Washington Merry-Go-Round

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5 April 2025
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
Today’s Events in Historical Perspective
America’s Longest-Running Column Founded 1932
The four faces of Trump
By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift         
 
WASHINGTON – The truth is that no one knows what motivates President Trump and, as a result, what he could do, might do, or will do. So, here are some scenarios to ponder in the wake of his tariff-induced stock market fiasco:
First, he is an idealogue tied to the ideas of Pres. William McKinley, the man known as Mr. Tariff. In 1890 while serving in Congress, McKinley shepherded through the infamous McKinley Tariff that led to the Panic of 1893. As president in 1898 he initiated a war with Spain focused on Cuba and The Philippines, but not Spain in its European homeland. And caring little for the common man, the Robber Baron mega-rich class thrived under his tutelage as did he from their financial support. Now, like McKinley on steroids, Trump unilaterally set the highest tariffs in more than one hundred years, even surpassing the infamous 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff that, more than the stock market crash of 1929, caused the Great Depression.
Second, he is certainly no economist, and, in fact, not broadly educated. Neither is he wealthy, having inherited and lost most of his inheritance and built a real estate empire on borrowed money which probably exceeds the current value of his properties. Afterall, he consistently refused to divulge his tax returns like other presidents, claiming they were under audit, and this has been going on since 2017. One would think he would be proud of them unless he is no more than a faux billionaire. He claimed his first term was hindered by professionals and that in his second term he would “Let Trump be Trump,” a mantra that has brought on the impulsive, erratic, and immature actions of a man-child.
Third, he is a power-hungry egomaniacal autocrat wannabe who has no understanding of, belief in, or loyalty to the Constitution and established precedents. Ruling by Executive Order, he supplants a compliant GOP majority Congress and ignores judicial orders, establishing the Executive Branch as supreme, deporting people without a hearing, withdrawing troops from NATO, siding with Russia in its war with Ukraine, threatening sovereign nations, shuttering congressionally-mandated agencies, firing people without cause, and, of course, imposing tariffs without congressional authorization.
Fourth, he is compromised. When real estate collapsed during the Great Recession of 2008 his son went on television and announced that his father was getting all the money he needed from the Russians. Since his finances were almost all tied up in real estate only some benevolent source of funding could have kept him afloat. That benevolent source became the subject of the 2016 Mueller Investigation conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former Director of the FBI. The Mueller Report refused to exonerate Trump but stated that a sitting president could not be prosecuted. Since then, Trump has proven to be highly supportive of Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin, often contrary to U.S. national interests.
So, who is the real Donald Trump? The man behind scenario door one, two, three, or four? The answer? He is all of them.
 
See Eleanor Clift’s book Selecting a President, and Douglas Cohn’s latest books The President’s First Year: The Only School for Presidents Is the Presidency and World War 4: Nine Scenarios (endorsed by seven flag officers).
              Twitter:  @douglas_cohn
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END WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND