In the days after the of the Election of Donald Trump I felt a fear that I had not felt since the immediate aftermath of 9-11. It was a fear of the unthinking, uncritical hatred of the masses, the idea that due to circumstances completely out of our control, the innocent would now be at the mercy of the majority, stoked on by the malevolence of the few. My biggest fear is that Donald Trump would emerge to be the Machiavellian genius people were saying he was. I was afraid that, as President, he would gain popularity and win over skeptics with astute political maneuverings and consolidate those victories into support for his persecution of this nation's people of color. The idea being that, amid such victories and fervent support, even those well-meaning whites who did not harbor racist sentiments would remain quiet. In truth, events played out quite differently.
Donald Trump is not a political genius, Machiavellian or otherwise. In fact, although I often use the term mediocrity as an insult, the term cannot apply to Donald Trump in the political sense because the term would denote that he is middle of the pack, and this is simply not the case. Donald Trump has proven (to my great relief) to be almost comically inept, seemingly incapable to listening to his advisors, unable to stay out of his own way, utterly clueless when it comes to prudence in communicating with the American people, and a hopeless political neophyte.
Rather than playing political give and take and currying favor with Congress in order to achieve his main objectives, he has squandered whatever political clout he may have had and is wrapping up year one on the verge of accomplishing only his first major political objective while in office despite the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress. Much like a paper tiger, this small handed devil has proven to be much weaker and less fearsome than advertised, principally because the political plurality that is his base is no match for the rest of America who remain decent people dedicated to the ideals of justice and fairness, who uphold diversity without prejudice, and who do this nation proud despite the soulless beast that occupies the Oval Office who only represents the monsters of yesteryear.
Make no mistake, his inability to achieve his political ends does not mitigate his intent. If he had his way, he would close the border, deport Latinos and Arab refugees (most likely citizens included if he could get away with it), and return America to the race-based injustices that earned praise from Adolf Hitler before his own rise to power nearly a century ago. Donald Trump is a small-handed, miniature version of the larger devil that is perhaps to come if this nation cannot come to grips with the current tribalism that permeates throughout. This fear-based and antiquated idea that that is only one way to looks, act, and be American that has existed throughout my lifetime, a silent hatred that has always been brewing just under the surface, awaiting an imprimatur that will begin the unraveling of this experiment in political liberty that is America.
I say that Donald Trump is incompetent, not out of malice, but out of an immense sense of relief, a sense that, barring some self-induced calamity with North Korea, this nation will be able to survive this term without any permanent damage despite all the efforts of the executive branch. Currently the right is a shambles. Their own party is testament to the fact that they aren't concerned with sexual assault except inasmuch as it can be used to score political points when committed by Democrats or minorities. Their own candidates, however, can be readily forgiven when they commit such acts because, after all, boys will be boys and the last thing we need is another Democrat in office. The current situation is thus that the evil that Trump and company would visit upon this nation is not attainable at this time but we cannot be complacent in light of this fact. We must organize politically and do everything in our power ensure that a situation like this is not allowed to happen again. The next devil might have bigger hands.
