Hail To Our Disgruntled Employee-in-Chief

Someday, if our country actually survives Donald Trump’s reign, historians will be telling us something we’ve suspected all along. No, I’m not talking about the collective opinion that he was our worst president ever. (We all know that topic will be a big part of any upcoming discussion). I’m talking about the Achilles’ heel of POTUS #45.

The real tragedy underlying Trump’s Presidency wasn’t his job performance, it was his own confusion about the job description. He just didn’t understand that he was “hired” to be America’s top EMPLOYEE — not EMPLOYER.

He never quite understood that being elected President of The United States meant public service, not public adoration or adulation. Why didn’t he realize that his new high-status job was also the most difficult (even the most thankless) one in the USA? Why didn’t this stable genius read that memo before Inauguration Day?

Maybe Trump’s idea of this job came shrouded in so much mythical power, unwavering prestige, and glitzy patriotism that he forgot all about the requisite blood, sweat, and tears. Maybe he never thought that far ahead because he didn’t really believe he’d win the 2016 Presidential Election. Maybe it was always about his “brand” and not his true commitment to the American people. I don’t know. Who really does? Certainly not the man himself.

In a democracy The People, collectively, are supposed to be his boss, but he couldn’t see it that way. He refused to see it that way. He never wanted to work for us, he only wanted to work for himself. He thought he was micro-manager of planet Earth and the galaxy beyond. Space Force! (Talk about a warped Presidential legacy to leave for future generations.)

Even now, just following this guy’s thread of logic during his press conferences is getting harder and harder. At this point, I can’t even fathom what reality means to him anymore. So I can’t pretend to understand the true workings of his soul when it comes to matters of such historical importance. After watching and listening to him, both as Presidential candidate and President, however, I can only come to one conclusion. Here’s the obvious surprise: This man should never have been allowed to set foot within a 300-mile radius of the Oval Office, let alone become President of The United States.

But he got elected to the highest office in the land and now we’re all suffering because of it. And yet, we can’t stop watching him. He’s actually entertaining in the way a slo-mo demonic possession would be on a Stephen King podcast. Creepy and macabre, yes. But also fascinating to see and hear because we never thought such a thing could happen in our own country.

We never figured a minority of disgruntled voters would want to elect such an unwilling public servant.

In fact, everything Trump stood for opposed the concept, the very definition, of public service. He never cared about the commonweal; he only cared about himself. Any bills or executive orders he signed into law were only done with his own business and political interests in mind. Money and the covenant of capitalism were his touchstones, not God and country. God was never on his agenda. Any religious beliefs he openly championed — opening houses of worship during the pandemic, reversals and prohibitions in regard to Roe V. Wade — were just to get votes.

So he never was the man of The People. He was a moody iconoclast who kept destroying government agencies and institutions, along with our collective trust in government itself.

More significantly, during America’s nationwide pandemic, he couldn’t bring himself to give the public any accurate, consistent information about COVID-19. He initially dismissed it. He called it a hoax. He even accused his enemies of exaggerating this little flu for political gain. Remember?

No doubt historians will. Especially since his erratic conduct and comments have been well-preserved for posterity. Trump has been continuously recorded by the media at large, then expressively documented by print journalists. Case in point: “Trump Accuses Democrats of Outbreak ‘Hoax,’” from the front page of The New York Times, on Saturday, February 29, 2020.

Trump actually dismissed COVID-19 as “their new hoax,” as yet another attack from his enemies. “Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. We did one of the great jobs,” he was quoted as saying. “How’s President Trump doing? They go, ‘Not good.’ They do not have any clue. They cannot even count the votes in Iowa. No, they can’t.”

Even Trump’s resident weasels, disguised as White House Staffers, backed him up by affirming his false accusations. They continued to support their fearless leader’s spins, too, even though he continued to spin out of control.

When Trump later decided this virus was real, he announced it would miraculously go away. Then, when it became more and more apparent that a virulent contagion was overtaking our country, he reassured us — at first. He announced that everyone who wanted to be tested would get tested. That didn’t happen. He promised financial help to struggling businesses… well, to the struggling BIG businesses, anyway. He promised enough protective masks, gear, and ventilators to clinics and hospitals.
When desperate frontline workers, doctors, and patients who weren’t getting them raised concerns, however, he blamed them for hoarding. He blamed Obama, too. His campaign of contradiction and misinformation caused even more confusion than was humanly necessary.

But later on, when our economy really tanked, his politicizing turned dangerous. Trump publicly redefined precautionary measures recommended by the CDC, healthcare experts, and his own White House! as infringements of our Constitutional rights! Suddenly, those masks and social distancing rules symbolized big bad government taking away our freedom. Suddenly, the Don’t-Tread-On-Me mobs got activated. Careless crowds of protesters ensued: colorful human petri dishes of dissent. Not a good thing.

And yet, in his imagined reality, everything was fine. Everything was great. He continuously congratulated himself in public for the way he’d conquered this unimaginable health crisis.

But the crisis was far from over. Even as he kept praising himself for the terrific job he was doing, the death tolls mounted. Then he “opened up America’s businesses” again — when it was too early to do so. More people died…

Of course, as a lowly scribe recording the antics of this president in real time, I can’t say what Election Day 2020 will bring. I’m hoping voters will do what Trump keeps doing to his disgruntled employees. I’m hoping we all “fire” Trump and kick him out of office by electing his opponent (whoever he might be). Fingers crossed.

As another disgruntled — yet pragmatic — voter, however, I suspect Trump will use this Pandemic to cancel the 2020 election. That way, he can give himself another term without worrying about the pesky will of The People. Maybe getting re-elected will prove that he wasn’t the loser his late mother always thought he was.

Although I’m living during these Trump years, time feels surreal. Like, I know I’m trapped in a nightmare but can’t wake up and I don’t want to wake up because POTUS #45 is too scary for our democracy. This guy’s unconstitutional, through and through.

What have we got to lose? Everything. Everything, thanks to a disgruntled worker-bee-in-chief who thought he was too big to serve the hive.