September 20, 2019--Dancing With Spicy

I assume you do not watch Dancing With the Stars. On the other hand don't make that assumption about me. In fact, I rarely miss an episode. 

I do not watch a lot of network TV. Actually, basically none. But there I am every Monday night during DWTS season keeping an eye on the time so as not to miss even a minute of silliness. That silliness provides a couple of hours of distraction from Trump stuff and the intensifying twinges of aging.

Since you likely do not tune in, here's how DWTS works:

The program each season starts out with about a dozen "stars." Stars in quotes as almost all are either has-beens seeking a final turn in the spotlight or never in their day stars of the first magnitude. DWTS stars include Bachelorette contestants, gimpy retired football players, and the like.

They are teamed up with professional dancers who during the week leading up to Mondays teach their star partners enough of a semblance of dancing to get through 90-second routines. Remarkably, some of those the judges and at-home audience vote to continue get to be pretty good. Which, when I think about my own clumsy moves on the dance floor, is amazing. 

The initial group typically includes at least one star who has no physical aptitude whatsoever. They are there for comic relief and over the seasons have included Cloris Leachman, Mr. T, Governor Rick Perry, and Geraldo. As such, they tend to receive low scores and are typically voted off during the first few weeks.

This season filling the clown role is Trump's first press secretary, Sean Spicer. A perfect choice on multiple levels. He can't dance at all and he didn't need to stretch very far to come off as a joke. He had plenty of time to perfect that role during his daily White House press briefings. And in case anyone missed the point that he was also a malevolent presidential apologist, Melissa McCarthy on Saturday Night Live got it right when she imitated him, including using a motorized podium to mow down the gathered press corps.

Best of all, Spicer didn't realize he was there for comic relief. He thought it was because he's a cool person, which makes his assignment to the clown role even funnier. The joke, it turns out is on him.

Monday, Spicer, dressed in a neon green Desi-Arnaz-style Babaloo shirt, danced a version of a salsa. It was so awful that he received the second lowest scores, one point higher than ex-NBA basketball player and Kardashian husband, Lamar Odom. Also there for comic relief, no longer, I assume, living in a Ls Vegas brothel.

Trumpian that he still is, Spicy sensed that the Deep State and satanic forces were responsible for his low scores. He especially blamed the judges in his after-the-show Twitter posting. He tweeted--

“Clearly those judges are not going to be with me. Let’s send a message to #Hollywood that those of us who stand for #Christ won’t be discounted.”

And here I thought his appearance was for comic relief. I didn't realize it was about the Second Coming.

December 20, 2018--Trump's Distractions

If you are wondering why Donald Trump is ordering the removal of all U.S. military forces from Syria, declaring ISIS defeated even those they aren't--up to 30,000 ISIS fighters remain--the answer by now should be familiar: this retreat, which he initiated without consulting Congress or his State Department or Pentagon, is to distract us from the Michael Flynn fiasco and the humiliating collapse of his own private family slush fund, the Donald J. Trump Foundation.

You do have to admit that pulling the Syria withdrawal seemingly out of a hat is impressive in one way--who but Trump has our 2,000 troops on their radar screen ready to be brought home as a distraction from his political troubles. As of 5:00 am this morning on the New York Times webpage it is the lead story. Flynn and the Foundation are buried somewhere. He managed to turn both into one-day stories.

But don't mishear me--Flynn and the Foundation will contribute to bringing him down, especially when we get to see what is redacted in the Flynn charging memo: that he and Flynn openly conspired to play politics and strategic footsie with the Russians. As I have speculated here, Flynn was likely wearing a wire during some of those conversations, including in the Oval Office, and these tapes will turn out to be Trump's smoking gun.

And if you are wondering why Trump seems so adept, so quick in coming up with distractions of the Syria kind I suspect there is a simple explanation for that too--he has a pre-bickered list of them in his jacket pocket which he can pull out at a moments notice. 

(Ever think about why he never buttons his suit jackets? Not because they don't fit any more after he's gained at least 50 pounds since moving into the White House where the vanilla ice cream is available by the bucket, but to allow easy access to the distractions list.)

Investigative reporter that I am, from unnamed sources I have a copy of the list which I will share with you--

DJTRUMP DISTRACTIONS

Withdraw troops from Iraq

Withdraw troops from Afghanistan

Withdraw troops from Honduras

Withdraw troops from Japan

Withdraw troops from South Korea

Withdraw troops from Germany

Withdraw troops from all NATO countries

Withdraw troops from all bases in the United States
Start war with Honduras
Start war with Panama
Start war with Costa Rica
Start war with Mexico
Start war with California

Fire all Internal Revenue Service personnel

Fire all traffic controllers

Fire Ron Rosenstein

Fire Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Fire Kellyanne Conway

Fire Kellyanne's husband

Fire Jeff Sessions

Fire Rex Tillerson

Fire Reince Priebus

Fire Sean Spicer

Fire Jeff Sessions

Throw Sessions under the bus

Trow Spicer under the bus

Throw Kellyanne under the bus

Fire Wolf Blitzer

Fire Rachel Maddow

Fire Mika Brezezzzinzki

Throw Mika Bzezinzkiz under the bus

Throw Don Jr. under the bus

Throw Eric Trump under the bus

Throw Jared Kushner under the bus

Throw Ivanka under the bus

Throw Melania under the bus

Fire Omarosa

Fire Alec Baldwin

Fire Donald Trump

August 4, 2017--Jack: "What If . . .?"

"What if if there's no there there."

"What in God's name are you talking about?" Jack is not at his best when he tries to be clever.

"I called to see what you think."

"About there-there?"

"About my boy. The Donald." Jack was sounding chipper.

I thought--what am I missing? He's chipper after the ten days Trump just completed? Failing to get the Senate to pass even a vacuous healthcare bill; Congress' passage of a veto-proof Russian sanctions bill Trump opposed; the fiasco about his direct involvement in drafting Donald Junior's note about the dirt-on-Hillary meeting with Russians; and then of course Sean Spicer's quitting; the mini-appointment of Anthony Scaramucci; Reince Priebus' "resignation." Things of that sort.

"Here's what I'm thinking. I mean wondering about."

"Go on."

"I mean, as I said, maybe there's no there there." I sighed. "For month's you and people like you have been talking about Trump's being guilty of colluding with the Russians to undermine Hillary's campaign and how Trump probably has all sorts of business dealings with the Russians. Not to mention that scurrilous BuzzFeed dossier that claims that Trump, while in Russia for the Miss Universe pageant, was caught on tape fooling around with prostitutes. I forgot what you called it--something about a razor?"

He really had me confused. He said, "The razor business."

"Ockham's Razor, right," I said, remembering. "About how it's used to come up with the simplest explanation for a lot of seemingly unrelated information."

"That's the one."

"How almost everything Trump has said or done that has anything at all to do with Russia--from his refusal to acknowledge their meddling in Clinton's campaign to his going ballistic whenever it's hinted that one of his children was involved, and of course firing Comey and saying how he would also like to sack Mueller, all of this and more," I said, "'makes sense,' in Ockham's Razor terms if Trump himself was up to his eyeballs in dirty-dealings with Putin and the Russians."

"Exactly."

I was surprised to hear Jack agree with this, so I added--"Until Mueller and his battalion of lawyers get to the bottom of things, Trump is the only one who knows what he did and didn't do. His being guilty would explain almost everything that has been going on."

"That's my point!" He was getting more excited by the minute.

"What's your point? That Trump is drowning in his own . . ."

Jack cut me off, "That maybe he did and maybe he didn't."

"Here we go," I said, more and more exasperated. "I don't have time for games, so either get to your point or I'm hanging up."

"This is America, right?"

"More talking in riddles," I said, ready to hang up.

Jack pressed on, "In America you're innocent until proven guilty, right. Apply that to Trump. As you say, he's the only one who knows what he did and didn't do. It's conceivable, then that he could have clean hands. No colluding with the Russians to defeat Hillary, no substantial financial ties with Russia, and no truth about anything much in that so-called dossier,"

"Anything's possible," I said, "Even that he has clean hands, but what are the chances . . ."

"Think of it this way. He loves to entertain and surprise. Notice how different things are after only three days of General Kelly becoming chief of staff. No incendiary tweets, no crazy off the cuff remarks or inappropriate behavior."

"Let's see how long that lasts."

"Months ago, after he was nominated and then really after he was elected, people, even you, wondered if he would pivot. Become more presidential. Maybe he's finally about to do that. He has been letting the investigations play out, he's fulminated about Mueller, but he's still there. Do you think if Trump was seriously, legally guilty he would let Mueller continue? Wouldn't he roll the dice and fire him?"

"Where are you going with this," I asked Jack.

"Maybe there's another Ockham's Razor analysis--that there's no there there."

"Again you . . ."

"That Trump's been playing Mueller, the media, and all the rest of us. Just when he's about to go down for the last time, just before the house collapses on him, he'll pull back all his defenses, share his tax information, and show everyone there's nothing of substance behind any of the charges."

"I'll tell you what I think is going one with you."

"I'm all ears."

"Pure and simple, he's crazy and you're scared. Because you think he's going under. Just yesterday there was a story in the Wall Street Journal that Mueller empaneled the grand jury. To Trump, and to you too, this must feel ominous. So you're looking desperately for explanations other that he and his cohorts committed crimes."

Not dealing with that, Jack said, "Time and time again he's proven to be crazy like a fox. If what I'm saying is true, what do you think will happen to his approval ratings? I'll bet they'd soar to 60 percent. At that time he could become the powerful president a lot of us have been waiting to see him become. Think about how that would be viewed by both the public and Congress. It would be like a Houdini escape--it looks as if he's finished and then when all seems lost he surfaces and everything is well. Better than well."

"I suppose anything's possible. But this one strains credulity. To let himself get into so much unnecessary jeopardy is way beyond putting on a show. I know he's into providing entertainment and maybe in some case flirts with near-death experiences, but if what you're saying is true, he really is reckless. In fact, worse than reckless."

"I like your comparing him to Houdini," Jack said, "Like all magicians Houdini was a master of diversion. He gets you to watch his left hand while he's doing his thing with his right one. You yourself acknowledged Trump is great at diverting attention. This could be his masterpiece."

"Like I said--this is crazy. Talk about there not being any there there."

"Good one," Jack said, laughing. "Let's be a little patient and see how this plays out."

July 25, 2017--Rudy & The Mooch

Desperate, Donad Trump and Republicans in the Senate are pulling out the stops--

First, there is the psychodrama playing out in the White House communications operation.

They pushed poor Sean Spicer so hard that he finally, in frustration and humiliation, resigned. Not only did he have to endure the mockery brilliantly served up by Melissa McCarthy on Saturday Night Live, with her motorized lectern, he also had to endure insults from his boss who couldn't get over Spicy's pudginess and ill-fitting suits. It didn't help that those off-the-rack outfits were a muddy brown and didn't include a pocket square.

So off he went to be replaced by Anthony (The Mooch) Scaramucci. After hijacking poor Sarah Huckabee Sander's live-on-TV news conference on the first day of her being named press secretary, after his overlong and obsequious "I'll-take-a-question-or-two" Q&A with the press, he asked her to make sure that the person who did his hair and makeup continued to be available to him.

So we know what he's about--in his bromance with The Donald ("I love the guy!") he knows the Boss will be checking out how he looks on TV. The good news is that he has the hair and bespoke outfits to keep Trump happy at least for a week or two.

Speaking of bespoke, did you notice what son-in-law Jared Kushner was wearing yesterday morning when he was set to testify before the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee? For the "prince of having it both ways" (called that in the Sunday Times by Frank Bruni), he knew who was watching on TV. From the threads and hair alone, we know daddy-in-law was for an hour or two feeling all was right with the world. Everyone was looking good. (The president in the meantime was continuing to swell up like a Macy' parade balloon.)

In the meantime, showing contempt for his own caucus, GOP Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell,  was getting ready to have his minions vote for a health care reform bill the contents of which were still, hours before the vote, unknown to them.

Would it be straight repeal or repeal-and-replace and if it was that, replace with what? Doesn't matter. What matters is that they vote for something. Anything. Since he and Trump do not care if what might come before the Senate will kick 30 or "only" 20 million covered now off the health care rolls, let's just vote and then move on to what really counts--a White House beer party for Republican senators and then the signing ceremony.

To make sure the vote goes his way, McConnell held off until poor John McCain could get out of his hospital bed to be trotted out just days after brain cancer surgery to vote yes, again for anything that has a chance to be passed. That McCain, who has his own existential healthcare issues to deal with, would allow himself to be used this way about such an issue, is a sad commentary on McCain himself who has gotten away with pretending to be a maverick during his too-long career in the Senate.

Sorry, senator, I know I am being insensitive, but you are bringing this final legacy down upon yourself. What you are too dramatically going along with will result in the premature death of hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans and even in your desperate condition you need to be called out for this act of, yes, cowardice.

Then there's poor Jeff Sessions. While he clings to political life it appears that Donald Trump and his nepotistic family are already making plans for what to do after they torture the attorney general into resigning.

Here's what they appear to be coming up with--

Sessions is twisting slowly in the wind (to resurrect an old Watergate trope) and we know will soon, Spicer like, say enough and resign. This should conveniently occur when the Senate is on its well-deserved 8th vacation of the year and Trump will make an interim appointment--name a new attorney general without requiring a vote of the so-called upper chamber. He should be able to find someone compliant enough to allow him to do this and in return will do the Big Guy's bidding and put the screws to special counsel Mueller.

Who, you might wonder, is so eager to please Donald Trump that he is willing to destroy his reputation by becoming his lapdog?

That's an easy one--Rudy!

So here's what we'll then have--a New York City all-star team of sycophants. Rudy, the Mooch, and all sorts of Goldman people in his cabinet or close-in advisors and flunkies.

To make this a trifecta of Tristate flunkiness, let's think about what Trump might come up with for Chris Crispy (as my mother used to call him). One thing we know, Christie will need to get a whole new wardrobe. If he's going to work for Trump, it's time for him to move on from the Men's Warehouse.

July 20, 2017--A Week Without Trump

As previewed yesterday, here's what I wrote on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 after two days of trying not to mention him but then, succumbing, as if on autopilot, I referred to him that week four times on Monday and then three times on Tuesday.

*   *   *

Though I noted some improvement earlier this week--mentioning Trump a regressive four times on Monday and then doing a bit better yesterday, mentioning him "just" three times--perhaps, then, since I am still disappointed with my progress, maybe I need to adjust tactics for a day to get to my goal sooner--to shake my year-long addiction to all things Trump.

So today, midweek, I'm going cold turkey. I'm taking a day off from blogging. I have an early doctor's appointment to see if my Lyme disease has abated and so I thought to take advantage of my busy schedule and not write anything today.

That's one way to deal with my Trump problem--ignore it. Admittedly, not the best way to proceed--taking it head on would be more impressive--but perhaps it could still be therapeutic.

This of course means no comments about Trump's speech last night, no mocking allusions to his having just discovered that repealing and replacing Obamacare is "unbelievably complex" or, better for satire or snarkiness, that "nobody knew [it] . . . could be so complicated."

Nobody?

This latter comment alone could under prior circumstances have been subject matter for at least two blogs.

Ignoring Trump, as I am now doing, I will make no public comments about his budget outline that sees a ten percent increase in military spending offset by massive cuts in domestic allocations. This would mean gutting food and healthcare for the poor to build more weapon systems. Cruel priorities.

But, as I've indicated, I will have nothing to say about that.

I will also not comment on the attempts to plug leaks by White House staff and how press secretary Sean Spicer forced those reporting to him to turn over their cell phones so they can be checked to find out who's been talking to the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN.

And I won't be writing about the White House banning reporters from these and other "fake news" outlets from attending the first Trump "gaggle." A briefing for a select group of reporters,
including one from Fox and another from Breitbart News, Steve Bannon's old shop.

Though I am tempted, you will not hear anything from me about this.

And you will not hear a word here about what is my thus-far favorite flap of the week--the Twitter storm about how Kellyanne Conway took her shoes off and folded her legs under her while sitting on them on the Oval Office couch as President Trump met with a group of distinguished presidents of historically black colleges and universities.

What was she doing there anyway? But you won't see me asking or speculating about that.

When Kellyann's disrespectful behavior was brought to the attention of Trump and his senior staff they were quick to publish pictures of Barack Obama sitting with his feet on the presidential desk. The same president Trump accused earlier this week of being behind all the leaks and leaving a "mess" when he left office.

But there will not be a word today about me about that. No leaking here. For me it's still Trump cold-turkey-detoxification time.

As New York City Mayor Ed Koch used at ask, "How am I doing?"

Rereading what I wrote in March, I see that (1) in spite of my intentions I did not take the day off from blogging, and (2) I mentioned Trump by name nine times. Nine! Not very impressive.

March 7, 2017--From the Bunker

It is not a good thing that Donald Trump signed the new travel ban executive order yesterday out of public viewing. Only Sean Spicer was there to record the event on his own iPhone, which he later posted on his Twitter feed.

Otherwise we would not have learned of the event, which should have been one of Trump's proudest achievements, something he promised his adoring fans he would do on his first day in office--ban Muslins from six or seven countries from entering the U.S. until "we figured what the hell is going on" with our alleged, but unsubstantiated, inadequate vetting.

Up to now, he signed dozens of EOs boastfully in very public settings--in the Oval Office surrounded by selected members of the public and senior staff or at places such as the Pentagon where he sat enthroned in golden gilded chairs.

But to sign the rebooted EO travel ban alone and sulking in the White House was all too evocative of Nixon, alone and isolated, during his last days in office. It may bc that Trump too is close to the end as his lies about President Obama close in around him and more and more of his people seem compromised by contact and dealings with the Russians. But, if true and if he is operating from a metaphorical bunker these could be dangerous days for America. Watch for a wag-the-dog lashing out against, say, North Korea as things darken for our president.

Press secretary and White House photographer, Sean Spencer, is also operating more and more from a bunker of his own. Trump clearly has pulled his plug. Press duties are being carried out these days by Mike's daughter, clueless Sarah Huckabeee Sanders, Sean's deputy, while Spicer himself, so yesterday, not even any longer appearing on Saturday Night Live, has not had a televised public press conference of his own in more than a week and has been meeting with reporters only in "gaggles."

(Gaggle, by the way is literally a group of geese and etymologically comes from the Middle gagelen, to cackle. How appropriate.)

It is also not a good sign that when Trump appeared in semi-public over the weekend on route to and while in Palm Beach, it was always when accompanied by Ivanka Trump's children. When they trot out the grandchildren it is a sign of political and emotional desperation.

Trump, by there way is the only president since Harry Truman not to have a dog. In his darkest days Nixon had Checkers to shield and comfort him and when the Monica Lewinsky scandal isolated Bill Clinton there was the always-available Buddy to lick his face. (One time ask me to tell you my Buddy story.)

And I just noticed, the shelves in the Oval Office are less than half filled. It is as if Trump has not moved in or is about to pull up stakes. And the only picture on the credenza behind the presidential desk is of Trump patriarch, Fred. Again, even Nixon, who had little involvement with his family, had dozens of pictures of Pat and the girls on public view in a sad attempt to normalize him.

All the while over the weekend North Korea launched four or five intermediate-range missiles, most of them landing just 200 miles from Japan and, in response, we moved into South Korea batteries of Thaad antimissile-missiles.

It may be getting closer to the time when all of us will need to seek more than metaphoric bunkers.

There is at least one piece of good news--no one is reporting yet that late at night, like Nixon, Trump is wandering around the White House talking to portraits of previous presidents. If he is spotted doing that, good presidents to commune with would be Harry Truman or Dwight Eisenhower since neither Lincoln nor Jefferson would likely make themselves available.

March 1, 2017--A Day Without Trump

Since I noted some improvement earlier this week--mentioning Trump a regressive four times on Monday and then doing only a bit better yesterday, mentioning him "just" three times--perhaps, then, since I ams still disappointed with my progress, maybe I need to adjust tactics for a day to get to my goal sooner--to shake my yearlong addiction to all things Trump.

So today, midweek, I am taking a day off from blogging. I have an early doctor's appointment to see if my Lyme disease has abated and so I thought to take advantage of my busy schedule and not write anything.

That's one way to deal with my problem. Ignore it. Admittedly, not the most therapeutic way--taking it head on would be more beneficial--but perhaps it could still be helpful.

This of course means no comments about Trump's speech last night, no mocking allusions to his having just discovered that repealing and replacing Obamacare is "unbelievably complex" or, better for satire or snarkiness, that "nobody knew [it] . . . could be so complicated." Nobody?

This latter comment alone could under prior circumstances have been subject matter for at least two blogs.

Ignoring Trump I will have no public comments about his budget outline that sees a ten percent increase in military spending and offsetting cuts in domestic allocations, which means cutting back on food and healthcare for the poor to build more weapon systems. Cruel priorities. But I will have nothing to say about that.

I will also not comment on the attempts to plug leaks by the president and White House staff and how press secretary Sean Spicer forced those reporting to him to turn over their cell phones so they can be checked to find out who's been leaking to the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN.  And I won't be writing about the White House banning reporters from these and other "fake news" outlets from attending the first Trump "gaggle" briefing for a select group of reporters,
including one from Breitbart News, Steven Bannon's old shop.

Though I am tempted, you will not hear anything from me about this.

And you will not hear a word here about what is my thus-far favorite flap of the week--the Twitter storm about how Kellyanne Conway took her shoes off and folded her legs under her while sitting on them on the Oval Office couch as President Trump met with a group of distinguished presidents of historically black colleges and universities.

What was she doing there anyway? But you won't see me asking or speculating about that.

When Kellyann's disrespectful behavior was brought to the attention of Trump and his senior staff they were quick to publish pictures of Barack Obama sitting with his feet on the presidential desk. The same president Trump accused earlier this week of being behind all the leaks and leaving a "mess" behind. But there will not be a word about me about that. No leaking here. For me it's still Trump cold turkey detoxification time.

As New York City Mayor Ed Koch used at ask, "How am I doing?"

February 13, 2017--Jack On "Sane Republicans"

"I read what you wrote the other day about how ridicule has the power to bring Trump down."

Once again, Jack was calling. "That could be true," he said, "It can be powerful when it gets under the skin of someone as thin-skinned as Trump."

"That's what I'm thinking," I said.

"On the other hand," Jack said, "a lot of Democrats are thinking it has to be 'sane Republicans' like John McCain and Lindsay Graham who need to step up and begin to openly take Trump on. Everyone knows they hate him, but so far they have been muted in their criticism. This makes sense to me. You can see them seething and at some point Trump'll do something so outrageous, there will be some sort of smoking gun, maybe from the Russians' secret files, and that will signal the beginning of the end."

"You're beginning to sound like one of us," I said.

"Not one of your kind, but maybe I'm one of those sane Republicans." I knew if we were seated across from each other at the Bristol Diner he'd be winking at me.

He added, "I watched Saturday Night Live on Saturday, knowing they'd be going after Trump again, to check out how potent their humor is."

"So what did you think?"

"I thought the Melissa McCarthy takedown of Sean Spicer was the best of the three political sketches. He's a very angry man and she got to the heart of that. And was savagely funny. One more week and Trump will ready to pull the plug on him. Not just to end the mocking but because he's jealous of Spicer stealing the spotlight. I read some place that his daily press briefings, which the cable news people are carrying live, are getting higher ratings than General Hospital and the other soaps. Not too mention Fox, CNN, and MSNBC. All are seeing their ratings at all time highs"

"People can't seem to get enough of Trump," I sighed. "In any form."

"But then the skit about Kellyanne Conway, where she goes after CNN's Jake Tapper the same predatory way Sharon Stone did to Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct, was so vicious that it went beyond humor and came out on the dark side. It wasn't really as funny as Steve Bannon the week before when he played the Grim Reaper. That was very dark but funny. I guess with comedy there are no limits. But if I'm thinking about political effectiveness--and I do think the SNL people are out to bring Trump down--for me that bit didn't work."

"I felt the same way," I said, "It crossed too many lines to have much impact, though I did think it was bold."

"You're getting to my main point and the reason I called."

"I was wondering about that."

"Take the last sketch where Baldwin played Trump appealing his travel ban to the courts. Not the Ninth Circuit or the Supreme Court but, of course, The People's Court. A reality show court. This should have been funny but I felt it was predictable and more manufactured than inspired. To be consistently funny you need to avoid slipping into into routines and cliches. Things have to be fresh and the Alec Baldwin version of Trump is getting to be overexposed. My sense is that after another week or two people will begin to tune out. Ditto for McCarthy's Sean Spicer. This week the innovation was to motorize the podium. Pretty thin stuff."

"I also was thinking been-there-done-that and started to nod off."

"So, from an effectiveness perspective, SNL, as fresh as it seemed three weeks ago, is feeling stale and a little boring. Boring is the opposite of funny."

"Here's one more thing," Jack said, "I'm thinking that the Trump act is also wearing thin. He too is in danger of slipping into predictability. His act is wearing thin. This could be a good thing--to rein Trump in--or a bad thing--we'll stop paying attention to what he's up to. He might be more dangerous out of the spotlight than basking in it."

February 10, 2017--Ridicule

Thursday morning we finally made it down for breakfast at 10:00. At least an hour later than usual. We lingered in bed as the snowstorm intensified. It was magical to watch our terrace turn into a giant snow globe. And we also lingered, in truth, because so much was going on. With and among Donald Trump and his band of co-conspirators.

By 10:00 AM the following had already happened--

In a series of three tweets he savaged John McCain for criticizing the ill-fated Navy SEAL operation in Yemen. McCain, he raged has been "losing so long that he doesn't know how to win."

Senators from both parties who had informal one-on-one meetings the day before with Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, were quoting him as saying that he was "demoralized" and "disheartened" by Trump's overnight tweets and comments that disparaged the federal courts. He made it known to the senators that he was comfortable with their quoting him directly.

I have been following these matters for decades and cannot recall anything even vaguely comparable.

Rona said, "That's because there has never previously been anyone like Trump in the White House. Even Nixon was more restrained in his assaults on the courts and never has a Supreme Court nominee allowed his words to be quoted publicly."

Trump took to mocking one of the senators who shared Garland's lament--Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal. In yet another tweet Trump blasted him for inflating his resumé in regard to his service in Vietnam, something Trump himself did when, after receiving four or five deferments, claimed he did his service in high school when he attended the New York Military Academy.

Then there was the Ivanka Trump flap. Trump began it himself when he called Nordstrom out for cancelling Ivanka's line of clothes. Trump said it was for political reasons, the store said it was because they weren't selling.

Brother Don, Jr., chimed in suggesting in a tweet of his own that shippers should boycott Nordstrom and signal they are doing so by cutting up and returning their credit cards.

Not to be outdone, favorite flunky Kellyanne Conway, while being interviewed on the inane "Fox and Friends" called for Trump supporters to "go buy Ivanka's stuff.  Doing so, as a government official, may be against the law. She was reportedly "counseled" for this infraction later in the day.

Finally, over coffee, wondering what this all means, Rona said, "I know how we can get rid of Trump."

"Impeachment?"

"No, resignation."

"No way but I'm interested in what you're thinking."

"Through ridicule."

"Say more."

"What's the one thing he craves the most?" She answered her own question, "To be in the center of things, in the spotlight, with all eyes on him while being adulated. That's why he's so obsessed with how he's faring in the polls, how large his crowds are at rallies and the Inauguration. That's why his touchstone no matter the purpose of the meeting is 'The Celebrity Apprentice.' He even began his comments at the Annual Prayer Breakfast by mocking the ratings Arnold Schwarzenegger was pulling after taking Trump's place as the host. 'Pray for his ratings,' he incredibly said."

"And so?"

"He thinks of himself as the entertainer or celebrity in chief. That's why he watches TV all the time. To see what people are saying about him. To be famous is his highest aspiration and that's why he's so protective of his image, his brand and can't stand it when late night talkshow hosts make fun of him or, much worse, how a show he used to appear on regularly, 'Saturday Night Live,' ridicules him mercilessly week after week."

"We don't watch it that much," I said, "But did the last few weeks. Via On Demand, and they sliced him up savagely, hilariously. Alec Baldwin has taken on his essence and the skit with Melissa McCarthy mocking his press secretary were works of comic genius. But I'm not entirely getting your point about the political impact of this."

"If all of these folks keep it up, Trump will not be able to appear in public. He certainly will not be viable in Manhattan at his favorite 21 Club or soon in Palm Beach. This would be like cutting off his oxygen supply. And so he'll wind up living alone in the White House. Don't underestimate the power of satire and ridicule. In his case, it could very well do him in."

"He'll resign?"

"That's what I'm thinking. Comedy as another of our checks and balances."