Twelve Second Entry in Book Six: Trying to Hold On 2019

I just read, don’t ask why, the BBC coverage of the Minnesota Trump Rally. The pressing question the BBC was investigating is how do Trump supporters feel about the impeachment issue? In a move that should surprise no one, but should be lamented by all, Trump supporters are steadfast in their ignorance and rejection of of reality.

I was going to share the quotes from supporters and THEN argue the facts but… honestly, that is almost impossible to do. One of the strengths of Trump, as discussed by non-partisan professionals, is that his level of batshit works really well for him. The people he has to deal with have been trained their entire lives in proper debate, factual analysis, diplomacy, and professionalism. I’m in that camp myself. And it is a strength for Trump because it entirely interrupts every attempt at factual, adult discussions.

Hypothetical Example:
An expert in international affairs comes to the White House to discuss American Foreign Policy in Syria. He begins to discuss how the lack of United States presence will significantly impact the region. Trump responds with, “Our southern border is a mess, y’know. How can I get my Wall built?” The international affairs expert has no response to this. It isn’t his job to handle domestic affairs. It isn’t his job to instruct the President on immigration. The President has hundreds of unread reports on those subjects sitting, ignored. This particular individual is present to discuss international affairs, specifically Syria. But every time he tries to have the conversation, the President presses him about the Southern Border of the United States. Two different conversations exist, and that is impossible. One Speaker, One Listener. But Trump is never the Listener and that creates massive issues. So there is no dealing with him and instead of forcing the issue… the adults in the room get exhausted, get fed up, leave.

That is what it is like with some of these supporters. They get all of their news from Fox News. A network that has been bending over backwards to make Trump look pure as the driven snow. AND DESPITE that, Trump is bad mouthing the network left and right for “unfair coverage”. Because, due to his massive mental disability, Trump believes ANY coverage of something critical of him is “unfair” and “fake news.” Fox News covered a poll that said Trump would lose to Warren, Biden, and Sanders if the election were to happen today. Trump spent the next 24 hours bad mouthing the network on Twitter because they weren’t “covering (him) honestly!” This is the terrifying, fragile, self-obsessed man-baby running our country.

And here’s where I get “liberal snob” because, remember, Trump Supporters think that the educated and the “intellectual” are the enemy. I am an attorney. I have read the Constitution of the United States. I can accurately summarize Article 2 of the Constitution. I can tell you the names of the Supreme Court cases that have limited or expanded the interpretation of the Constitution. I went through a LOT of school and paid a LOT of money for that.

Has the impeachment inquiry been handled perfectly from the start? NO
Is the impeachment inquiry constitutional? YES
Has Donald Trump, if the accusations are true, committed an impeachable offense? YES
Did Donald Trump already confess to the crimes on National Television while doubling down and re-committing the crime? YES
Did Donald Trump tell George Stephenopolis months ago that he would break the law about foreign interference in our election during a taped interview? YES
Have a large majority of the people who’ve been ousted from the Trump White House expressed that the President is “unhinged”, “constantly instructing aides to break the law”, or “enriching himself to the exclusion of national security?” YES
Has Hunter Biden already been more faithful about stepping down, distancing himself from foreign money, and following ethics regulations than all of Trump’s children put together? YES
Has Donald Trump properly divested himself of his own interests and released his own tax returns to verify that the very corruption he accuses Biden of has not been committed by him? NO

So it is in THIS world… where the facts are very obvious… where what has happened has happened on National Television, via publicly accessible tweets, and been more public than Watergate or the Lewinsky Scandal… and that is the batshit strength working for Trump. His supporters believe that politics is a shady business of backdoor deals and secret agreements. CERTAINLY if it were all done in public, it wouldn’t be criminal! Trump is a “very stable genius” so how can people say what he’s doing publicly is against the law? It’d be against the law if he were hiding it, but he’s being open about it! (Don’t even ask them about the cover up strategy of illegally interfering with subpoenas… the response is “But it isn’t a lawful inquiry.” AND let me tell you how the lawyer in me gets RAGED about that! It doesn’t matter if you agree with the charges or not; if there is a subpoena, you are required to answer it. Interfering with that is an act of obstructing justice! Always has been!!)

So… in that world… here are the statements of Trump Supporters as captured by the BBC reporter:

“They’re just making stuff up,”

“I think it’s a witch hunt,” agrees Tyler Ganley, 29. “I don’t think Donald Trump has done any impeachable offence that’s a high crime or misdemeanour. There was nothing wrong with their conversation. It seems to me they’re turning a Biden scandal into a Trump scandal.

“I think the phone call has been taken out of context. They’re making it sound like he was trying to take down a political rival. If Biden was using his position to further his son’s career, then that in itself is corrupt.”

“It’s a joke,” says Eric Radziej, of impeachment. “It really is. It’s not an official inquiry. It’s Pelosi, having her own private poll. She’s only asking the people she wants to ask.”

Eric continues: “They produced the transcript. That’s the whole story. Trump never said he was going to withhold money. They’ve tried to impeach Trump since before he was in office. It’s not really the Democratic Party - it’s just anti-Republican. If they want an official investigation, they should just go to the courts and do it.”

“We wanted to do our little bit,” says Veronica Diaz, 43, explaining why she travelled the four hours from her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “We wanted to show our support for the president we love and support our free country.”

She calls the impeachment inquiry “horrible”, adding: “We know what they’re investigating. But we know what we know. I’ve read the transcript and I didn’t find anything illegal in it.

Doug Shinler, 55, says: “I don’t think he’s done anything wrong. He’s nothing to hide. If there’s corruption, we need to know about it. It’s all a big scam and the Bidens are trying to cover their tracks.”

He’s one of several who say they get their information on the inquiry from Fox News - which is highlighted by the president in his rally speech - as well as social media.

Mike Mullen says he finds it helpful to read the president’s tweets as well. And in his view, “it’s not impeachment - it’s been proven”.

“All these channels except Fox - it’s the only one that speaks the truth - they’re trying to come up with whistleblowers that don’t exist. They try to change people’s minds with misinformation.”

She also says only “high crimes and misdemeanours” are impeachable offences.

“I don’t know, like sneaking off with a billion dollars in cash, that might be something,” she says, alluding to another unsubstantiated allegation of corruption against Biden. “It’s not even a crime, what [Trump] did.

“If you read the transcript, which I have done, there’s nothing there which was bad. If Democrats want to impeach him, that’s their loss. What did he do that broke the law? The Democrats can’t answer that.

“If Obama had that same conversation would any of this be coming up? The answer is 100% no. That’s all it is. They’re out to get him. The Russian election thing failed on them massively. And when this one fails they’ll move into the next thing. They’re going to have four more years trying to get rid of him.”