question constantly sticks in my brain and is being debated openly by reporters, political pundits and by many voters who will cast their ballot this November.
Dangerous… As a kid I remember my Uncle Al shouting at anyone who would listen…that Franklin Roosevelt was dangerous to America and would turn us into a socialist country. Decades later, I heard the same kind of rhetoric in which electing Ronald Regan would take away every single benefit that workers had fought so hard for, and abolish child labor laws. Always, I chalked that kind of rhetoric up to differences in policy, not a challenge to the Constitution. In more normal political times, disagreement would ultimately be resolved at the next election. Today, that’s what a good part of the country is hoping for and counting on. Yet, many are asking, “Do we trust it to be resolved fairly in the next election?
The underlying fear many people have about Trump is his complete disregard for both the law and the guide rails that all presidents pledge an oath to uphold and defend. The public, in general, understands that each president has trouble with certain laws and disagrees how the legislature has written them. So from time to time, presidents knowingly say, “I’m following the spirit of the law, if not the letter of the law.” From the public’s point of view, they accept those differences between the Executive and Legislative branches as how a democratic government works – and hope that these independent branches of government will iron out their differences or, as a last resort, they will be fought out to a resolution in front of an unbiased judiciary. For those who especially fear the current and, if not, a future Trump presidency, he repeatedly casts aspersions on the right of our three branches of government to question his interpretation of laws and “his right to govern as he sees fit”, under his “reading” of the Constitution.
Everyday, from the White House windows, the President sees picketers and protest marches filling the streets to challenge his disregard for both the Constitution and the lives of black people. But these are not normal times. We sit at home, separated from our friends and family, by an unseen pandemic and an economy that is shrinking and looking at an unknown future; while we have a President who disputes science and overturns our Congress’ laws through Executive Orders. If Trump sat in either the House or the US Senate as a legislator, he would be compelled to work with Party leadership to get his ideas enacted, and obliged to debate and sway legislators to his way of thinking. Then, and only then, would his ideas be accepted and become laws. But he is the President – with an uncensored bully pulpit and the many policing powers of his office, including Armed Forces answerable only to him. With both the bully pulpit and his policing powers aiding him, I now ask myself: How dangerous is the President before the 2020 election – will we have a fair election and will he abide by the will of the people?
Let’s look at what we know about Trump based on his past behavior. His mentor, Roy Cohn, the only one whose advice he said he valued beyond anyone else, was a shyster New York lawyer…long ago dubbed “the fixer”. Cohn used his vast knowledge of the law, his contacts – both famous and infamous – to get the most out of the legal system for his clients and help keep them out of jail. What is relevant for voters to grasp from Trump’s relationship with Cohn is that Cohn, like Trump, always challenged the system. Yet, unlike Trump, Cohn never got caught going over the line, even though he got disbarred days before he died – which leads to the question, is there a new Roy Cohn in Trump’s life who might be less reluctant to go over the line, and will that person draw that line differently?
President Trump on a number of occasions has stated he admires powerful leaders, generally referring to: Vladimir Putin; Rodrigo Duterte; Tayyip Erdogan; Abdel Fattah el Sisi; Xi Jinping and Mohammed bin Salman – all of whom hold their country’s power in their hands. In declaring he admires these men’s governing style, is Trump giving us a hint at how he will govern in his next term of office? Fact: He appointed an Attorney General who believes passionately in an imperial presidency.
Other factors could play into Trump’s mindset – he might do anything in his power to hold onto his Presidency. A new President and a new Congress will want to look at all the suspicious wheeling-and-dealings that were rumored to have gone on during his four years in office. Many of those rumors center around this issue: Did President Trump and his family benefit – illegally and financially – from his term of office? And will disclosure of these wheeling-and-dealings effect their wealth and potential future business, and personal earnings – and freedom? There definitely are fears lurking in Donald’s mind concerning those pesky independent State AG’s, and looming civil and criminal lawsuits that await him – if he doesn’t get reelected.
Regardless of whether Trump wins or loses, we are all in for quite a ride.
