Hubris is taking down Trump

Trying to cover up his bald spot,
but it looks morel like the image of a man
under siege shutting himself off from reality
(if he was ever there). Yahoo image. 

I wrote this blog in March 2018.The news of the day had me thinking about Shakespeare and Greek tragedy. Ari Melber reminded me of it in his broadcast on August 8, 2023, when he talked about Greek myth and Trump's effort "to outrun his fate," like Hercules. I think it is relevant today as Trump faces one indictment after another. An American tragedy. 

            

Hubris--false pride, unmitigated arrogance, "challenging the gods," as the ancient Greeks would put it--is bringing Trump down, along with his crime family. The USA will recover in time, but the Trump family, the business, the brand, NEVER.  The Trump name, in whatever guise it appears, is going down in infamy, forever.  

What a bizarre twist of fate.  Is it a Shakespearean tragedy? No. That requires a noble character with a tragic flaw that is his or her undoing.  

This story is more like a Greek tragedy about a flawed character without virtue, whose narcissistic hubris is his nemesis. 

This story is about an impulsive, ignorant and emotionally unevolved man who decides to run for President of the United States even though he has not one iota of experience or knowledge, let alone a strong moral purpose, to fulfill the Constitutional duties of its highest office.  

It's a story about a man who doesn't know the U.S. Constitution, hasn't read the documents of the Founding Fathers, in fact doesn't read at all, and does not know the history of his own country.  He is a man who does not understand what it means to live under the Rule of Law and serve as its strongest public advocate. 

Moreover, this character is not interested in learning or taking advise from experts or professional civil servants who know more than he does. His billionaire cabinet, confirmed by Senate Republicans also lacking in ethical purpose, is dismantling our agencies piece by piece. He is facilitating the damage.  He is a pathological liar with the attention span and mindset of a four-year-old, totally lacking in leadership ability. Never have so many lies emanated from the White House.

This character-trying-to-act-as-a-president is also alarmingly ignorant of public policy. He struts on the stage unable to defend or coherently make a case for any public policy position.  He has no substance. He is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. He thinks public policy has to do with signing Executive Orders and photo ops. He makes impulsive decisions without knowing the facts or considering the consequences. His rants on health care, immigration, tax cuts for the super-rich, are examples. He hopes America will one day have "A President for Life."

Hillary Clinton, who was supremely qualified to serve and won the popular vote by over 3 million votes, said it best: "Trump's ideas are not just different, they are dangerously incoherent. They're not even really ideas, just a series of bizarre rants, personal feuds and outright lies.  He is not just unprepared, he is temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility." 

Our democracy and Rule of Law are under siege. The election of this Pretender defying the Gods has set the stage for a full-blown Constitutional crisis.