On Donald Trump (Part One)

I try pretty hard to keep away from politics when it comes to my writing, but the problem is, I'm a news junkie. Actually, I'm a politics junkie. I keep up with everything that goes on within American politics, probably better than Joe Scarborough (cohost of Morning Joe on MSNBC).

Before reading further, realize I'm not a liberal or conservative. You would most likely call me a radical (and I'm okay with the label). I self-identify as an Anarcho-capitalist, though a gentler name would be a Voluntarist. Basically, I think all human interactions should be voluntary. I'll expand on that in another post, but that's not the purpose of this one. Also, I don't vote (I'll detail this out in a later post, too).

The focus is President Trump.

During the election, I wasn't a Trump supporter. However, I sort of considered myself 'Anti anti-Trump'. I sincerely believed Hillary and Bill Clinton are part of the ruling elite and have been allowed to get away with more crimes than almost imaginable. For decades. So, I more or less wanted her to lose, which is different than wanting Trump to win.

I think, however, that Trump duped me. I was pretty excited that someone who made their bones with the government against them would take office. Clinton (and all the rest of the politicians) make their money with the government's wind in their sails. I thought having a businessman, someone who'd done it for decades, would be a good thing.

I'm coming to believe, though, that Trump isn't a businessman at all. He's a marketer. That is very, very different than business. I know many of you will call me naive, and perhaps I was during the campaign. I didn't let his bankruptcies get in the way of thinking he was good in business--everyone takes losses from time to time.

However, the way he is governing is proving quite quickly to me that this man is good at selling himself, but perhaps not at running a business. Even liberals must admit, the man sells himself masterfully--perhaps as good as anyone I've ever seen. However, that's very different than business.

I'm bothered by a lot of things I see happening right now, but today I want to focus on his family.

What.

The.

Fuck.

Maybe it's because I've never seen a politician who actually sets up a daughter and son-in-law with positions in the government, but it bothers me. Maybe it's only precedent that's the problem, and in reality, it's no different than hiring someone else. Perhaps they are the best person for the position (though, I find that hard to believe. I love my brother with all my heart, but he ain't gonna be the chief operating officer of my publishing business.).

What bothers me here is both the perception, and THE FACT THAT THESE JOKERS MIGHT NOT HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

Both Ivanka and Jared Kushner were handed their empires. I'm not saying they haven't worked, but it's not like either of them built something from the ground up. More, Kushner's business seems to be pretty awful. I don't really know about Ivanka's clothing line. So, if they're not good at business, what are they good at? Creating laws? Governing (which is a term that I'm not sure can be defined outside of ruling over others)? There's nothing in their past that would indicate either of these things.

So why are they in the White House? Well, the obvious answer is Trump is trying to remake the White House to resemble his Trump branding business. He trusts them. He trusts what they tell him. He believes they are good decision makers. The cynic in me says, they will also be able to enrich themselves more if they know the inner workings of the White House (though, I tell my cynic to shut up).

What Trump needs more than anything right now are people he DOESN'T KNOW in the White House. He needs people that will look him in the eye and say, "Mr. President, you're doing this completely wrong." I don't know if Ivanka or Jared will do this, but based on what I've learned about Trump--they won't. He seems to want yes men, people that tell him he's right. He's addicted to being liked and being thought well of. Jared and Ivanka give that to him.

I can't imagine being 70 years old and trying to change. I'm 30 and change is hard as hell. This dude has been living like this for decades and decades. I think the mark of a truly remarkable person is their willingness to change when facts arise (which is why the nutrition and climate science fields drive me up a friggin' wall). Trump won't do that. He won't change who he is as a person. There is a proverbial silver lining, however. Trump likes to be liked. He loves it. That means I think he can be bipartisan as long as it means he gets good press. What that means for the country is another discussion, though.

So, Part One on Trump can be summed up fairly easily: hiring his family is the wrong decision and will lead him to continue making mistakes.

It's such an obviously poor decision, that it makes me wonder how intelligent the man actually is. Perhaps he is the genius he claims to be. Perhaps he just refuses to change the way he's been running things for five decades. I don't know. I do know, though, that as someone who has to live under his reign ... I don't like it and I don't want it happening.