September 6, 2018--Duh

So with the imminent publication of Watergate hero, Bob Woodward's long-awaited book about the first year-and-a-half of the Trump presidency, Fear: Trump In the White House, what are we eager to learn that is new, that we didn't already get from Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, or Omarosa's Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House?

From what has been leaked--and a lot has been--it appears not that much. 

Thus far the juiciest tidbits tell of things like Chief Economic Advisor, Gary Cohen, snatching from Trump's Oval Office desk documents he was about to sign out of fear that if he were to do so the global economic consequences would be catastrophic. 

But most of what we learn from Woodward are a spate of new insults either directed toward Trump by senior staff and advisors as well as others that Trump came up with, especially those directed at poor Jeff Sessions.

Trump is an "idiot," a "liar," "dumb," a "little baby," while Session and others are "little rats," "mentally retarded," or a "dumb Southerner."

The president is also revealed to mock Session's Alabama accent--even imitating it--claiming he can't understand the Attorney General because he talks like he has "marbles in his mouth." 

Good luck to Trump with securing the solid-South's electoral votes if he runs for reelection.

From Nixon to Obama we turned to Woodward's six-foot shelf of inside-the-White-House books. Now, before he could get his latest to Amazon and then they to us, most of the good stuff is already on the record.

Oh, there is one thing--

In Wolff's book Trump staffers are quoted as saying he's like a "six-year-old." In Woodward's he's compared to a "fifth or sixth grader."

In "Crazytown," (Woodward's phrase for Trump World) I suppose this represents progress. 

So duh? Is this business as usual? Nothing much new? In many ways yes. But then again, with his well-deserved stature, because Woodward pretty much plows the same field as the others he legitimatizes their gossiper books. 

And thus the picture of Trump and his White House is becoming complete. What remains, to quote Woodward again, are the Final Days.

August 28, 2017--"This Jew"

According to Gary Cohn, Donald Trump's top economic advisor, he came very close to resigning after Trump, at his intemperate news conference three days after the violent torch-lit march by white supremacists in Charlottesville, equated the counter demonstrators with the neo-Nazis."

With Cohn standing awkwardly next to Trump in the lobby of Trump Tower, the president said, there are "very fine people on both sides," presumably including among the anti-Semites who chanted, "Jews will not replace us."

As one of Trump's highest ranking, most observant Jews (Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump aside), pressed for comments, Cohn had nothing to say publicly for days, though people close to him, the New York Times reported, said he was "disgusted and deeply upset" by Trump's comments.

He now claims he was thinking about what to do. Even, he said privately to friends, going so far as drafting a letter of resignation. 

Finally on Friday, after nearly two weeks of silence, Cohn revealed the results of his struggle--

Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and the K.K.K. I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities.

He added--

As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting "Jews will not replace us" to cause this Jew to leave his job. [My italics]

Cohn also revealed that he spoke directly with Trump about his feelings. Thus far there is no detailed report of this alleged discussion. From the tepid nature of Cohn's formal statement, one can only guess how the meeting went.

The last thing Cohn wants to do, as he said, is to leave or lose his job. Especially since he has another one in mind as the current one awkwardly unfolds--he is looking forward to being named by Trump to replace Janet Yellen when her term as Federal Reserve System chair expires at the end of January.

In the long tradition of Jews serving as counsellors and advisors to princes and men in power (a version of this is Henry Kissinger serving anti-Semite Richard Nixon), Cohn does not want to receive the Reince Priebus/Steve Bannon heave-ho when he has something else of self-interest in mind. 

As skin-crawling as this makes this Jew (me) feel, Cohn doesn't get the prize for the most craven comment of the week by Trump's palace Jews. His other sycophantic Jew, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin--(who my mother, I know, would refer to as Steve Munchkin)--shortly after the events in Charlottesville came to his lord's defense--

While I find it hard to believe I should have to defend myself on this, or the president, I feel compelled to let you know that the president in no way, shape or form believes that neo-Nazi and other hate groups who endorse violence are equivalent to groups that demonstrate in peaceful and lawful ways.

This must mean that Munchkin doesn't want to mess up what he perceives to be a good thing and that the missus has more shopping to do.

After the Holocaust, surviving Jews vowed "never again." They pledged to do all in their power to confront anti-Semitism and prevent future genocides. And to that end committed themselves to not remain silent but to act fearlessly in the face of bigotry and hate. 

Though I am a non-observing Jew, I know this is still my responsibility. To the Jewish people, and more generally to all of humanity. We are required to speak out when we see injustice. And, equally important, to do our part to actively heal the world. Healing the world is Judaism's highest calling. It is called Tikkun Olam. 

Tikkun Olam is not about clinging to one's job. It is not about ignoring the moral implications. In fact, it is all about being guided by moral implications.

For the sake of their souls, Cohn and Mnuchin need to talk with their rabbis. 

Left to Right--Cohn, Mnuchin, Trump

August 18, 2017--What's Really Going On

From Donald Trump's perspective, it's not about white supremacy, it's not about America first, it's not about support for neo-Nazis, nor is it about immigrants. Though he does have hateful positions about all of these. 

As with almost everything about him, it's personal

For most of his followers, including that frightening base of about 25 percent of racist Americans as well as nearly 80 percent of Republicans who still support him, it is about some of these matters; but his appeal continues to derive primarily from his ability to mobilize the anger Americans feel at the eroding quality of their lives and their frustrations about America's diminishing place in the world.

Trump continues to be depressingly adept at exploiting their sense of decline and dislocation. He knows the buttons to push to elicit support when he sees it necessaryto shore up his coalition. Especially those who are at the hard core of his base. The ones he encourages through dog whistle statements and tweets that sanction the ugliest of reactions. The kind of scary hatred and violence we saw on display this past weekend in Charlottesville.

Again, none of this comes from genuine concern about Americans who feel they have been left behind (too many in fact have been). It is all about Donald Trump. Not about America but Donald Trump.

And so what we are witnessing is his latest reaction to what special counsel Robert Mueller is bringing to the boiling point--the role Trump himself played in stealing the presidency and his years of financial dealings with the Russians.

Concurrent with giving sanction to the mobilization of neo-Nazis and white supremacists were reports during the past two weeks about the FBI raid on former Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort's house; what is turning up in the more than 20,000 documents the Trump campaign turned over to Mueller's people and what their perusal is beginning to reveal about collusion in the election with the Russians; and Mueller's move last week to seek testimony from senior White House aids, including recently-fired chief of staff, Reince Priebus.

Only Donald Trump knows what he did and didn't do. And this is clearly terrifying him.

If his hands are clean, he should have no concerns. On the other hand, if there is clear evidence that he knew and/or encouraged working with the Russians to undermine Hillary Clinton and/or if he has had significant financial dealings with Russians (many of them likely to be dirty), he has a lot to be more than concerned about. He should be feeling desperate.

Feeling desperate would explain much of his recent behavior, most vividly on display in his gyrating reaction to what was perpetrated in Charlottesville.

His desperation about his own, personal collapsing circumstances could be what has been motivating his increasingly grotesque behavior.

Again, it's all about Mueller.

Thus, we should soon see a renewed move to fire him and the offer of pardons to Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort. Both vulnerable to being "squeezed" by investigators in the hope that they will throw Trump under the bus to save their skins and keep them out of jail--which is where both are headed.

Meanwhile, while Charlottesville was blanketing the news, North Korea hasn't been sitting on its hands--expect reemerging threats from moves to launch more ICBMs and even renewed testing of nuclear weapons. This will give Trump the pretext to strike back and thereby clear the headlines of anything having to do with white supremacy or Trump people colluding with the Russians to undermining Clinton's campaign.

We'll see what the generals will say or do about that.

Of course, expect to see Steve Bannon receive his walking papers from the current chief of staff, John Kelly. Assuming Kelly himself doesn't quit before doing that.

Then, there is what Trump's senior advisors who are Jewish will do--treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin and chief economic advisor Gary Cohen . . .

Son-in-law Jared Kushner might . . .

And daughter Ivanka may . . .

Left to Right--Gary Cohen, Steve Mnuchin, Donald Trump

April 10, 2017--Trumpology

In the old days of the Soviet Union, since it was a closed system impervious to Western snooping, one way to read the currents and countercurrents of Soviet leadership--who was in, who was rising, and who was about to be disappeared--was to analyze the pictures of the fur-hatted inner circle arrayed on the top of Lenin's tomb during May Day and other revolutionary celebrations.

Kremlinologists in Washington were tasked to figure this out and they did so by comparing from year to year who was moving into closer proximity to Lenin or Stalin and who was about to slide off the picture plane and soon thereafter into the literal abyss.

Where is the notorious Lavrentiy Beria, head of the fearsome KGB, this year? What about Molotov? Is he losing or gaining power and influence? And who is this upstart Nikita Khrushchev who's star seems to be rising--last year he was nowhere in sight; this year he's only four places from Stalin?

With the inner circle of the Trump White House in turmoil, with the Steve Bannon faction trying to oust son-in-law Jared Kushner and his allies, with Reince Priebus struggling to hold on as chief of staff, and with others close to Trump denying that anything of this sort is going on, with everyone spinning and lying, to get to the truth, as with the Russians, we are left with having to analyze images of the president's unruly team in action. We need to do a content analyst of them in much the same way that we used to try to figure out what was happening in Moscow.

Look carefully of the picture below. It is of the Mar-a-Lago situation room where Trump and his team retired Thursday afternoon to discuss the missile attack on a Syrian airbase.

Mar-a-Lago Situation Room

Seated at the adult table, of course, are Trump at its head and an assortment of Cabinet secretaries. To Trump's left is Rex Tillerson, the almost mute Secretary of State who up to now, nearly three months into the Trump presidency, has not spoken many more than 200 words in public. Across from him, at the president's right are fellow billionaires Wilber Ross, Secretary of Commerce and Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, who is not quite at the table. And then it gets interesting.

To Mnuchin's right, decidedly at the table is Jared Kushner and across from him, not at the table but leaning aggressively forward is Gary Cohn, Trump's favorite economic advisor and Kushner ally, who is being discussed as Reince Priebus' replacement. At the table, with the growing bald spot or tonsure is Priebus himself who appears to need to be careful because Cohn is eyeing him ominously and is about about to pounce on him and seize both his chair and job.

Most interesting to Trumpologists is where Steven Bannon is relegated. Earlier in the week he was unceremoniously dumped from his self-assigned seat on the "Principals Committee" of the National Security Council. Here, about as far away from the adult table at a small children's side table of his own, is the dramatically deflated Senior Strategist. And because of the nasty way in which the picture is framed it looks as if Bannon is wearing a lampshade on his head.

 Moscow, Palm Beach--a picture is worth at least a thousand words.

And, oh, my advice-don't bet against the son-in-law.