Trumpertantrum

I just couldn’t resist and am sure I am not the first or only one to think of it. I am, once again, not posting to social media but only to my Writing Workshop blog as a way of getting some junk out of my system and having a record as things proceed, a kind of protection against claiming hindsight was foresight.

I have been amazed at the seemingly unflinching support for Trump’s claims of having lost by fraud. All sorts of things have been alleged, but not only specific evidence was presented for examination by the courts or the public. The courts, all the way to the Supreme Court as of yesterday, have consistently dismissed the suits being brought without documentation. This includes judges appointed not just by Republicans but by Trump himself (including his three appointees to the Supreme Court). The Republican governors, legislatures, and election officials in the contested states have consistently affirmed the integrity of the election results.

Yet 17 States’ Attorneys General and 126 Republican members of Congress (if I’ve got the numbers right), along with the President himself, joined with the Texas suit that the Supreme Court would not hear yesterday. I have a very hard time believing that they really believe that the election was fraudulently stolen from Trump. I suppose I do understand their political inclination to desire a Republican President, but the whole enterprise of overturning the election has been an obviously futile fool’s journey. So I am left pondering what would motivate these folk to take such an outlandish position publically. I have seen suggested that they hope to curry favor for some sort of appointments or campaign funding in the future. However, that seems a fatally flawed logic if they don’t have the power of appointment.

I suppose the exception to this that had been mentioned before in relationship to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, though he denied it, would be hoping for a presidential pardon before Trump leaves office.

Though much darker and sinister, but somehow more plausible to me is that they are intimidated and fear Trump’s vindictive revenge. Hard to imagine he has a file of enough dirt on each of them that was worth risking their political futures to prevent it from being exposed. Their public support for the Texas Supreme Court suit has certainly bolstered the fervent proclamation of fraud among Trump’s support base. I have no idea how big that is, but they do seem to be plenty very vocal and visible and determined.

We are already seeing signs that this group is ready to take to the streets in protest of the election and to do everything possible to thwart the Biden presidency. It seems to be somewhat above a rumor but not a definitive, public plan yet, but I wonder if Trump’s hinted at January 20 rally in Florida will be a “call to arms” and civil disobedience, cast carefully enough to not be a literal provocation of armed rebellion. However, I have already seen some hints from some (quoting Jefferson et al) justifying an uprising against what they are labeling as tyranny. Given what I have observed the last five years, I don’t know if Trump is self-disciplined or even aware enough to use language so judiciously.

My other speculation is whether once out of office, Trump will lose his power and leverage and the Republican party will return to its classic principles, and conservatives will disown Trump as a fake conservative, and evangelicals abandon the one who is hardly one of them. I know that he wants to control the party, but I am sure plenty of them are looking for an exit from the Trump mystic. He has already turned on FOX News, without whom he would have been politically marginalized. Will he turn on the party if the craved loyalty evaporates?

One last speculation circling back to my title “Trumpertantrum.” I have a variety of first hand experiences with renters who trashed their apartments when evicted, or when the rent went up, or when they clashed with the landlord, or when they were just ready to move on. My very serious concern is whether Trump with trash the country as he exits. We all know a flurry of pardons and executive orders are coming. Not good, but fully expected. I must say I have wondered if the rush to go out with a cluster of federal executions is a very grim expression of anger. “I lost, so people have to die!” I am not commenting here on what these criminals deserve or the ongoing debate on capital punishment. Rather, I am wondering if the timing is part of a final angry, deadly outburst.

Probably not at such a serious level, but I have to wonder what he will do to the White House. I know many past presidents have taken things with them – I suppose as mementos of their time there, but as far as I know none of them were intentionally destructive or vented their rage on the physical building. To be sure, there will be redecorating. That happens with every change of administration. Because so many who worked in the White House were diagnosed with covid-19, disinfecting is a reasonable expectation, whether that is done in a precautionary way or as a disrespectful gesture. But I can’t help but speculate on whether some symbolic damage might be left as a taunt to Biden et al.

While not all outgoing presidents have attended the inauguration of their successors, a gracious statement of appreciation of the privilege of having served the country and wishing the next president well is customary and polite. The handwritten note in the desk drawer in the Oval Office is a tradition I doubt Trump will continue. I have a personal interest here from my pastoral days. I always left a note affirming well wishes and prayers for my successor, and this was part of the training I had for my time as interim pastor.