Ah, thank you, Frank, for this opportunity to not only vent but also to commiserate over the probable fateful outcome of this sham of a trial. Yes, Trump will always consider himself a victim. How can he not with his inherent egocentric mania and as of yet not formally diagnosed delusions of grandeur? And what can we expect from his well-paid attorneys other than exactly what we are getting. But the real perpetrators of this betrayal of our Constitution are the 21st Century versions of Benedict Arnold's. And it is not just Mitch McConnell who is throwing the rule of law and justice under the bus. It is also every last Republican from Romney, Collins, and Gardner through Rubio et al. and right to, among the most egregious, Lindsey Graham. His former friend McCain, rest his soul, proverbially must be rolling over in his grave witnessing the nadir into which his colleague has sunk. All I can say is let us remember this. Let us remember in November this travesty and mockery of all that is good and decent and moral. Our country can not and will not sustain itself with Trump, his Cabinet, and his Republican sycophants contaminating the halls of Congress at the helm of a waning democracy.
2933
@Kathy Lollock
We, the American people are the real victims of Trump.
We are losing democracy to become the US of Trump, now.
Yes, Trump is destroying democracy, day by day.
At the same time, Democrats ramble on with details.
I suggest a Democratic focus of the democracy threat.
Democrats might use the "Democracy" song of L. Cohen.
"Democracy is coming to the USA"
The Times might write about the song and threat.
"Democracy is coming to the USA"
74
@Kathy Lollock Exactly right. There are no moderate Republicans to be found anywhere. There is no difference to be found among any of them.
162
@Kathy Lollock
The Republicans are running an Alice in Wonderland trial in the Senate. Instead of responding to evidence, they are fabricating fairytales.
Mitch McConnell is the Queen of Hearts. He and the Republicans want the verdict before the evidence. They want a verdict of innocent before we have seen the evidence, which will eventually come out.
173
Alleluia !
Today, three members of my family who voted for Trump purely on the abortion issue in 2016, now --- finally --- recognize that he is a pathological liar and an amoral narcissist.
Would they vote for him again? --- No.
"One small step for America, one giant leap for mankind."
Christian evangelists have lost all credibility. The divine is more complicated than they ever thought.
Trump has no "divine provenance" which his white supremacist supporters want you to believe.
63
Our very own enfant terrible. Surely there are enough Republicans and conservatives who are as tired of his antics as are Dems and progressives and will vote him out. Right?
14
Come on Frank. The Resistance started the day after he was elected. The Democrats would have removed him from office before he even took the oath of office if that were possible. Regardless of his past history he has a valid point of being the victim of unceasing hatred and numerous attempts to remove him from office.
4
Frank Bruni has convinced me President Trump is a victim. As hard as it is to conclude a very wealthy, self-centered egotistical individual who is President of the United States is a victim I am now convinced by this commentary.
Thank a ridiculous impeachment, a bunch of Democrats in Congress who display irrational hatred for Donald Trump and Frank Bruni's analysis. They deserve all the credit.
4
I don't think Trump ever really sees himself as a victim. That would be incompatible with his narcissistic vision of himself as God's greatest creation, the center of the universe. Playing the victim is just part of his shtick, another way to confuse and deceive us. It is just rope-a-dope. He even said as much.
19
One must question how his base continues to support him. Did they see their neighbors lose their farms? Friends, family lose health coverage? Do they see the disdain with which world leaders treat him? Are they embarrassed, or are they proud? No, I don’t believe people are this stupid, I do believe they’ve been fed a diet of lies by charlatans who command the airwaves, and now simply cannot digest the truth.
21
Judging by Poor, Poor Trumpy’s latest performance in Davos, I’d say that he’s pretty much got the, “poor, poor pitiful me,” supply cornered.
It seems to’ve been a lovely performance. One wonders how the heck anybody gets the idea that this is a guy who projects strength and authority; I mean, Wayne or Eastwood or Spencer Tracy he ain’t.
10
It is sad. Even pathetic. Once upon a time there was great country. Now its come to this... an ignorant base president shored up by disingenuous republicans. Truly these are the end times. What trump doesn't destroy, climate change will....
19
Self-pity invariably accompanies egotism because there is no way the egotist's desire for praise can ever be fulfilled. It's a bottomless hole. If Trump were canonized he'd still think he's been treated badly. What I don't understand is why we are putting up with him. Self-pity is not an attractive trait.
16
Mister Trump is guilty as charged. Thus,he should be removed from office. After all,as a columnist wrote, he is the most corrupt president in our nation's history. Remember this senators: No guts, no glory.
15
In addition to the books mentioned in Mr Bruni's column, the 2018 book Trump on the Couch, by Justin A. Frank, M.D., is essential reading.
3
He simply turns my stomach.
28
'No president has ever been treated so badly. I’m not being sarcastic. I’m taking dictation: He has made this exact claim — repeatedly.'
This is true and many millions Americans agree with this.
Apparently, the boneheaded 'liberals' are mentally incapable of understanding any part of that, as they are the key perpetrators of that mental violence.
Plus, the 'liberal' media in US, which are all but liberal, are the biggest bully that ever existed in any modern society.
4
Frank-my husband had the same “eye stroke” happen to him out of the blue about 8 months ago. He had 3 injections in his eye and is now 95% recovered! I hope you have the same success. Your writing helps
Us stay sane!
7
Trump whines like a toddler and like indulgent parents the GOP gives in and caters to him. All part of his playbook.
12
Trump's whining is not confined to how he perceives he's being treated. He's also a monumental buck-passer. Everything's a mess, and it's all somebody else's fault. He inherited a completely screwed up country from all his predecessors, and (sigh) he is required to deal with it. Should have been handled long ago. Everything that is good is thanks to Trump. Everything that is bad comes directly from the deplorable failings of somebody else. It's almost too much for a president to endure.
I have long wondered how Trump's base puts up with its great champion being such a crybaby.
17
C'mon .... he fakes this victimhood just like everything else. With McConnell and Barr relentlessly going down on him, Trump feels particularly invulnerable and open to flaunt any law, and decency, and nation, any person -- and esp. and American tradition, any agency, anything and everything. We are a society gone nuts!
12
I can't wait till the giant baby really has something to whine about-- after he loses the election and can no longer evade legal justice.
21
He's a narcissist faking a martyr complex.
13
Who knew 'cleaning the swamp' meant throwing it in the faces of the American people?
Well, probably most of us.
Trump: Profiles in Sewage.
23
Trump as a victim? Let crocodiles shed tears!
9
And don't forget.... "I love the poorly educated" he said during his victory speech.
Of course he does - in his mind that makes him incredibly superior to them all.
http://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/80842732/
6
His evangelical friends should tell him about sin and retribution.
Theologians have divided sins into 7 compartments, and he has violated 6 of them.
Pride -- "I am a stable genius"
Envy -- throwing a temper tantrum when a Teenager beat him to a "Person of the Year" award/
Wrath -- insulting anybody who criticizes him.
Sloth -- being too lazy to learn to read.
Greed -- continuing to do money-making schemes in violation of the emoluments clause.
Lust -- talking about his rape fantasies while running for Presdient.
\
15
The only "secret bunker basement " meetings have been with this president and Vladimir Putin.
12
As despicable as trump is, as ammoral and unethical, self-serving and lying as he continues to be, there is no question that mitch mcconnell is actually the worse of the two evils. Should he succeed in making this impeachment trial a complete sham, citizens must fill the streets in peaceful demonstration that we see his ruthless abuse of power and will not tolerate it.
15
Has the paint finished drying yet?
3
Perhaps he is the ultimate snowflake? OK Boomer.
7
Yes, Trump plays the victim card even as he has trashed everyone around him, women, the disabled, his contractors, the banks that loaned him money and were stiffed, black tenants in his buildings, Atlantic City, veterans see John McCain and a deceased American Muslim war hero, Mexicans, Judges, the Republicans during his campaign who now fawn all over him. The man is a one person wrecking ball who has trashed everyone including the people in his administration and his hatchet men see Michael Cohen Trump's biggest lie of all is that he is an honest man and that so many believe that is a travesty. Don't stick your head in the mouth of a man who is shedding crocodile tears. He has a vicious bite.
11
Let the SDNY weep for Trump when he is done at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
5
Given the endless assaults by the liberal left, persecution is the appropriate description of their actions.
2
Very interesting and enjoyable essay, Mr. Bruno, but the whiner in the White House keeps on keepin’ on.
Is our white knight ever going to show up and give him his just desserts?
Doesn’t seem like it. After doing what he does for 73 years with almost no consequences, it appears he will just ride into the sunset while giving all of us a five fingered salute.
By the way, has it ever been proven that the failing New York president is really a billionaire, backed up with facts and figures?
7
That poor, poor man.
2
Is Trump persecuted?
Just one example of why Trump will persevere and be re-elected in a landslide has been in the actual news recently.
The massive warehouses found in Puerto Rico stuffed full with the US aid the corrupt government officials never gave out have not been mentioned in most MSM publications.
You see, people do remember the NYT and MSM and their fake outrage when Trump declared that Puerto Rican politicians are corrupt. Racism. Trump’s a racist. Trump hates brown people. And on and on ad nauseum.
Then of course, we saw the Puerto Rican people themselves demonstrating in the streets against their corrupt government officials as they were all being arrested for corruption.
The NYT should be apologizing for their abysmal coverage of Puerto Rico.
Instead they choose not to mention it.
These dishonesties are why Trump will win again.
3
Nailed it, Frank.
6
@George Plant.
Thanks for this quote, George. Your words express my attitude, totally!
"Most Americans are sick of the deranged trump train. Please, make it stop, I wanna get off this train."
7
You nailed it. This is the key, so obvious now that you’ve called it out. That being said, Is it the mission of the NYT to rally people to kick him out of office? I mean, we are in a feedback loop here.....
2
If you listened to the fake senate trial last night, you heard the voices of the cowering worshipers professing the solemnity of their new king donald. Long live their king.
5
Au contraire: this is utter projection, the Left's modus operandi. You have made yourselves perpetually whining victims of a presidential election that failed to go your way. It does not play well in Peoria.
2
"The National Tear Duct"
- from "Inherit the Wind"
2
Re: the President of the United States:
"He believes and has said that whining is a way to get what you want.”
And the right-wing media have the gall to call liberals "snowflakes"?
12
There is no less special man than Tiny Hands. Oh, for the chance to tell him that directly to his decaying countenance!
7
no one was out to "get him" he "got" himself.
lying racism, incompetence will do it every time.
6
"The 171-page document is so soggy with Trumpian self-pity it weeps."
Bruni has been on a roll lately, and has done it again. This glorious column made my day.
7
A pitiful man who leads a pitiful party. If you ever watched a Republican convention, you see a room full of rich, old white guys who declare themselves an oppressed minority. They cry that black and brown people are oppressing them and getting free stuff. They decry discrimination against 'Christians' and generally seem themselves as full victims. Of course all of this is completely reversed as the red states are welfare states, and Christianity rules this country. When did Republicans become such a bunch of whiners?
7
Playing victim to the hilt is one of the dark arts Trump learned from his late, beloved lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn. It's nothing but an act, performed masterfully for his minions of gullible acolytes. Boo-hoo.
6
What is astounding is that almost half of America's voters have bought it all hook line and sinker! What happened to the heroes of our collective imagination? How do civilised parents raise their children under an umbrella of this bigoted, vile, crude and racist man. How much longer can it last?
11
Good column. Thanks.
5
Donald Trump didn't run a covert stealthy subtle campaign.
Every American knew who Trump was and was not and voted accordingly.
Trump ran against Mexicans, Muslims, Arabs, Asians, Africans and brown Hispanics and Latinos in, out of and coming to America.
Trump ran against the Obamas, the Bushs, the McCains, the Romneys, the Cruzs, the Clintons, the Carsons, the Rubios the Ryans and Lindsey Graham.
Trump ran against independent smart professional accomplished educated women.
Trump ran against the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
Trump ran against civil rights, environmental, health and social welfare laws.
And among the 63 million Americans who voted for Trump was 58% of the white European American voting majority including 62% of white men and 54% of white women.
While 66 million Americans voted for Hillary including 92% of the black African American voting minority made up of 88% of black men and 95% of black women.
Trump hasn't been a covert stealthy subtle President. Our Siberian President is clearly beholden to his and our Russian Czar Father Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
President Trump has spent a third of his time in office vacationing and playing golf on Trump Organization properties. Trump spends 2/3rds of his time tweeting and speaking nicknames and slurs while watching Fox News and campaign rallies.
Imagine the mayhem that Trump could bring down our Constitutional republic if he spent 5 more minutes each weekday doing his job?
11
And by extension all of the Senate Republicans are also victims of the liberal press, MSM etc. Yeah, these guys are weeping all the way to their banks and their law offices. :....((((
3
Nailed it Frank!
4
Trumpers: a confederacy of victims.
6
Let's not.
The loudest bullies on the grade school playground were always the biggest weenies when challenged. It’s exactly the same in politics.
10
"He’s (Trump's) a victim of so many forces so many times over that even “martyr” doesn’t do justice to his lot, which is what you get when you multiply Job in the Old Testament by Mel Gibson in “Braveheart” and add the protagonist of “Unbroken."
Job/Trump to God: "Why do you afflict me?"
God to Trump/Job: "I don't know... there's just something about you I cannot stand."
5
Looks like Moscow Mitch is going with the Soviet show trial motif?
9
Long ago I had the misfortune of dating a man with the Trump m.o. He would bully and manipulate me into doing things his way but played the unfortunate victim when I finally decided enough was enough. I came out a little broken but a lot wiser, he went on to find a new mark. Republican Senators: time to say enough is enough to the psychopath in the White House. You will come out a little bit broken but deserving of so much more respect.
10
Coming up next: President Trump claims to have is own Garden Of Gethsemane
7
" It’s a Harlequin harangue."
...Perfect!
3
Trump and usurped John Gotti's moniker of "the Teflon Don".
1
Poor Donald Trump. He's led a charmed life, one filled with immorality and protection from prosecution. Fail in your business endeavors? Just file for bankruptcy. Have an extra marital affair with a porn star? Just pay hush money. Use bribery and extortion against a foreign leader to rig the 2020 election? Just depend on Mitch McConnell to have your back. Yes, Mr. Bruni, let us all now weep for Donald Trump.
6
No more power through chaos, god save us from a tyrannical government
3
The only tears I will ever shed over Trump will be for joy when he is perpwalked into Federal prison.
9
A profile in cowardice. Sad!!
6
Trump, in his perverted mind, has never been wrong, his entire life. He has ZERO conscience. He excels at these two things: lying and name-calling. And he does those two things REALLY well....nonstop. That is the sum of his pitiful existence. Bruni, you are wonderful....keep speaking the truth.
8
Why does anybody like this person?
4
I'm waiting for him and his evangelical cheerleaders to say he is being victimized and made to suffer and sacrifice more than Jesus to save America from the democrats, the deep state, and his real arch enemy, the Constitution.
5
He’s always played the aggrieved victim, laughably. What a study in psychotic behavior this guy is!
5
Because when you think "persecution", you always think "white male billionaire who holds the most powerful job on the planet".
4
For Trump, the center of the universe is Trump. All planets and orbs float all around him. If you aren't in the Fox News world, you are most likely appalled and/or attacking him.
It has often been said that presidents end up living in a bubble. They lose touch with the outside world. For Trump, this is most certainly true but his bubble as a 24/7 news channel all about his certitude. It's a pretty big bubble when you think about it. While one-sided, it is perhaps larger than the bubbles other presidents lived in. And Trump has also found a way to blow his own bubbles that somehow make it out of his own Fox-world bubble through the power of the Tweet.
Here he can attack when it suits him and claim to be victim at other times. It is reminiscent of Nazi controlled Germany. The Nazis gave out free radios to Germans. This wasn't to uplift the German people through culture and music, it was to make certain that Goebbels and Hitler could get their message to masses. Lucky for Trump and Fox that their constituents already had smart phones. Either way, the parallels between the messages some 90 years ago and those of today, including victimhood, are still the same.
The saddest part of this is that Republican members of Congress have been so willing to goose-step with Trump. It is truly revolting.
17
Why is it that Donald Trump reads at a very rudimentary level? What was he doing during all those years of schooling? And, please, don't blame it on "bad" teachers. As a teacher myself, I find this strange.
9
Schiff put it best last night when he outlined how future presidents will now have the ability to simply refuse to participate and the Republicans will have no one to blame but themselves.
10
Any problems Trimp has was brought by him. If he cared about anything, including himself, he'd resign. He won't do that, because if there's nothing else he will do is prove that he doesn't really care. He just likes the attention.
5
The thing that started all this was America's vacant headed ignorance over mental health issues. Everyone knows that a one-legged runner will never break the world's record for the mile, or that an autistic child could never consistently display Rhodes Scholar acuity. So why can't we figure this out. Donald Trump was born with a badly programmed brain. He's a victim of a birth defect. His 24/7 self-absorption is a classic symptom of Narcissism which makes him not only completely incompetent to be president but it'll get worse as his dysfunctional brain continues to deteriorate. Candidates for president somehow don't need to be evaluated beyond the medical. The behavioral element is COMPLETELY MISSING. He's not to connected to anything except his "House of Mirrors" projection of life. He must be removed.
7
Trump's acquittal is a foregone conclusion but I am troubled by the precedent it could set. First, concerning Trump. If he is reelected he will take his acquittal as ammunition to further blur the lines of checks and balances. Second, what if this is not an anomaly but the new normal for future presidents? Will Article 2 permanently gain total supremacy over Article 1? This should trouble us all.
5
your penultimate paragraph says it all:
"He has stiffed creditors, evaded taxes, attached his name to a bogus diploma mill, skimmed money from a fraudulent philanthropy, run afoul of campaign finance laws, signaled receptiveness to Russian interference in the 2016 election and tried to obstruct the investigation of that — all without any commensurate punishment."
it should be boilerplate text sent in response to people who contort themselves to justify trump's behavior.
9
Please keep the faith people. Trump ultimately will NOT get away with his cunning game plan. Why? Trump's impeachment is the result of the 2018 midterm "Blue Wave" election! Let's cause the 2020 Blue Wave to be a tsunami that will wipe out what has become the corrupt and dangerous GOP under Trump's reign.
5
Yes, he's awful. I think most of the Democrats will be the same. Politics of entitlement and plaintive discontent. (See Senator Kamala Harris.) Just like the Labour Party in England, which got economically devastating socialism in the 1960s that Margaret Thatcher had to straighten out.
1
An absolutely brilliant piece.
Thank you, Mr. Bruni.
3
Great journalistic work, Mr. Bruni. This is the first articles I have seen juxtaposing Mr. Trump's braggadocio with his constant whining. It may have something to do with the fact that, for Mr. Trump, the time is ripe for presenting himself to his base as a victim; hence his non-stop whining.
It may not come as a surprise to those observing Mr. Trump for the last three years that his braggadocio and whining are the two aspects of his personality that, more than anything else, has been driving his behavior. In short, they form the core of his identity.
4
Trump and the modern Republican Party are the perfect marriage. His whining and sense of victimhood are mirrored by identical sentiments on conservative media. Watch Fox for any length of time and you'd be led to believe that the group currently controlling most of the US government was a persecuted, helpless minority constantly being preyed upon by liberal bullies, elites, foreigners and other "enemies." An appalling level of self-pity, one that conservatives would outright reject were any other (real) disenfranchised group even attempt it.
3
Who pays for all of President Trump's lawyers?
Is it a personal expense, or are the taxpayers on the hook for all of the high priced attorneys?
7
Enough with the rap sheet that is trump's biography.
We the PEOPLE must must stand up to this attack on OUR democracy. The MAJORITY rejected trump in 2016. We have a rogue Senate led by a very EVIL man.
Our focus must switch from the list of dangerous acts and endless lies to removing him and his enablers from doing any more damage to OUR country and the world.
4
"I'm not being sarcastic here, I'm taking dictation."
Frank Bruni, where in the world do you come up with these brilliant sentences?
That challenges my current favorite sentence from op-ed past:
"Never have such gifted grifters grazed in greener pastures."
I'm floored.
5
At this pont it comes down to
* His danger to our republic, and the framework provided by the rule of law Yes, the US has never been perfect, but never has a President so blatantly defied this system of government - while pretending to uphold it.
* Personally, and I have a guess that there are plenty of others in the same frame of mind, at this point I do hate this guy, this President at work destroying the Presidency, and challenging voters right to have representation. His whining, his insults, his egregious attacks on any who criticize - or outshine - him, his treachery and his ignorance: His voice and visage are repellant.
I can understand those who rebelled against the old party system because they saw that their needs and lives had not been considered with the respect deserved, but how 2016 supporters - those not in the upper 5 or 1% can continue to believe he is FOR them -- I cannot comprehend.
5
Any of us who have known Trump from the beginning are not surprised by his behavior, he has always shown his hand. It is the betrayal to this nation by the Republican Party which was the unexpected blow to our republic. They fan his fire, and we all burn. I am a Democrat, I want a Republican Party that challenges us all toward a balanced way of constructing our society. But the enabling of this man which allows his sickness to infect not only our nation, but the world lies at their feet. The victim in this story is the American people and whatever future is left to us.
6
Trump's tactics work. What does this say about us?
3
The image at the head of this article depicts a man who is physically and mentally ill. He is obviously not well and therefore cannot continue in his present role as Commander in Chief.
3
No need to weep for the winner. The people I feel sorry for are the people who are engaged in this foolish endeavor of trying to take this wondrous president from the office he earned and continues to excel at. It won't work, and the only thing you'll have to show for this attempted coup is more excuses as Mr. Trump wins another four over whichever unfortunate soul is unlucky enough to win the Democratic nomination.
1
I immigrated here at a time when President Reagan was admired around the world and the United States was a country that others aspired to be.
In D.C., I visited the Capitol and the White House with great reverence in my heart. I visited NASA and was in boy-like awe. In Simi Valley, I went on board the Boeing 707 that was Air Force 1 and looked at the seats sat in by multiple presidents. In Los Angeles, I looked up in amazement at the underside of the space shuttle's delta wings.
Since 2016, I have been so sad. The compass needle of this government is relentlessly flickering, and with each flicker, it points closer to autocracy. How many governments have been abducted by bullying, verbose, manipulating, liars. I worry that the U.S. government is heading towards a 1980's Romania, or perish the thought...a 1930's Germany.
With a heavy heart, I worry for what has been lost over the past 3 years. I worry that the U.S. will never recover from this. Perhaps it will, if the Buttigiegs, Flakes, Bookers and others can together rise up and restore the "us" into the fabric of the U.S. Until then, and perhaps forever, I am leaving. I'm heading back to the land of my birth.
7
Donald Trump is the very image of Bitter Old Failure. He knows he'd be perfect if only people would give him a fair chance. He's only ever failed because everybody's mean to him. He doesn't need to work on anything or seek to learn anything because he has talent! Talent should see him through everything, but there's always somebody rustling papers to distract him or telling him so-called 'facts' that can't be facts because his talent tells him otherwise, or totally unfairly accusing him of ignorance or hubris, whatever that is. They are all part of the Deep State because they hate his greatness and envy how much people love him. Poor guy.
Very.
4
It's amazing how resourceful Trump and his strategists are. They have turned the questionable legitimacy of his election into the goose that lays golden eggs.
The mantra that any criticism of Trump should be ignored because Democrats are poor losers is like Oxycontin for Trump's base. First, it makes them euphoric that Trump is in the catbird seat. Then it provides powerful relief from the excruciating pain the rest of us suffer when we examine Trump's behavior. It also appears to be sedating. Republican senators were actually napping during the first day of impeachment proceedings.
1
All of this is some sort of conspiracy on the part of his smartphone: he typed "whining" and it substituted "winning." Read in the original, we can certainly agree: we have so much whining that we're sick of it. Stop, already.
4
And now we have to listen to HRC’s self pity brought to the present with upcoming premiere of her documentary at Sundance Film Festival. Self reflection is in short supply all around.
4
Picture the first day back at work for Republican Senators who have voted against the Constitution and for Trump. They must somehow conform their vote to the new reality that presidents are now above the law and may shakedown foreign governments, domestic stakeholders, and even themselves with their blessing. Their oaths of allegience no longer mean anything, as they have been replaced by their oaths to Trump. I, for one, would not care to carry this burden as part of my legacy to my family, constituents, country, and history. I would not care to look in the mirror each day and see the face of someone who sold out his or her country for the title "Senator" and a few more years on the job.
4
The President is not the victim, the author misses the salient points. Since 2016, our economy roars, de-regulation is on pace, we stand proud again in the world, Isis is defeated, i.e. we are winning. Mr. Trump's legions know he and America will not cry as a victim any more. The elites miss that the erosion of a can do spirit had sapped America so that we accept abortion and right to die. Their futile focus became Russia, now Ukraine and all the rest, to hide the fundamentals that the world has changed since 2016. The President isn't 'pouting' but enjoying his success, which we all share, I hope God grants us for four more years.
3
On his Friday night show, Bill Maher said that I was allowed to hate Trump - but not his supporters. I read constantly that it is my responsibility recognize and understand world views at odds with my own - from science deniers to Evangelicals who have been known to kill their own children by expelling them from their families if the kids' tastes are not in harmony with the scribbling of some nomadic tribes a few thousand years ago. I find this extremely difficult. Trump as Bruni makes clear has always been Trump. It is his supporters, that could not be unaware of what he was and is, who put this country in this horrendous situation. I don't seem to be able to find much tolerance, much less affection, for these people,
19
Trump lawyers should be reminded that if the DOJ had done it's job when it received the whistleblower complaint and a criminal referral from the CIA's OLC and opened an official criminal investigation instead responding by stating that there was no indication of campaign finance violations, maybe the house would not have had to do their own inquiry. It should be also noted here that if the DOJ had done their job, it would have been just as "secret" as the house's inquiry was.
4
The Democrats should play on Trump's drama and ask the question, why are his Republican supporters preventing him from clearing his name? No witnesses? Actual transpcripts, not "notes", etc.. Poor Donald, the Senate Republicans are hurting him and tanishing his honest name. Since he's clearly innocent of the charges, produce the people and the documents that will prove it.
12
I enjoyed this piece, because it allowed me to be able to see Trump's behavior on a greater timeline and in a non-presidential context. I can form my own opinion his M.O. and reach my own conclusion. Thank you for your decision to publish.
8
As I have replied in these columns before, and though I thoroughly agree with the great majority of other more lengthy replies, I'll resubmit a favorite quote: " Illusion is the first of all pleasures". (Voltaire) Once you buy into this merit-less scoundrel, the rest is easy, you can enjoy the downhill ride that follows.
3
With every single vote to block witnesses and documents, Republicans are showing anyone who cares that they are un-American. They literally do not want a trial, and do not care that Trump has so clearly committed crimes, abused his power, and obstructed justice.
For god's sake, America, vote these un-American Republicans out of power FOREVER.
25
@Dan
The fact that they refuse to act on what they know to be true makes them complicit with him. A vote to acquit, on the basis of UET (unitary executive theory, or "I'm president and that makes whatever I do legal") is a vote to end the republic as we know it. The Republican party is enabling the creation of an American emperor, accountable to no one, and responsible only to perpetuating the prerogatives of the office. Which, perhaps one day sooner than we think, will mean remaining in power for as long as the occupant of the office deems 'necessary'...for the good of the nation, of course.
And if we ever ask "How did we get here?", we need only look to the Republican Senate enablers of the 116th congress, that simply refused to say "No." when they had a chance to see what every honest citizen of this endangered republic does.
7
@Dan I'm encourage to see that the Press is finaly catching up to the idea that the Trump phenomena did not happen in a vacuum. In the endvoters have to use the tattered diminished power left to us to relieve every one of these so-called Senators from offic. This trial should result in every one of them going to court with charged with violation of their oath, disbarred for life. They are not as immune as their precious stooge.
1
Can we all do Trump a gigantic favor and make absolutely sure he is not re-elected in November? He would have to find other reasons to whine, and we wouldn’t have to listen to it. I think everyone would be a lot happier.
14
Thanks you, Mr. Bruni, for this column, especially for your use of the term "jumbo shrimp," the perfect characterization of our current president. I suggest that Democratic Party operatives start using it at every opportunity. Deflating with humor - and sticking a nickname to him - might be a more effective means of revealing the truth than endlessly repeating the facts.
9
@BC
I'm been calling him 'Trimp' (Trump+shrimp=Trimp) for months now. My personal bon mot to counter-branding the brand "Trump". Feel free to use it far and wide.
2
Millions of Americans WANT ANSWERS about what is now happening.
Kathy from Santa Rosa, CA., has given one of the more pointed answers in the last paragraph here. (There will be consequences !!)
Tragically, Mitch McConnell continues to orchestrate an American coup of our democracy; McConnell's dangerous hijacking of democracy began 7 years before his Merrick Garland sham, after first declaring war on Obama from DAY ONE, Nov 4, 2008.
Our pointed answer:
" . . . But the real perpetrators of this betrayal of our Constitution are the 21st Century versions of Benedict Arnold's. And it is not just Mitch McConnell who is throwing the rule of law and justice under the bus. It is also every last Republican from Romney, Collins, and Gardner through Rubio et al. and right to, among the most egregious, Lindsey Graham. His former friend McCain, rest his soul, proverbially must be rolling over in his grave witnessing the nadir into which his colleague has sunk. All I can say is let us remember this. Let us remember in November this travesty and mockery of all that is good and decent and moral. Our country can not and will not sustain itself with Trump, his Cabinet, and his Republican sycophants contaminating the halls of Congress at the helm of a waning democracy."
It's time to get real serious ---- Trump has no "divine provenance" which his white supremacist supporters want you to believe.
14
Many of us, including myself, continually wonder about the rationale behind trump's supportive faithful. While it may not be the only factor, this article offers an excellent explanation. They are all victims and can relate to this "poor me" world view. Many have valid complaints in today's unequal economy, and it can be very comforting to feel that one is not alone in one's plight. Unfortunately they relate to this poor little rich boy who was born with money which he has squandered and mismanaged for years. He does put on a good act.
9
Trump whines? All of Washington whines!
7
Trump's a victim of his own inferiority complex.
12
@Jonathan
Jonathan,
As president, Trump has forced everyone to fall victim to his own miserable inferiority complex.
2
What would be worse for Republicans. Each one must do a thought experiment, while they sit there. The choice for them is a President Pence, running with a Vice President Nicky Haley against...Bernie? Biden? Or a scrubbing of their ranks in the 2020 election, if Trump is allowed to carry on. The turn out of outrage at this travesty in the Senate will expand into the next election in widening circles of consequence, for the GOP. Should Trump be re-elected by an ill-informed and resentment driven fringe in a few key states, his legislative base of support will be gone. Trump will be the only President impeached twice, and finally removed from office by a newly elected Senate of Democrats. This is quite a gamble. A few months with Pence speeding judicial appointments through the gate, in the countdown to an election day reckoning, and maybe a chance to remain in the Senate, after November. Or, the coming generation will watch the depopulation of the GOP, as they are voted out of existence.
My message, Senators, is that history is forever.
Perhaps you can save face, honor the Constitution and your oaths to protect it, by having an anonymous vote. All Senators promise to keep their votes secret, releasing each good conscience from the bonds of partisanship.
Ted Cruz memorized the Constitution as a teenager. How can he sit there in silence, the only other voice is his own inner dialogue, his knowing who and what Trump embodies, and not do what is right?
13
@El Jamon
How can fifty-three Republican senators sit there in silence, and NONE of them do what is right?
3
Trump is so sickeningly self-pitying I would be nauseated even if he had a legitimate grievance, when of course his only real complaint is being held accountable for a lifetime of self-dealing and placing self-interest above our nation and its laws, and the oath of his office. I tried watching one of his more recent rallies in Dallas, in an effort to understand how he was processing what was happening to him, and framing it for his base. The answer: there was no framing. There was no explanation for his behavior, no response to accusations, no attempt at a legal defense or explanation, however basic. No, his explanation was that the Democrats were "evil", "crazy", and want to destroy the nation, Trump and his supporters.
In a way I'm almost glad that we had someone like Trump at this moment in history, when his words and actions can be universally recorded and saved for posterity. His cruelty and stupidity, and the way in which his party is mounting a know-nothing defense of the indefensible, will linger in the minds of up and coming voters for generations. The young people growing up in this climate will be able to remember these days, and the fear and uncertainty that the Republican party introduced and condoned. My hope is that a sham trial and failure to convict Trump is not a "victory" for the GOP, but the final nail in the coffin for their electoral chances for the next few decades.
13
Luckily for us, Trump has only damaged philosophical America and its reputation. People aren't being killed in wars the way they were during Kennedy-Johnson, Nixon, and the G.W. Bush presidencies. After Trump, America will be able to fix its self and reputation but hopefully at the price of the Republican party, which deserve pariah status. Only that won't happen because of half the country's viewpoint will continue to flail in victim-hood grasping at the GOP for comfort.
5
There is still one burning question that goes unanswered. What does Trump have on the Republicans that commands their undeterred loyalty? I say follow the money. There has to be Russian money or something so vile that all are willing to follow this pied Piper into infamy.
13
Great column, Mr. Bruni. And so right on the money.
8
If it’s that bad, he could always quit. Nobody forced him to ask for the job.
6
"His fortune began with money from Dad. He has stiffed creditors, evaded taxes, attached his name to a bogus diploma mill, skimmed money from a fraudulent philanthropy, run afoul of campaign finance laws, signaled receptiveness to Russian interference in the 2016 election..."
... all before the election. And yet, he won the election. The most important takeaway here is the electorate's gullibility and projection. Trump is the symptom. Ignorance is the disease.
13
Be honest. Have any of you ever heard a billionaire whine all the time about not being treated fairly? Donald Trump will run for re-election to put off for four years the pending indictment awaiting him. Then he can do some real whining.
9
Being acquitted by the Senate is not at all the same thing as evading punishment. No one, not the greatest nor the least evades the reckoning they merit. To some it comes too soon, to others later than we might like, but no one, ever rides for free. It may be that this tiny little bit of Calvinist instruction made its way into the President's* head, back when his mother was forcing him to attend church. It may now be the threat under which he labours. But no - there's no evasion, in the end.
4
Trump is a victim? Then he's going to feel real sorry for himself when he gets booted out of office in November. (Once he loses, he'll only stick around long enough to pardon old friends and then get Pence to do him the same favor after he leaves.)
McConnell's sham senate trial will make it even more obvious he's guilty as charged. Trump may skate but the House should continue to pursue evidence against all those around Trump. They're still entitled to do oversight. And Mulvaney, Bolton, Pompeo, Perry, Giuliani, and various associates were all party to a criminal conspiracy to shake down a foreign country.
Let the subpoenas fly and fight them out in court. Trumps's tax returns and financial records should also be in play soon. Given how little regard he has for being honest in ANY activity, there's probably criminality under every rock.
Trump may be on his best behavior during campaign season, but trouble will still come looking for him on the world stage. Whether it's Iran or North Korea or maybe even Putin, Trump will be tested and found lacking in presidential mettle.
Trump's only accomplishment will be the destruction of everyone and everything around him. McConnell will lose his majority, if not his job. All Trump's close aides will be in jail or disgraced. All his lies and misbehaviors will be revealed. And his family name will essentially be worthless. He can then cry all he wants, but no one will listen once everyone knows he's a total loser and a disgrace.
9
Way past time for the occupant to be shown door and unceremoniously tossed out. The sooner the better.
8
What Trump and all of his ridiculous devotees do not understand is that he is not really a president. He is not a real president of the USA. He is not a president of the people -- this is simply not an honor he has earned or been awarded. Why? Because he is unfit and unworthy. We can suspect he's in fact insufficiently sane. Regardless, he is unqualified.
Yes, he was elected -- by mischievous and a strange, perilous void that had settled over the land. Assisted by a strange election process. Assisted by the Russian Federation. Assisted by an emerging moral bankruptcy fed by television of American Commercial Everything, fed by all the lies by which the country lives.
9
Whining never got me anywhere so I don't do it. If I had known that I could become President by whining, I would have taken it up years ago. I used to believe that being American meant that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. It's never too late to learn. If only it weren't so hard to whine at this late stage of my life.
2
Not a day passes since the surreal 2016 presidential election
that I do not wonder what happened to this nation -- with its
extraordinary freedoms and high literacy rate -- that it spawned
63 MILLION people, the number who voted for Trump, who are
Just Like Him:
pathetic, angry "victims" who somehow missed the bus to
Maturity and Adultness.
11
Trump is the combination of a spoiled child who learned narcissism to get attention, a complainer as "a squeaking wheel gets the oil," a believer in (along with his party) "throw mud against the wall and hope it sticks" in terms of his opponents, and along with the rest of it, a lifelong supporter of the saying "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
Now take a look at his approval rating among his party. It's at about 90%. Think they're troubled by what Bruni has laid out? Hardly. Either they like it as he beats up the press, bashes Obama, and spews Hillary hatred, or they are indifferent about it but they like being in power, or they are simply hunkered down in tribal fashion, or all of the above.
5
Can we move on from this?
Trump is a textbook pathological malignant narcissist. A sociopath.
I grew up with one of these types and it’s fascinating. They can’t be reached. They never change. They believe they have never done a single wrong thing, and at the same time everyone else is out to get them and it is they who have been wronged. They never admit mistake or apologize; impervious to feedback. Devoid of empathy and no concern of consequence to others, except in how it may come back to affect them. They lie as easily as they breathe. All is transactional, the only concern what they can successfully proffer in the moment. No conscience, no remorse, no shame, no regret.
Every time. Forever. Ad infinitum to the grave.
12
it is utterly shameful and almost inconceivable that this man is the president of the United States.
10
I am ashamed of all 53 Republican Senators and everyone who voted for them.
I am ashamed of Trump.
I am ashamed that they are covering-up crimes and voting to table witnesses and documents.
I am ashamed that we haven't seen millions take to the streets and converge on Washington DC to protest.
Oh, I guess it's too cold outside.
13
The danger of all of this is that grievance at imagined victimhood is the beating heart of fascism. And he attracts other people just like this. Something has been "taken" from them, taken by those "others", those "not real Americans", the "enemies of the people". We've seen this script before. It doesn't end well.
9
Donald won't take his medicine like a man and is willing to have the GOP led Senate degrade themselves to protect him. Sickening to witness.
8
The ultimate bully decries his persecution? Pitiful.
What a hollow man, devoid of all morals and values, only obsessed with "winning." What an empty vessel.
5
If I and those I love are still alive and the world is functioning and not in ruins when Trump leaves office I will feel so lucky. He is truly dangerous. He is a classic sociopath.
5
Your article finally brought me clarity on what the Trump faithful share with their “savior” — it is self-pity more than anything. More than their shared racism, they collectively share victimhood and a total lack of introspection.
4
No, it is not we who should weep for Trump. It is he, who -- now that he is in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes -- must be all alone to beweep his outcast state. And, for good measure, trouble deaf heaven with his bootless cries (and nitwit lies); while never ceasing to curse his fate. That works.
1
“Behold, at the resolute desk, a jumbo shrimp.” That was good. I like that.
4
Persecution, sure. His campaign was under investigation by our clandestine services before the election. Then after the election, what we used to call wiretaps, continued. All, as it turned out, under flimsy, where not manufactured, predicates. Then the all-star special prosecutor. After all that fizzled, surveillance evidently continued and lo and behold, along comes The Whistleblower, with tales of the pathological liar in chief risking our national security, Ukraine's existence and the entitlement of our elites to personally avail themselves of the national patrimony of vassal nations (focusing here on the poor Bidens.) Just because your greatest talent lies in playing the victim doesn't mean they're not after you.
4
If the Republican Senate rubber stamps Trump’s dictatorship, watch out.
It does appear that they are on the verge of an acquittal.
5
Correction: He didn't "attach his name to a bogus diploma mill." He OWNED the bogus diploma mill. Trump University was owned and operated by The Trump Organization.
6
Most bullies are insecure cowards inside. Most bullies love playing victim. I've known several bullies in my life from age 9 through adulthood and they are all the same.
4
It's sad that columnists have devolved into cartoon characters trying to out hate each other towards Trump. If you really hated Trump you would not be investing in the stock market and making millions as I'm sure you have in the last three years of Trump's administration.
5
@Julia I pulled every dime out in April 2017, never looked back. It's wicked money.
1
You're on to something, Mr. Bruni. He is now "the most powerful victim in the world." He is "Victim-in-Chief" of the "greatest fighting force, and the best-equipped" on the planet, in all of history. He is the "perfect" victim, the "best" victim, no other victim could have done as much as he has. Tens of thousands flock to his "Keep America Victimized" rallies and wear his red "victim" hats and cheer for man who tells them they are victims just like him. Now, I get it.
4
I cry for my beloved country.
7
"...a jumbo shrimp" sitting behind the Resolute Desk. LOL!!!
Thanks, Mr. Bruni, I needed that today, and apparently every day now, since every day is now such a horrid one with trump in the Oval Office and the GOP Senate totally complicit in his many crimes, high crimes, and misdemeanors.
I only wish you, and many others like you, had written this column, and many others like it, in the summer and fall of 2016.
4
If a child behaved this way, they'd be put down for a nap.
6
As we bemoan the lies of this poster boy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (plus Sociopath), let's never forget that the narcissist will always tell the truth! What? How can that be? The unconscious of a narcissist is the truth-teller, and will always come out with it in the form of what he accuses others of. If you want to know the truth, simply decode his accusations!
3
Yes, and let's not forget that the trump presidency was made possible by the gentleperson from Kentucky.
7
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is the medical term for his affliction. The people of this country are the victims.
3
Congressional switchboard number -- which immediately gets you through to the Capitol Hill office of any senator or member of the House of Representatives -- is 202-224-3121.
Call that number and tell your senators that you want them to vote to admit relevant witnesses like Bolton, Mulvaney, and McGahn, or else they are participating in a sham trial. Maybe add that if they don't vote for witnesses, you won't be voting for them in the next election.
2
You will not move that base as long as it only watches one news outlet, the one which caters to its “base” instincts.
3
In some dark corner of Mar-a-Lago there is a portrait, undoubtedly purchased by his erstwhile foundation, of our president as a shriveled, scarred, bald man in the manner of the infamous picture of Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde's imagination.
That is the only explanation for the ability of this president to float above the froth and detritus of his administration. His GOP enablers can tread water for only so long is this tsunami of lies, misdirection and unalloyed evil.
November is coming. An accounting is coming. The president will change. Ultimately at the feet of Jesus, the goats will have many new billies and nannies for their flock.
2
Ladies and Gentlemen, the USA is no longer a democratic nation...we truly have a horrible dictator running the show. His whole administration are scared and incompetent and go along with all of his lies...God save the world!
3
If the world has to suffer a man so bereft of kindness and decency, thank goodness for Frank Bruni and the other NYT columnists whose eloquence and insight provide relief.
Thanks for another great column, Mr Bruni. I can see DJT sitting on the pity pot wailing Moving Pictures' "What About Me? It isn't fair . . . "
3
Millions of Americans WANT ANSWERS about what is now happening.
Kathy from Santa Rosa, CA., has given one of the more pointed answers in the last paragraph here. (There will be consequences !!)
Pathetically, Mitch McConnell continues to orchestrate an American coup of our democracy; McConnell's dangerous hijacking of democracy began 7 years before his Merrick Garland sham, after first declaring war on Obama from DAY ONE, Nov 4, 2008.
Our pointed answer:
" . . . But the real perpetrators of this betrayal of our Constitution are the 21st Century versions of Benedict Arnold's. And it is not just Mitch McConnell who is throwing the rule of law and justice under the bus. It is also every last Republican from Romney, Collins, and Gardner through Rubio et al. and right to, among the most egregious, Lindsey Graham. His former friend McCain, rest his soul, proverbially must be rolling over in his grave witnessing the nadir into which his colleague has sunk. All I can say is let us remember this. Let us remember in November this travesty and mockery of all that is good and decent and moral. Our country can not and will not sustain itself with Trump, his Cabinet, and his Republican sycophants contaminating the halls of Congress at the helm of a waning democracy."
It's time to get real serious. . . Trump has no "divine provenance" which his white supremacist supporters want you to believe.
4
President Access Hollywood will be whining an awful lot when his prison bunk isn't a king size.
4
Mr. Bruni,
Excellent article... as usual!
1
Frank, don't you feel for the poor conflicted Republicans who anguish over being victimized by the stain in the WH...having to enable him so that we can continue to champion conservative values?!? And what of the poor conflicted American electorate who will be victimized by the stain when they vote for him to keep their economy "strong"? This election will be an existential test for America. A moral gut check. Is America a city on a hill or a country of hypocrites, not at all unlike the stain, who will play the victim card while continuing to enable immorality? Doesn't anyone do anything just because its the right thing to do any more or is America lost to selfish calculation? I can already hear the gutless excuses...the stain was the lesser of two evils...if we don't vote for greatness, how can we possibly be a light to the world...we can't abandon Israel...what about the babies being aborted etc etc etc The ends justify the means...right?!?
Give it up, Frank. He's all of these things, yes -- and SUCCESSFUL. No wonder he's driving y'all nuts.
2
I think it was Mark Twain who said, “The success of fools is one of God’s great mysteries.”
3
@Ken He's successful at staying in power, but he owes that to his soulless sycophants in the "Republican" Party, especially those in the Senate, who are going to let him do what he's done his entire life... make an enormous mess, get everyone involved screaming at each other, and then walk away scot-free.
1
We've become a banana republic.
2
An evil antagonist of democracy must have sent Trump to us as a final cautionary tale.
Wake! Smell that covfefe , last chances don’t come every day. VOTE!!
4
Interesting pattern Frank has laid out. Apparently Trump hopes his victimhood will defang any critics who are just kicking him when he down, wounded while defending the flag. Or was it while he was defending kids taken away from their families and packed in sardine cans?.
1
We have a very weak President. The world that is watching knows he is petty and weak and vengeful. He is making us the petty, weak, cry-baby nation in the world. Trump is the opposite of John Wayne in the American westerns and Clint Eastwood in those spaghetti westerns. I’ve never heard any American hero whine. That’s always been an American value. We aspire to not whine. I’ve never heard of Putin whining, it’s not manly—or womanly. Do North Koreans publicly whine? Does anyone who really has something legitimate to whine about ever actually whine? Or is it just entitled, weak, little spoiled brats who whine—publicly?
1
Your article needs a correction. Trumps fortune did not begin with money from his father. Trump’s fortune is money from his father.
Trump has no business acumen whatsoever. He is a tax cheat and a con artist. Not to mention his infidelities. He had an affair with an ex-Playboy bunny while the First Lady was home with their newborn.
Want to prove me wrong? Let’s see his tax returns. Oh wait, he is a victim.
2
Poor Donny.
Bullied by the US Constitution and Reality.
Like they say, "Throw him an anchor".
2
Even if he slimes his way through the impeachment, the Repubs will pay when his financials come out before June when the Supreme Court throws out his appeals (precedent - 8-0 vote against Nixon). It's obvious he's hiding his probable money laundering or outright bribes from Russia.
Any Republican senator who votes to acquit will have an albatross around their neck.
Look for a blue senate wave this November
4
Vote ‘em all out or hail them into jail. Trump, Pence, Barr, Pompeo, Mulvaney, DeVos, McConnell. Every complicit member of the Executive branch. Every spineless Republican member of Congress and Senate, which to-date, is all of them. Every politically-appointed stooge for Trump.
Clean house. They’re all corrupt anti-American, anti-democracy traitors.
Time for a Hollywood ending.
2
On August 14, 2016, Donald Trump was feeling ill-used by The New York Times and by his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
A Times article the day before had revealed that Trump’s aides were going on television to put their views before him, as he was hard to talk to in person. He held Manafort responsible for the embarrassment. This, according to the book Devil’s Bargain by Joshua Green, is the tirade that ensued:
“You think you've gotta go on TV to talk to me? You treat me like a baby! Am I like a baby to you? I sit there like a little baby and watch TV and you talk to me? Am I a … baby, Paul?”
He could at least have whined in style if, instead of likening himself to a baby, he’d had the presence of mind to say “jumbo shrimp”.
1
It’s the Right’s equivalent of the Left’s, “bleeding heart liberal”. And that’s the “whiny conservative”. If I had to choose I’ll lean to the left any day.
2
I can't believe the # of people who have been lured in hook, line and sinker to this idiotic mess! (even within my own associates!)
2
Don't forget, paying off a porn star, then saying she was lying, even though, we saw the check with his signature for $130k.
2
There is one thing guaranteed, is for sure …….
Donald Trump will be remembered in history…..
Just not in the vain-glorious way he imagines……..
3
You cannot hold someone accountable when you begin with a flawed process. The defendant colluding with the prosecution about not only the process but telling the prosecution (senate) who or who not to call as witness. What country is this?
Let’s just admit it now, “Some people are above the law”. Trump has proven it numerous times, it’s what he means by “loyalty”.
Our best chance to get this villain out of office is to vote him out in November in a landslide.
2
Touche'
This is exactly why Trump is popular. Playing the victim is what appeals to the republican party. When we pass civil rights laws, republicans whine about loosing their "traditional American values". When we extend the right to marry to all Americans, republicans cry about religious persecution. When we try to regulate automatic weapons, republicans panic. It's not that Trump alone plays the victim, playing the victim is the republican platform.
5
Good column Mr. Bruni.
Trump, a man victimized and suffering for his supporters.
As he has said before, his supporters think he is the second coming.
9
I really hope Trump is acquitted by the Senate so we'll get our chance to afflict him with the ultimate unfairness, as millions of Americans turn out to send him into oblivion, and probable prosecution, by voting for whoever leads the D ticket.
11
Bernie-Andrew Yang, that is a great combo! Or Liz-Pete.
3
The explanation is simple. The design of this republic set forth in the constitution is fatally flawed. The presidential election scheme is fundamentally anti-democratic. That can ultimately have only one outcome: the national demise that we are witnessing.
10
@P. Story: The national US personality is split between liberty and slavery.
Thank you! The perpetual victim card has been tiresome the entire time -- after watching some of the mockery that Mitch McConnell forced last night -- where reasonable well thought out arguments were trumped (literally) but lies, misstatements and fake indignation, I needed your snark. Even if it all past of the same depressing scene.
6
For a good part of his life as a businessman the ones doing the persecution were his creditors.
7
Trump's self-proclaimed role as the persecuted is getting old. Seriously, the 40% of this nation, and the republicans in congress who support Trump regardless of his inability to do the job, laziness, lack of intellectual curiosity, and ethical shortcomings, need to assess exactly why they support such a man. Have we devolved as a society to this degree?
13
I would be very relieved to not hear a single news article about what Trump did today, or what he tweeted. He is an emotional roller coaster that uses name calling and denigration to get his way. There is no strategy or thought process, as it is all about one upping the last action. He is like a hormonal 13 year old boy. It is exhausting and completely beneath the office of the president.
He has been given his chance to act like an adult, govern and work to build a better future. He fails every day. Now he needs to sit in the corner and think about what he has done. When he can play with others, he can rejoin the group.
10
Aside from the obvious flaws and treachery as shown by Trump, it is the GOP and other allies of his who must have shame rain down on them. If not shame, for they are indeed shameless for their commitment to this flawed "stable genius," then infamy for continuing to countenance the behavior of a liar, know-nothing, amoral man who somehow with said aid by named parties, sits, fuming from the wrong that's been leveled at him, in the "White" House. No weeping for him, weeping, however, for the GOP and those in the country who have gone along with the charade.
7
It's not political genius. The author states that Trump has been living his entire life in this manner, documenting examples since his military school days. It's just the way he is, and somehow enough Americans fell for it to put him in office. Enough Americans in enough states with enough electoral votes to affect the Electoral College. And a few miserable Republican senators.
10
"At the Resolute Desk, a jumbo shrimp" is a brilliant, if slightly disturbing, image. However shrimps are not known for any major character flaws and may feel offended.
14
Many many people fear Putin and also Kim. Many people also fear Trump. Why do they fear him? He is cruel and mean and he lies every day. He will destroy anyone who goes against him. When so many people fear someone, that means that person is very dangerous. Trump is very dangerous to many people and they all fear him. Why is he still our President?
9
From his parents to now the Republican party, his behavior has been enabled along the way. I was fortunate to have a mother where victimhood was a non-starter---in fact quite the opposite--whatever disappointments I experienced were my fault--get over it---and next time do better.
6
The overall message received received by the American populace will be: What a fraud the political system is.
Good Work!
2
The leaders we align ourselves with speaks volumes about who we are.
7
It's amazing how you can be all of these at once! Stable Genius, world's greatest (selective) memory, and greatest victim...
By definition, only a small man can be a victim.
3
In the meantime, our poor, put upon president is in Davos strutting like a puffed rooster because he already knows that his Senate “trial” has a predetermined outcome where he will be “exonerated”, again, and he will be free to punish his enemies as he pleases. How is it that we’re at the point conservatives are the wronged people in this country, and this man can act, lie and abuse without consequence? If I believed in the end-times, this would be the beginning of them.
11
Trump plays the victim card all the time. The problem is he has convinced his supporters are victims (falsely)
4
Poor Donald - Has there ever been someone less qualified for an important position? Maybe he should do everyone a favor, including himself and just resign
5
Wow! You are outdoing yourself, lately, Frank!
My sentiments exactly!
Thanks for saying what needs to be said and so eloquently!
6
Yes. Poor Mr. Trump.
I may feel sorry for him on judgement day.
Maybe.
3
"He believes and has said that whining is a way to get what you want."
He would have tried that around my mother just once. If the sarcasm didn't stop him from doing it again, he'd end up with a long 'time out' in the corner. She'd have cured him of that habit before he got to kindergarten.
3
I don't weep FOR him, I weep BECAUSE he is in "office".
7
We implore ALL Americans to contact Chief Justice, Roberts to declare the Impeachment Trial as a RIGGED TRIAL by the Republicans. This MUST go down in history as a great travesty of any kind of justice!
7
"I didn't do nothing wrong."
"Well, yeah, I guess I did do something wrong but it wasn't my fault!"
"Well, yeah, I guess it was my fault, but you pushed me into it, so it's really your fault. How can you be so mean to me?"
Well, yeah, what I did was actually was wrong, but you pushed me into it and I was your victim. Now it is your responsibility to get me out of this mess."
4
I have been amazed for years that republican voters love this whiner and call him strong and insist that he is hard on other governments so the US will be first again. How can you fall for such a whiner? Is it because the right-wing media not showing his huge temper tantrums, his ignorance, his immorality, his criminality? Or because they portray this behavior being normal for THE president of the US?
8
Perhaps trump should be confronted every where he goes with a group of protesters playing violins and laughing at him.
8
Excellent! Outstanding wordsmithing in describing president snowflake in all his simpering glory.
6
Trump also has messianic delusions. When he first became president, he spouted about how much he was sacrificing to be president. He believes himself to be suffering for us, and by "us," I mean his white supporters.
2
I want time to slow down cause I'm getting older. But I want it to go into mach speed just to skip trump's dominion over any and all news. I have always thought of him as a waste of ink, but this era, forget about it! Arrogant personality disordered news sponge. Blech.
3
The whining from Democrats, liberals and progressives has reached new heights. They couldn't beat Trump in 2016, when Clinton put her foot in her own mouth with her "deplorables" statement about Trump supporters. They couldn't get him on Russian election collusion, or in the farcical Mueller report. And now they won't get him with this disingenuous Ukraine bunk. Look to your own leading presidential candidate, Joe Biden, if you want to see a classic case of quid pro quo. It's staring you right in the face if you care to accept the real truth.
4
@Paul
You are least “glancing” at the comment section of the NYT. Check out Fox News’ Chris Wallace too. The more news than Fox News’ pundits like Sean Hannity.
1
"(...) so soggy with Trumpian self-pity it weeps. It’s so bloated with Trumpian hyperbole it waddles." Enough said to make me shudder and wonder, for the one millionth three hundred sixty seventh time, (and counting) since November 8, 2016 how in the heck this happened. And is still happening. And is likely to happen again for the next 4 years (and counting).
4
Dunning -Kruger Syndrome. (illusory superiority)
The whole family has it. In spades.
Dont we know who they are ?
Yeah, we know all right.
5
sure hope we, the electoral college,
can not be so stupid a second time.
2
"This is the bodice ripper of political sob stories. It’s a Harlequin harangue." This is a perfect summation of the vitriol I hear from the right . Thank you.
4
America has never been in such disgrace since the Red Scare.
3
Wait a sec! The firmly established Democrst label for any opposition to this thrown-towghet impeacehment is ''cover-up.''
C'mon, Frank, how can we expect CNN-FN and WaPo to use it a hundred times in the next week without your participation?
Meanwhile, the collection of facts regarding the five members of the Biden family cashing in on Joe's position last time around is deep enough to stop his campaign cold.
BUT we love his clear-cut analysis and knowledge of where he is at all times! How do we soldier on without that?
3
The response to this list of offenses from the lawyers who President Trump has hired to defend him in the Impeachment Trial would undoubtedly be, simply, that “it’s not a crime.”
His lawyers will even argue for the President who has complained that he should have been allowed to cross-examine House Representative Schitt (his spelling.) This recent, unprecedented pleading by the President should be on the list too.
One big omission to the list is how President Trump asked for sympathy from all the women who say he took advantage of them, but even the NY Times has space limitations.
2
"Let Us All Now Weep for Donald Trump" ???
The only time most of us will weep for Donald Trump is in tears of joy - when he is defeated in November 2020. It is the American public that is the victim here, of an amoral, criminal autocrat bent on destroying our institutions and democracy, enabled by a lily-livered GOP in a sham impeachment trial.
5
Wow. As someone (me) who grew up in the NYC orbit, Mr. Bruni nailed it. Bigly.
2
Frank. Settle in for the next 5 years with him. He’s going nowhere.
1
Donald John Trump is no "stable genius" as Mr. Bruni writes.
He is simply a terrible man.
2
The real weeping should be directed at the Millions of American Voters who Voted for and have willfully chosen to Support a candidate..now President.. who has consistently publicly criticized fellow Americans ...including members of his own party...Americans from all walks of life. What would give any of us the idea that this Presidency would turn out well for our Democracy? He's been Impeached for all time...Now we have come to the question of his Removal from office. Thank goodness for the Democrats and the fact that...the majority of Americans ...both Voters and non Voters alike ..have a genuine concern for the direction our country has gone in. Were a Vote taken today...the Electoral College would not help him...most Americans ...young and old...Voters and Non Voters alike..want our country to return to a semblance of Peace and above all...Normalcy. Most of us would Vote for Removal !! I for one...among many...have grown weary of the lies and deception perpetuated by this ….so called..President and his chaotic and dysfunctional Administration with it's over 80% turnover rate. The Overwhelming number of Americans see Trump's Removal as the start to...bringing an end to the ...MAGA HOAX !! Worst President in American History !!
4
He is the most awful example of every single thing that he is.
6
Which is why the European baby balloon of him is so perfect.
8
"In His Senate Trial"?
There is no Senate trial and there be no Senate trial, because 53 Senators have decided that they want no trial.
Call it what it is, a prefunctory gesticulation of a foregone concluison, containg no documents no witnessess no examinination of the facts in the Articles of Impeachment.
I never thought I'd see the day the U.S. Senate would abrogate its duty to the constitution and the American people, but today is that day.
5
per prosecution
I was watching a documentary about poverty in Appalachia.
One person in the film expressed his admiration for Trump saying 'he was a good man - you can tell because he always has his family around..... that's a sign of character'
This person was apparently oblivious to Trump's previous two wives and numerous reported affairs. This was a person without any health care who was seeing his food stamp benefits cut. Hos voting was based on a one superficial observation - clearly the man knew little about Trump.
I vividly recall conversations with Trump supporters before the 2016 elections. We were at a 4th of July party at a farm in upstate NY - a place devastated by plant closures where the 'best' jobs are working for NY State or a Federal Agency.
More than a few people were voting for Trump not because they thought he'd be a good President or because they thought he would help them or the country. They were voting for Trump because they thought he'd 'burn Washington down'. They were voting AGAINST decades of Washington DC making their lives harder. They voted for Trump BECAUSE he was an outsider who talked about 'draining the swamp'. They voted in support of a few slogans - nothing more.
2
...And he has won everything his entire life. Why change now? Teach your children to be like Trump. They will win in life. Liberals are those who are on the outside looking in, teach your children to never trust a Liberal; to only trust right-wing opinions. Facts are for losers.
This is what I have learned: Liberals use words while Republicans take everything and own everything. Also, American justice and truth is a con and everyone should know that especially now. Stupid Democrats play nice and Republicans stab backs. Backstabbing is more effective than playing nice.
2
The greatest victim in the history of mankind? Nah!! This is, perhaps, why the Evangelicals adore him. After all it puts him in the same category as the other great savior of history: Jesus Christ -- the one who "died for us all." But we would not ask Trump to go that far !!!
3
It's been in the playbook for not only Trump, but conservatives and especially conservative christians for years. They LOVE to play the victim and go to great lengths to twist every situation into a way that they're the wronged party at the hands of some perceived boogeyman. Nevermind that even after taking the House, Democrats have no real power at the moment, but you'd never know it from all the alligator tears shed over the mean old Democrats ruining everything for Dear Leader. Trump hasn't identified himself as a Republican for very long (maybe right around the time the black guy got elected?) but he's acted like one his entire victimized life.
3
Once again, poor, poor Donald.
For a man who claims he has done so much good, and done what no the President has ever done or ever will do, for the good of mankind and the world, he is so much a victim!
So misunderstood.
So unfairly treated.
So unjustly accused.
All in spite of evidence against his claims, he is a victim. He will be a martyr some day. He is above the law. The Constitution does not apply to him. He can do what he pleases. He is doing it unselfishly for all for us. He has no malice. He has no self interests. His entire existence is to serve fellow man.
Don't 'cha know?
And what do we do? We accuse him of wrong doing! How dare we!!!! Have we no decency??? Ours is not to question someone like Donald. We should follow with total blind faith. He, and he alone, will lead us into the light and salvation. Only he can fix the mess we are in. He is a very stable genius, whose gut instincts will make it right.
Just ask him if you don't believe what I say. He will tell you the TRUTH!
1
"He’s their proxy, suffering on their behalf, . . ."
Oh, God, that explains the evangelical support for Trump; they think he's Jesus!
2
I would put it this way:
'Flip a bully, underneath you will find a coward.'
4
And when he gets another mulligan this time around, he'll look for even more to get away with.
1
No president has ever been treated so badly. I’m not being sarcastic.
Oops.
Should have been in quotes.
This statement will appear in a tweet shortly. ‘Even the NYT (‘failing’ or ‘fake news’ will not be adjectives this time around) says no president has ever been treated so badly. I’m not being sarcastic’
Should we expect his followers to then honor the request to read the entire piece? That is as likely as his sycophants in the Senate honoring the request to read any documents at all.
3
The NYT's would do a great service to the US if they would do clear and concise articles on the nature of narcissistic personality disorder. I was married to two narcissists and it took me years to truly recognize the fact that they do not see beyond themselves nor will they ever be able to. It was inconceivable to me that someone would not have a conscience, but I finally came to know that is possible and have seen it to be true. The ramifications of the disorder are still beyond my comprehension, and apparently to most others too.
While I am dreaming, how about a good article about the problems with lying. I suggest reading M. Scott Peck's "People of the Lie" for research.
6
@Jane
And narcissists always perceive themselves as a victim when crossed.
We are witnessing the slow devolution of our prized democracy. The madness will simmer down when the President is voted out of office in November; he will neither be removed by impeachment nor by the Cabinet resorting to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. Yet, after the defeat of Trump in November, despite 70% of the public presently voting for witness testimony that should be brought into the current Senate's trial, there will remain the ugly undercurrent of a large contingency of our voting public that wants restoration of a dictatorship, favorable to European American Christians, of course, and those who are not willing to conserve Earth's natural resources or support long-term rational Federal budget control, which will mandate increased taxation to correct the deficit.
5
@Victor Mark There are those who are eager to speak of an American Apocalypse, saying this is a judgment on the nation.
I do not join them, but merely point out the obvious:
Mother Nature always wins.
So much for the hollow dramas of human ambition.
2
What I don't understand is that so many Republican Senators are ready to support a President who was, by many indications in the past, involved in, or close to, criminal activities throughout his life, and probably still is. It would be so easy for them right now to rid themselves of this individual and replace him with the very conservative actual Vice-President. Over thirty of them are not up for re-election in November, so they really have no fear of a "Trumpian" backlash this year.
13
@Paul - Paul from Canada, I could not agree more, and have made the same case (and have felt similarly perplexed) ever since July.
I await the historians' recollections and analyses of these strange and interesting times. I just hope I live long enough to gain some perspective, with their help.
1
A recent piece in the Times about Harvey Weinstein is useful in relation to Trump. Weinstein apparently is confused and hurt: why are they doing this to me? Don't they remember all the great things I've done? and so on. He cannot comprehend that where he is now is the direct consequence of terrible things he had done for years. So, too, Trump: why are they impeaching the greatest most-perfect president ever? He cannot understand and most certainly can't remotely accept that he has abused his office and violated his Constitutional responsibility. If he hadn't done those things, he wouldn't be where he is today: but he most certainly did those things--and will probably get away with it more nearly than Weinstein.
9
I noticed the similarity to the current occupant of the White House and Weinstein’s dismay and walker-pandering too.
1
One thing about Trump is his faults are there for all to see. He rarely apologizes either. Many Trump supporters would have preferred Romney or Kasich, nice guys could not stood up to the Clinton political machine onslaught of "politics of personal destruction". Trump beat Democrats with their own tactics something no other candidate could have done.
2
Those waiting for the 2020 election to remove this blight should remind themselves that everyday Trump is working to gain foreign influence and subvert the next election, too. He has told us this openly, and when someone tells you who they are you should believe them. If you think that the next election is going to be free and fair, you haven’t been paying attention.
24
I am a lifelong Democrat but I have to throw some shade at our congressional leadership: All the evidence that is coming to light via witness testimony from Parnas and others is clearly incriminating. However, our congressional leaders briskly brushed past the evidence-collection phase in purported preparation for a speedy trial in the senate. That was a misnomer because the senate trial has started well over a month after the impeachment vote took place, ostensibly delayed for undisclosed procedural reasons. This doesn’t make sense.
The house inquiry should have lasted until all sources concerning the alleged criminal conduct had been exhausted, in lieu of unsuccessfully stymying predictable republican opposition in the senate to witness-testimony and any new revelations that may have come to the fore, as it has. It renders the legal case for the motion to convict and remove all but moot.
Yes, Donald J. Trump’s conduct is fundamentally criminal by most legal standards, yet Democrats’ procedural behavior in handling key elements of the case all but renders it a mistrial -by most legal standards.
2
And yet, some people still love him. People who would never tolerate whiners in their family or in their workplace. I don't get it, but I do. They are living vicariously through him. They WANT to be able to whine about their lot in life and Trump is doing it for them. They are connected by their victimhood.
18
@Long Islander Well said. I hadn't considered that. But, the disparity in their life circumstances still makes their idolization very perplexing.
10
The whole world weeps when a billionaire is treated unfairly.
13
America is the victim.
17
Weep for the president???!!! Are you mad? We should be enraged.
9
@Michael Romanello Dear sir: it requires that you read beyond the headline, which was (a-HEM) sarcastic.
1
It’s the economy, stupid.
Thank Obama for the economy. The grifter we have as POTUS only knows how to cheat.
7
Yes! JUMBO SHRIMP - DJT in a nut shell!
9
The only victim(s) in this presidency and trial are the American people. Come on America! Impeach the worst president America has ever had on November 3rd. Rise up!
15
Vote people. Forgawdsakes vote this time. -C
22
Oh, I'm waiting breathlessly for Trump and the Democratic candidate go one-on-one in televised debate. Any of the Dem. candidates will ripe him apart. Trump is no mach in a One-to-one debate. His "Look at Poor Me" defense will be so obvious surely voters from both sides will see who is really is. Oh, come on TV debates!
7
@Daniel Sir, yours is a conceit shared, unfortunately, by too many of us "down here." And we all saw how that worked out for us the last time.
People see what they want to see. And that is why so many voted last time for Donald Trump (and will again). All the voters already know who Donald Trump "really is." His supporters love him "just the way he is." No debate will change that.
2
@Daniel
He will find ANY excuse to not debate. Any. First off his declining physical condition would be a definate problem-- how to stalk his competition, as he would have nothing to cling to- something the TIMES studiously ignores. He could be called out for everything from his methods to his make up-- trowled on orange spackle, again, something the TIMES et al ignore. He can barely keep his tongue in his mouth, his speech is compromised, he has lost whatever English skills he may have had-- again, the media IGNORES all of this.
Debate? Dream on.
1
Great column, Frank. But howdo you really feel?
7
Textbook narcissism.
12
I find it increasingly difficult to reconcile NYT Trump OpEds with the astonishing probability of his re-election.
2
Frank Bruni nails it in this column about the real winner of The Biggest Loser.
It has been truly dreadful, living through these past three years. And last night's conclusion to Day 1: The Impeachment shows that the nightmare is not only not over, it's just getting interesting.
All the more reason to celebrate the small victories and signs of grace, two of which--"living history"--will remain among my favorites, over a long lifetime:
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler's thundering, no-nonsense setting forth of exactly what has been "going on here" since July, and exactly what any honest person must think (and do) about it; and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts's soft-spoken, august reprimand of both Nadler and presidential counsel Pat Cipollone, for sullying the storied Senate chamber with words unbecoming, etc.
I nearly went to bed several times during the long, predictable argument-and-roll-call-response during consideration of the House team's amendment proposals to the Senate's stipulated impeachment protocol. Thank goodness I didn't. I would have missed the highlight of the evening. Nadler lit up the chamber with fireworks, speaking the words that every one of us yearned to hear: plainspoken, naked truth, at last. And after Cipollone's unmemorable, huffing response, the icing on the cake:
We forget how rarely we hear the Chief Justice speak. Now we know how eloquent he is, how quietly powerful, and how true: a reminder of what we are hoping for.
5
Bruni should save his tears for himself and the Democrat Party.
Edward -- Given that the Republicans are imploding, save your tears for them. (Especially because no one else is.)
4
I asked a Trump supporter if he believes that Trump tells the truth. He said yes, Trump tells the truth. That is all you need, from there, his supporters will not hear or see the abundant evidence that Trump is continuously lying. This article explains why - because they identify with Trump, being victims as well. They believe in personal responsibility for everyone else. Sad
22
I read your article first with curiosity, then amusement, then anger, and finally with appreciation for totally summing up the last three years of what many of us would call the ugliest three years of American politics brought on by a totally narcissistic president and the enablers in congress who blindly turn their eyes to what they know to be corrupt and dangerous behavior. Thank you for putting into words the frustration of so many.
16
I am a college student currently studying abroad in the UK (which has its own fair share of strife, undoubtedly) and taking political science courses. As my lecturers discuss various political issues, so much of it ties back Trump, from being a laughing stock at the UN to allying himself with Russia, and it is just absolutely mortifying. Being an American is an embarrassment, point-blank. I feel an overwhelming need to say I'm sorry whenever I introduce myself and say I am from America.
There is nothing to be proud of anymore. Trump is a liar, born with a gold spoon in his mouth. Everything he does in self-interest and I cannot believe how many people still blindly support him with the belief that he cares about them.
It's surreal to be nineteen and watch the republic I thought I knew completely crumble at the hand of a self-serving nationalist.
42
@Emma It is for young people like you to ensure that this horror does not repeat itself! Become a civic advocate for truth and responsibility in politics. The future is in the hands of young citizens.
17
@A.L. Don't worry, I am! I'll be knocking on doors and doing a bunch of canvassing once I come back to the states.
And, above all, vote!
"Trump takes a textbook oxymoron and gives it presidential form. Behold, at the Resolute Desk, a jumbo shrimp."
Brilliant!
I supervised a narcissist. This was her schtick as well. She was a perpetual victim because I didn't agree that her incompetence was brilliance and her brutal treatment of staff was justified.
16
It is most unfortunate that trump's military prep school did not imbue him with some values such as honor, trust, and duty. I guess that those characteristics just won't take in some people. He is bad to the bone.
14
Apparently, West Point failed to inculcate values of honour, service and leadership into Mike Pompeo as well. Despite the fact that he graduated near the top of his class, he failed to absorb into his persona.
10
Trump is not crazy or delusional. He simply never had to grow up. We talk about the dangers of kids growing up in poverty with limited supervision. We never talk about what happens when kids grow up in wealth and never have to face consequences. Trump is that kid.
Get in trouble for something specific, blame your accuser for the same thing. Never admit guilt. Do stupid things to try and act tough. Of course never actually do anything tough cause your scared. Surround yourself with "friends" who tell you want to hear. Go on and on about things your insecure about to convince people your not insecure about it.
He just acts like a 10 year old who may have aged but his mental development just stopped there. The Republican party are his friends. They all want to play that sweet new Nintendo so they do what they have to, to play.
11
Abusers always use the victim strategy when they’re not purportedly rescuing someone/something.
4
"Behold, at the Resolute Desk, a jumbo shrimp," thank you Mr. Bruni, I needed that one this morning, choked on my coffee chuckling, its not easy to find a smile of late.
The peculiar part of this story about our whiner and chief's whiny history, is that a lot of actual victims of the banking scheme that cost them their homes, NAFTA job casualties, and other down on their luck workers who lost out, hitched their lot to a liar and a cheat. Its hard to laugh about that, let me reread that one liner again.
9
Through out the world the USA has made enemies who are praying that Trump keeps "winning".
4
It's time to collect money to defeat Mitch.
8
Indeed, defeating McConnell is nearly as important as defeating Trump.
8
Amy McGrath is running against him. Yes, let’s all support Amy!!!
1
Trump will boast about his cheating and bullying, as if his victims deserved it by being weak and stupid.
He seems to mind looking weak and stupid at the hands of a woman.
3
A whiner and a baby the president is - and cruel and deceitful go with the pathetic package. One couldn’t have a more antithetical role model in the WH. Let’s pray we get over with this sooner than later.
3
@the doctor: I've never understood why people believe their God would respond favorably to being prayed at.
Any sensible parent would not let his or her child acting like Trump.
5
@Roland Berger
Start running Ads; of children acting, talking, behaving like the role model President Trump is, towards their parents, teachers, ministers and the public. Maybe just maybe a point of understanding will finally be reached.
4
It is up to us now, given what is presently occurring in the senate with the fake trial and subsequent acquittal. In November, rally your friends, family, acquaintances and even strangers to vote, vote, vote. No one can save us but ourselves.
7
Here's to making the Republican senators his victims, by voting them out.
12
Yeah, "victim" Trump acts like a two-bit crook who might get off on charges because he wasn't read his Miranda rights. The legal problem for Trump should be that as the chief enforcer of the law, there should be an implied Miranda of sorts. The man who is in charge of enforcing all American laws is getting off on a technicality? If anyone should not get away with breaking and/or subverting laws due to ignorance of the law, it's POTUS. Now, if disrespect of the law is a defense, he should certainly walk. He IS prima facie evidence of his disrespecting laws, as in his mind they don't apply to him. Never have. The House charges not spelling out an actual crime, despite calling what Trump did "bribery" in public, is the GOP legal defense of their liege? Our bizarro world gets more bizarro every day. I fear for our very foundation.
3
Please dont forget "dodged the Vietnam draft 4 times" in your list at the end.
7
Donald Trump knows he's not the victim. It's all an act. The thing is though, for him the act is the reality. He's a world class con-man, and we are his marks.
5
The Republicans should rebrand as the Pity Party.
5
Trump's sense of victimhood may have been salved during his childhood at a military-themed boarding school when he used whining to get what he wanted, but his tactical arsenal broadened significantly in adulthood once Sen. Joseph McCarthy's onetime chief counsel and the mob's favorite attorney Roy Cohn became Trump's lawyer. That's when Cohn taught Trump to weaponize whining with his tried-and-true strategy of defense, which is to lie, lie, lie, deny, deny, deny, sue, sue, sue. And Trump has employed that playbook ever since, including during his most unpleasant experience of supposed victimhood, i.e., his impeachment and trial.
3
Where ia a John McCain?
Where are the hearts and souls of Republican senators? Dead, dead, dead.
Rest in Peace, John McCain.
5
Trump suffers from what my mother called, "the hurt bird syndrome." He flaps his wings and drags his tail along the ground to distract and hide his failings from us.
2
Mitch McConnell: "If the trial is quick, you must acquit."
Apologies to Johnnie Cochran.
4
All of this is a prelude, pathologically orchestrated by the president, to the State of the Union address. You heard it here first.
1
Where are the demonstrations? We need to take to the streets en masse!
8
@RKM
I am / have been wondering the same. How do we get this started?
With millions in the streets, even for just one weekend (has to be both Saturday & Sunday because of religious observance, so no one is excluded) the Senate, News / Media and the People will not be able to ignore the demands that they Do Their Jobs. Allow / Demand the Witnesses / Documents / Money Trails and / or any other pertinent information to expose the truth.
5
Is it true that "Who's my mitch" mcconnell and his cronies, beyond following their boss trump's diktat on "trial" procedure (and how they should ultimately vote of course), have proposed funding the trump defense by selling, as souvenirs, U.S. Constitution toilet paper?
What a fitting way to commemorate what they are doing to the Constitution, "rule of law," justice, and the American People!
1
I was crying for Adam Schiff...he was completely eviscerated and neutered today.
2
@Charlie Words cannot harm us unless we give them permission to do so.
2
You do not have to shed any tears for Donald Trump. He will come out the winner after all is said and done. He has done nothing wrong and will be exonerated. The Democrats and Trump haters will be the ones crying when he wins again in 2020. They better have tissues at the ready as they will need them lots of them.
1
“He’s always right and yet always wronged. He demands that we marvel at his invincibility even as we tremble at his degradation. He can vanquish any enemy — and his enemies are legion! — but look at how he’s pushed around.”
The wronged, ignorant bully who everyone seems to be afraid of, but whom they secretly disdain, is allowed to abuse his power because those whose job it is to keep him in check are simultaneously addicted to their own power and are rendered powerless as a result. No independent-thinking Republican senators exist apparently. What a shameful display in the Senate today!
Those who support Trump can’t ever really defend him. Any argument usually begins with; “well but Obama.....” or “what about Hillary’s emails or Benghazi”.....truly pathetic. What a travesty of justice. To think our system of government would be so challenged by this narcissistic, lazy, man-child, Putin-loving bully, is simply astonishing.
7
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This explains why all Republican Senators are rowing Trump’s line.
Because, if he looses, they all loose, each and every Republican!
2
Bullies have a few creepy admirers but never, ever really get love.
3
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of Self-Pity,
and to the grievances for which it stands,
one nation, under Trump, egotistical,
with self-pitying victimhood for all.
2
Jumbo shrimp. Worth repeating.
5
Poor baby.
Would anyone honestly shed a sincere tear for this man ever?
4
As a parent, you never, NEVER, give into whining. Too bad his parents didn’t learn this. I cannot even imagine having him as a child.
3
"It’s so bloated with Trumpian hyperbole it waddles."
First line of a Dickens novel.
3
He has labored to make himself into the most miserable human being on TV. If only we could victimize Himself --more and harder! -- to give his fantasies some purchase. It would be worth the whining to take him down.
1
Do not go around lamenting to others how hard it is for you to live in this world to do so is an act utterly unbecoming to a worthy man. Nichiren Daishonin's "The Three Kinds of Treasures 1277
3
Exactly where is the Madame Defarge of the GOP Cult ??? Yes, I mean Sarah Palin. The original Trump, the test version. SHE would absolutely be the cherry on top of this sundae. Dazzle us with your acumen and “ thoughts “, Sarah. Your audience awaits.
6
Well expressed, Mr. Bruni!
2
Trump is a deeply flawed personality...it's built in ...culturally (he makes his own weather) and in his case no doubt biologically. But talking about his obnoxious whiny nasty vindictive destructive self does deflect from the so called "normal" people who do his bidding.
I hope they appreciate the cover....but why do we grant it to them?
I very much think the President is capable of scheming on so many levels that go far beyond his great whining skills. He blusters, threatens, extorts, punishes, fires, rewards, and all the well-documented rest. Whining is only one of many skills in his bag of tricks. I agree with the psychologists who say malignant narcissists are the most dangerous of people.
1
“I am the most fabulous whiner,” Trump conceded. “I keep whining and whining until I win.”
And this is our president, our commander in chief? Sounds like an out of control toddler. SAD.
1
Allow me to place the crown or thorns
1
Trump is a sociopath - which is a very bad thing to have as a ‘president’.
I truly hope Progressives are up for this fight.
1
Why should I weep for a two bit conman who has lied and cheated his way through life?
1
Weep for our democracy. No joke.
It’s not foreigners pushing us around, it’s our domestic privileged class, given dominance that's abnormal in a democracy.
If our revered highest court equates the money of the 1% wealthy election donors with 'protected free speech' per 1st Amendment of the Constitution--- the signal that sends is obvious.
It’s a green light for the rich and powerful to do whatever they want. Supported with warped rationalizations from their deluded excuse makers using slogans of ‘freedom’. Result---- a polarized, phony democracy.
Frank's phrases are wonderful--- “He’s their proxy, suffering on their behalf, a symbol of Americans’ victimization…most fabulous whiner…a jumbo shrimp…the bodice ripper of political sob stories…..a Harlequin harangue…so bloated with Trumpian hyperbole it waddles…..The document is so soggy with Trumpian self-pity it weeps.”
Hyperbole that's apt.
But Frank might use his sharp wit on the chain of causation in our warped politics.
Why is it legal in the US to amplify the influence of the wealthy, and muffle the voice of the mass of citizens? On the 10th Anniversary of Citizens United, we are more disunited. Our own Constitution was used against the influence of the citizen majority on our politics.
Trump/GOP heard the signal. Trump types will swim to the surface of the swamp. Frank---where are some choice phrases for this?
Trump may be wrong about almost everything but at least he's correct about low flush toilets.
“I’m not being sarcastic: I’m taking dictation”. If only everyone could write and persuade this well. Best column I’ve read in weeks. Bravo!
1
Oh how my heart bleeds.....NOT. I have zero sympathy for Trump. As a wounded, broken, mentally ill human being I am sorry for him. But as the president who knows the difference between right and wrong, I shed zero tears.
3
"Why Trump great til he gotta be great?"
Truth hurts, Don. Go away please.
It feel and think it is difficult to weep for Donald Trump because his behaviors have continued to be dangerous to others since he was a little boy, maybe also dangerous to his senses of self.
It is his danger to others that pulls me up short in having empathy and sympathy for Donald Trump. Albeit, Donald Trump has continued to suffer, throughout his life, from serious psycho-neurotic problems.
Truth has it that many of us have psycho-neurotic problems ranging from mild to severe. Donald Trump has severe ones which I repeat lead him to behave in dangerous ways, to have difficulties being kind to others; and truly kind to himself (?).
I also feel sorry for Donald Trump because V. Putin and his colleagues have taken advantage of Donald Trump by putting Donald Trump is a very difficult situation, this by trying to use Donald Trump as a weapon within our midst against us and Donald, himself.
God help us and God help Donald Trump. I know, it is hard to feel kindness for a person who endangers others.
Donald Trump, Please take care of yourself, please be kind to your self and to others by immediately transforming your self into a kind President of the USA,
In the interest of fair and unbiased reporting
The Washington Post, on the Day Trump was inaugurated
featured this headline
"The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun"
Jan. 20, 2017
And no, the Washington Post, is not a right wing paper. It is critical of Trump and owned by Jeff Bozo (a frequent target of Trump)
Mr. Trump does have a point, even when he, as customary , exaggerates
The Democrats, from day one, tried overturn the voters choice by undemocratic means. Rather than on the ballot box
Where the question of his fitness should be decided
1
@Lars
There was increasing suspicion, and we know now with good cause, that Trump was actively soliciting support from Russia, that he was overly interested in our adversary Putin, and for all the world looked(s) like he was already in the middle of one of his now infamous quid pro quo’s. So, what to do? Trump was already known to be a crook, liar and cheat.
Don’t play “boo hoo” with the man; Republicans snarled about impeachment during Obama’s terms, but the man carried himself with dignity, instead of crying for sympathy from literally the whole world, as Trump is doing AD NAUSEUM.
1
Anyone who weeps for Donald Trump must be suffering from serious brain damage. The ultimate farce of having McConnell and his merry band of miscreants (oops Republicans) are now demonstrating to the whole world how American democracy is in tatters; and only getting worse every day. This Authoritarian, Bully, Misogynist, Pathological Liar, and general all around Creep; is the death knell of the United States as the world now knows it. What I weep for are the millions of decent Americans who know all this; and are powerless to stop it. Thanks to a partisan stacked Supreme Court; and even worse a Senate headed by the ultimate and pathetic sycophant; and the death spiral for democracy in the U.S. is there for the whole world to watch in utter disgust. I suppose since the insane Citizens United passed nearly a decade ago; the handwriting was on the wall. The rise of the all powerful corporate Oligarch was now free to do it`s worst. Mission Accomplished. Weep for Trump? NO. I weep for a nation who once symbolized democracy all over the world. Now it pathetically symbolizes TRUMPOCRACY. Go ahead America; watch democracy die before your very eyes. That is all this farce of a trial has become. Reality; let alone facts and TRUTH; have no room in the alternative universe that this sickness that has led you to.
3
ALMOST ALL of The Senate Republicans are as illegally funded by Russia and other Oligarchs as Trump is. They’re ALL aware that if this illegal funding is proven they’ll be brought down in November (and perhaps in a court of law). So they’re ALL permitting treason to triumph. Jumbo Shrimp ALL.
3
This sacrificial lamb, taking all this hate from the blue state upon himself. Putting himself up on the cross keeps him out of jail.
No other planet on Earth would willingly allow a dangerously ignorant madman to remain in power.
1
Truth be told, Trump has certainly suffered more than Jim Caviezel in "The Passion of the Christ"
It’s mirror time for Frank Bruni. The challenge is for Mr. Bruni and his media colleagues to sift through their mountain of columns for the past three plus years and read their own vitriol laced hyperbole regarding President Trump and come to a simple conclusion, fair and honest or unhinged unbalanced bias. You be the judge Mr. Bruni but face the mirror and follow the facts when you make the call as you need to look yourself in the eye when you lie. That way you own it and no sympathy or excuses come your way.
2
I offer this.
Everyone on either side of the Senate who makes even a single vote that could release the President from guilt of crimes based on his whimpering, sniveling, tearful attacking, braying, lying, braying, or feeling sorry for himself and not his almost total deceit to the American People, the courts, our allies, our children, and his "base" should be thrown from office at the first opportunity along with the President's attorney's who should be immediately disbarred for their snideness covered by false defenses that shame Democracy and the American Consitution. God deliver them for showing our children that justice is for mobsters and billionaires, and no one else.
3
For those who work within Trump's White House, are Trump political appointees and/or contributors, or have done Trump's bidding in the House and the Senate, I fear that they may enjoy short term benefits for now but in the long run their association with Trump will not benefit them. How to prevent long term damage from being associated with the Trump Administration and having one's name written in the Book of Trump?
Resign now and denounce Trump: They may dissociate themselves from Trump's actions that have undermined our democracy while still believing in true Republican ideas.
Now it is being reported that the whistleblower was talking about getting the president removed from office right after the election and the person he was talking to about removing the president from office then went to work for Adam Schiff. Maybe this whole thing is rigged against the president.
1
@It isn’t working
Give it up. Lies like , “ from the day he was elected “ or similar claptrap fail to acknowledge any facts whatsoever. Don the Con did ask a foreign power to spy for him against a political opponent, full stop. Doesn’t matter what happened before, this alone makes him a criminal. Now if we can only get Midnight Mitch to acknowledge he has broken the constitution about a zillion ways we can get a working government again.
2
Mr. Bruni. Thank you for your article. You are about the only reason I watch Don Lemon hoping to catch you on his nightly program. Have to wait a couple of days though so this farce of McConnell's trial is over. I am a 74 year old Vietnam Vet and lived in Europe, California and, of course, America. So I have a lot of life experiences behind me especially after having retired from working in three of Ohio's prisons. I am very pessimistic about expecting the Democrats to kick Trump and his posse out of the White House in November. I truly think sometimes that Americans have a death wish.
5
You are one of 100’s of people that watch Don Lemon. Lemon is a mindless overly emotional extreme liberal who cares more about LGBTQ rights than literally anything else. The Trump economy is booming and most commenters are ok with risking the economy to a leftist administration bent on tax and spending us further into debt.
In psychotherapy we honor he truth of a person’s experience. If someone feels that he is being treated unfairly, the therapist is less concerned with whether that is a fact in Reality than with how the individual is arriving there. I’m speculating that trump is compulsively repeating a childhood trauma.
On a national scale many of bis core supporters, through their anti-“establishment hero” are vicariously flipping the bird at a world they see leaving them in the lurch.
Then, on a global stage we have James Comey, Russian hackers, Mitch M, and assorted others playing their parts in a drama that has seated an infant at the Resolute desk with The Button within reach. In the background there are millions with their mindfulness- expanded consciousness and millions with minds laser-focused on their gun rights.
What a diving comedy.
5
If we are not very careful, he will avoid justice again. With the likes of McConnell, Miller, Barr, Republican Senators, and all his sycophants he continues to ignore our laws and get away with it. This is the most unfair and biased Congress we have ever had. He will never go away unless pushed and pushed hard. I have absolutely no compassion or sympathy for such a blowhard and bully. He is not a victim and he fools only his base with such claims for pity.
17
When my nephew was just a kid he had it all figured out, he was the victim no matter the situation. He refined his whining as he grew older by adding a axe to grind as everyone is against him in this unfair world. Victims of everyday life look through a different
prism, yet behind all that ‘poor me’ lens lies a sense of entitlement. ‘Why should I have to suffer, I didn’t do anything wrong!’
Trump appeals to those who want to blame others for their ordinary lives, those who aspire but don't achieve. He gives them the license to be victims, while providing the reason...the rigged system, and the democrats of course.
24
If the Republicans get their way and if he would be reelected it will be another 4 years of a nightmare, we will be lucky if it only is a nightmare and it will be gone when we wake up.
5
Fairy tales and religions taught me that there will be consequence for bad behavior. It never went well for people who ignored the basics of being good, don't lie, don't cheat, don't abuse and so on.
But I guess those were just stories. How can I not lose faith?
10
The trump is a victim of everyone. That's why he hates virtually everyone. Indeed, he hates most of America. Is there anyone, ever, who has smeared, denigrated and insulted more Americans, heroes, cities, the nation's institutions, laws, humanity and decency than trump? Fact is trump hates everything but himself.
This sham rigged trial will consolidate his claim and right to subjugate all of America as the House of Trump - his fiefdom by right as the ordained self-chosen-one. Forget the iron throne - he will sit on the golden throne and loo and use our nation as his personal sewer.
Welcome to a new epoch - forget Game of Thrones - it's the Game of Plutocrats, now playing out in Davos, dividing up the spoils by spoiling our planet amongst themselves, temporarily, until the battles begin to decide who will ultimately sit on the golden throne and loo that trumps currently sits on as the supreme plutocrat and ruler of the planet.
The trump has a head start as the king of the wealthiest and most indebted nation in the world (remember the House Lannister - wealthiest but most in debt). America is destined for bankruptcy - moral and financial.
"Lowry crowned Trump 'the most fabulous whiner in all of American politics.'" I prefer Bill Maher's description of him. But isn't whining how little kids manipulate adults to get their way?
15
So many consiglieri will go down (and have gone) being irreparably ruined for serving Boss Trump. How does he do that too?
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men" Sir John Dalberg-Acton
3
This isn't unique to Trump, it's just how bullies work. Because any time I went to yet another teacher to tell yet another story about yet another bully abusing me, the bully would just match my emotional intensity so the teacher wouldn't know who to believe. Not that they cared.
And that's the majority of America. They can't be bothered to try to figure out who's telling the truth because they don't want to know. I teach at one of the top schools in my state, and on my way in this morning, I was chatting with a colleague:
Me: "I'm gonna be spending another day with one eye on the class and one eye on the news, hah!"
Her: "What's on the news?"
Me: "…"
9
Trump is only the latest charlatan that managed to 'get the White House'. Trump never should have happened if the Establishment cared about the people instead of their stock portfoliohere have been others, but they survived unscathed because they played ball with the Establishment.
.
I'm thinking of the two Bushes, HW and GW.
Bombed, sanctioned and killed thousands of Iraqis.
Should have spent the rest of their lives behind bars fir this 'unnecessary military affronts'.
Where's GW today after sending 3000+ Americans to their deaths???
Then there is Obama capitulating to the Health Industrial complex by rolling out his Affordable Care Act. 10 years later and Americans continue to die for lack of affordable care, while Health investors are laughing all the way down Wall Street.
And the Nytimes concludes after its deep introspection that Amy and Liz as the 'two best' for whom? Both have passed the test of the Corporate class with their waffled support of real health care reform. They understand about investor wealth!
5
Be fair: It’s not only Donald Trump who whines incessantly, it’s also his supporters.
14
Dear Mr Bruni-
I never miss them, but You truly have outdone yourself with this column. Since the Dotard was elected, I have wondered just what it is that attracts Joe Blow Voter to him, and your sentence:
“He’s their proxy, suffering on their behalf, and in that way he collapses the distance between a billionaire with multiple golf resorts and displaced factory workers struggling to hold on to their one and only homes”
Is exactly what I’ve felt about him, but couldn’t properly articulate. We Americans love to complain about our lot in life (cluelessly, usually, as so many of us are in reality, quite fortunate compared to the rest of the world), and how “the deck is stacked” or “the man keeping us down” or whatever. Lately, it’s the aging white males getting left behind in our brave new world, complaining about their lack of jobs, lack of respect from women who should just want them because, and lack of values because we are less religious, and more accepting, so they are so persecuted! Never have they been more so! The most in the world!!
It’s really interesting, and super crazy. Narcissistic personality disorder for sure, in Trump’s case. For the rest of us, we need to snap out if it, and realize how lucky we are, stop complaining, and get ready for him to not be removed. He won’t be and I for one am going to try really really hard not to complain, but focus on what I can do, which is vote.
14
I don’t know Frank, Trump has a great shot at re-election, the good news you get to write about him everyday till January 2025.
1
So far this trial is a farce on the Republican side. LIES FROM THEIR LAWYERS. Shoot down every motion to allow those who were subpoenaed to testify and tell the truth. If the president is innocent, let them testify. We are witnessing the death of the GOP.
7
Frank, you left out one of Trump’s biggest “poor little rich kid” moments: Equating his avoiding sexually-transmitted diseases while dodging the Vietnam draft with actually serving in the military. In his interview in 1997 with shock-jock Howard Stern, Trump talked about how he had been “lucky” not to have contracted diseases when he was sleeping around. “Sort of like the Vietnam-era,” Trump said in the video, “It is my personal Vietnam.”
This wasn’t just one instance, either; it’s a life-long pattern: He repeated similar remarks in an interview with Piers Morgan just last year when he boasted about his multiple draft deferments for supposed “bone spurs” in his heels.
Above and beyond all else, I can’t for the life of me see how anyone who has a shred of respect and regard for those who actually DO and HAVE served their country in the military—including the traditional pro-defense GOP base—can possibly support this guy.
9
The senate has become a farce, a corruption and a shadow of its true purpose. Why are all these people so intent on marching in locked step with Trump?Are they all complicit and therefore they all fear prosecution? Are they a true cult, brainwashed by the damaged psyche of Trump? Are they power mad? What is going on here? I don't get it. Is there some reality that makes sense of it? Perhaps they have gone so far afield that to turn around now is suicide for the party and they intend to bluff it out to the end, just in case it works. Or maybe it is white supremacy or nothing. Does anyone know?
"Oh what a tangled web they weave
When they practise to deceive.!"
8
"It’s also part of his political genius."
Can we please stop using genius to describe any part of this man's character? His playing of almost half the country for suckers isn't genius, it's shamelessness.
12
I'm sorry to report that so far, each of the president's lawyers have misrepresented facts and need to be called on them. It's tough to be an advocate these days. Aparently none of the lawyers, starting with Selolow, care whether there may be ramifications.
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_3_3_candor_toward_the_tribunal/comment_on_rule_3_3/
"Legal argument based on a knowingly false representation of law constitutes dishonesty toward the tribunal. A lawyer is not required to make a disinterested exposition of the law, but must recognize the existence of pertinent legal authorities. Furthermore, as stated in paragraph (a)(2), an advocate has a duty to disclose directly adverse authority in the controlling jurisdiction that has not been disclosed by the opposing party. The underlying concept is that legal argument is a discussion seeking to determine the legal premises properly applicable to the case."
4
The US has transformed from a nation of hard working, can do people into a nation of pathetic whiners. So who better to lead this degraded country than the biggest whiner of them all? From my perspective the future of the US does not look very bright, which also makes Trump its ideal leader.
5
Next year at this time he’s just a mess that needs to be cleaned up...and off we go!
3
Final takeaway for the evening. Trump: "Now who's my mitch!"
3
Final takeaway for the evening: Trump jubilantly chanting, "Now who's my mitch!!!"
2
Sociopaths walk amongst us, they are the guy next door. The 'pity-party' game is the true 'tell' of a sociopath.
According to Martha Stout, Ph.D., author of The Sociopath Next Door, the best clue that you are dealing with a sociopath is the pity play.
“The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness,” Stout says. “It is, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy.”
The combination of consistently bad or inadequate behavior and frequent pity plays, Stout continues, is the closest thing to a warning you’ll ever get that you are being manipulated by a sociopath.
7
Victims of perceived intrusion. In the 60's we were told to get in line and fight the Vietnamese or the Chinese will be in Kansas by March.
The 70's we were told to keep fighting even THO some fighting reports were made up to help the people in power.
IN the 80's in was the made up story of WMD"s.
Then 19 Saudi's hit the twin towers and off to Iraq to fight terrorist. (Saudis get a pass again)
Iran will be used as a diversion. Get in Line!!
2
Whether justice is served and he is convicted, two things give me satisfaction, first, he is impeached, and that fact is part of his history, and the history for evermore of our Democratic Republic, the Republic he seeks to destroy, and second, I'm convinced that if he is not convicted, he will lose to Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren come November next, either of whom will be one of our greatest Presidents, and much as I want Bernie to win, I hope it's Elizabeth Warren because it will give me and tens of millions of Americans exquisite pleasure to hear this abominable racist misogynist concede to our first female President.
5
If only Trump had asked the Saudi's to look up dirt on Biden, he wouldn't be in this mess.
2
Times journalists (and others); It's 3 am and I don't feel creative or prepared at the moment to do anything with this, so please run with it:
A comment here mentions Trump inherited or received $400 million from his daddy. That's the same amount he is accused of withholding from Ukraine.
There's a lot that could be said about this: spoiled and entitled rich guy who responds to his own privilege by imposing, in the defining moment of his career, abusive and arbitrary hardship on others, in *exact proportion* to his privilege.
Someone please develop this observation further, run with it.
6
No matter how you twist and turn, no matter how you much you convolute simple facts, the truth remains the same. The entire Russian collusion event was a complete and utter hoax. The real facts, the ones you, Mr. Bruni, refuse to see and even momentarily consider, have begun to come out. More will come out with Mr. Durham's report. It is coming soon and the truth will have to be acknowledged by you. Now we have the impeachment event. It's the same thing. The democrat party has been trying in one way or another to accomplish a removal since he was elected. They are trying desperately to do this because they cannot win elections fairly anymore. And in the end, this too will fail. It will fail because it's a hoax, it's a fraud, it's another desperate attempt of a failed political party. Already the lies are exposed, and all that's left are the slick and shiny speeches. And this essay by Mr. Bruni is one of them. Of course, another question is begging to be answered. Why in the world would you support the democrat party? They are exactly like the Soviet constitution, which sounded so good and presented such noble ideals, but in reality...
2
@Len
Oh yes Mr Durham’s report will tell the “ real” facts
And when that fails to materialize, you can just move on to the next right-wing conspiracy du jour
3
Victimhood is a terrible place to be. You see yourself as powerless and defines your identity. DJT believes it himself, even as he bullies all around him. Whining is the exact antithesis of courage and honor. You have identified why I find his behavior and strategy repulsive. A tragic individual, God help us, really.
2
Typical combination of behaviors characteristic of serial offender/abusers who are more psychologically complicated than bullies....not letting bullies off the hook here. With a huge chunk of narcissism to boot.
Basically "It's your fault I have to treat you so badly or make mistakes, break the law, tell lies. You made me do it so you can't blame me, get mad at me, expect me to be accoubtable, change, or stop."
He is consistent in his pathology.
Read "A Very Stable Genius..." by Lenig and Rucker for more examples. It's also an excellent companion book for the impeachment trial.
Our democracy is imperiled by this fraud and the GOP enablers.
5
Trump's sense of victimhood may have been salved during his childhood at a military-themed boarding school when he used whining to get what he wanted, but his tactical arsenal broadened significantly in adulthood once Sen. Joseph McCarthy's onetime chief counsel and the mob's favorite attorney Roy Cohn became Trump's lawyer. That's when Cohn taught Trump to weaponize whining with his tried-and-true victim's defense, which is to "lie, lie, lie, deny, deny, deny, sue, sue, sue." And Trump has employed that playbook ever since, including during his most unpleasant experience of supposed victimhood -- his impeachment and trial.
3
Pathetic. He's going to win again in November. This is like a blackhole.
3
I weep instead for those who sold their integrity and principles (Lindsey are you reading this?) to this latter-day Mephistopheles.
3
Yes, my heart bleeds for the poor dear. Just imagine the contrast between his very real travails and the imagined injuries continually whinged about by boat people, the starving, the persecuted, the destitute. Shame on them.
4
And let’s put some emphasis of the word “unfair”, which he uses every time he doesn’t get his way. Megan Kelly’s asking about HIS own past quotes was “unfair”... Democrats not siding with him is “unfair”...
5
There are many saints already. I don't believe self-designated "Trump the Martyr" shall join them.
3
Interesting how the party of "personal accountability, accept responsibility, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, get on with it, you can overcome adversity with hard work, stop whining you snowflakes, the buck starts here" has done a complete 180 on all of these beliefs when the tide turns on them. Even crazier but not surprising, they don't think it's ironic or question themselves because all of that stuff only relates to "others."
3
But he will forever be Impeached if not removed. May he wear that scarlet letter forever on his forehead. It may well happen that he is impeached yet again as well. Perhaps a different Senate would produce a different result.
3
@Bailey
Indeed. Let's put as much effort to turning over the Senate as electing a Democrat president.
Frank, your recent fury of articles against Trump makes me think you and other liberals/leftists/socialists realize Trump will be re-elected and it’s killing y’all. (I’m not from the south, but I love saying y’all). Chin up, he’s fulfilling his campaign promises and that is good for America and Americans. And that’s why we voted for him and will again.
1
He loves being the “victim”, so he can claim he will save us and declare himself president for life and have ken and barbie be his successors.
2
I believe the characterization of Trum as a whiner is far too generous and gentle and distracts from what he reall is. He is a cheater. He has been cheating in his real estate business tenants, investors, and contractors. He has cheated on taxes. He has cheated on all three of his wifes. He is a notorious cheater and when he gets caught he whines. What a sad character.
4
" Trump's campaign slogan for 2020...."He’s always right and yet always wronged."
Thanks Mr. B. Classic.
2
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5) a sociopath whose traits include 1) lack of respect for laws; 2) lying for personal gain; 3) consistently getting into fights; 4) feeling no shame or remorse for causing pain or harm to others. To this, we can add: consistently blaming others when things go wrong. Sound familiar?
5
Times journalists (and others); It's 3 am and I don't feel creative or expired to do anything with this, so please run with it:
A comment here mentions Trump inherited or received $400 million from his daddy. That's the same amount he is accused of withholding from Ukraine.
There's a lot that could be said about this: spoiled and entitled rich guy who responds to his own privilege by imposing, in the defining moment of his career, abusive and arbitrary hardship on others, in *exact proportion* to his privilege.
Someone please develop this observation further, run with it.
He has been persecuted by the press. It doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it. However, to the extent the way nytimes ignores non-Trump related "news" such as the recent changes in Russia's government and hysterical coverage on Iran, I have to say no.
1
He would love to have John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and Mick Mulvaney testify on his behalf at his trial, but national security concerns won't permit them to speak at all. The poor little guy can't even get a defense.
3
Great article, but Bruni should have left Job out of this argument:
it's a funny allusion, but it demonstrates ignorance. Trump hasn't
lost a stinking thing. He's had nothing taken away from him. Every misfortune of his was self-caused.
1
Of those who act desperate for approval, whiners are the worst. Not only are they likely not to succeed, they are also annoying.
2
The Senate cultivated Trump to be President and now I doubt they will let him be impeached.
2
@PATRICK
So, let's send the GOP senators to the unemployment line come November.
That picture is the equivalent of Harvey Weinstein’s walker.
6
In his eyes, he can never do any wrong. But the mirror on the wall is now saying something else. Boo hoo to him.
3
During Jay Sekulow's FOX News-induced rant about how the Democrats not only want to overturn the November 2016 election, but also keep Donald Trump off the ballot in 2020, I couldn't help but laugh out loud: that's the point, Jay--to get your corrupt client out of the Oval Office NOW, so he can't be on the ballot ten months from now. Geraldo Rivera has said publicly that he agrees that Trump did all that the impeachment articles declare, but since Trump has been through so much and been so harassed for so long, the trauma he's been through is enough punishment. Kellyanne thinks Abraham Lincoln would sympathize with Trump and would oppose his impeachment.
We really are living alternative universes. Not only does Trump trumpet his victimhood, he's got his cult members buttressing his claims.
3
In some weird way, I do feel sorry for him in that he never got to be a real human.
4
Acquitting Trump will be a Pyrrhic victory for Republicans.
3
And in all of this Donald Trump is the savior king of the.Republican Party. Who is more dysfunctional? Both are dangerously lethal to our nation and to world security.
3
Mr. Bruni
Sir, eloquent and rings with the truth. I will blatantly quote you in my political discussions within my circle of "friends". I seek to influence others with a voice that I am just now discovering. This discovery initiated by the advent of Trumpism, Your voice, your writing is an aid in that development.
4
Well, my thinking --hope -- that at least five republicans would stand up to be counted evaporated when they all voted to table every amendment the democrats put forth.
I wish Nancy had scheduled the state of the union for next week, while the trial was still going on.
. . .and that Roberts had the guts to adjourn the trial after 8pm.
5
What does a Donald Trump as president say about us, the American people? Where is the outrage of the nearly half of the American electorate who countenance this criminal?
If anyone other than Trump behaved as he does as an American president, he would be tarred, feathered and run out of Washington on a rail. The key to Trump's survival is with the Senate.
There, there are 53 Republicans who have completely abdicated their constitutional oaths to protect that very document from would-be autocrats, criminals, and assorted other bad guys. They have put their careers ahead of everything else in their lives. They are not public servants. They are charlatans all. Philistines.
It will be for Americans of good will to right this ship of state, vote by vote. It is all in our hands, in the end.
12
@Robert Burns
The chicken GOP senators could donate the feathers!
Frank has described Trump perfectly. The only thing he did not add is that Trump possesses the classic character traits of a spoilt teenager who at one stage or another believes everyone, but especially parents, have it in for them. At least teenagers have an excuse.... they are teenagers. Trump on the other hand is a totally immature human being, both bully and whiner. Boy no wonder the US is in a mess.
11
Had the media printed in depth facts from Trump's background everyday during the primaries rather than covering his outrageous statements and speculating whether his campaign was finished we would not be in this position today. The campaign was covered like a sleezy reality show, cheap entertainment, rather than eliminating a potential corrupt, arrogant, unethical menace.
13
It's not Trump. Well, it is, as he's a man without anything resembling a conscience or moral underpinnings.
What it really is is about people who so willingly do his bidding, either for a buck, as is the case with his lawyers, or for some sort of perceived political gain, as with much of the Republican party. Trump is apparently highly unique in that he can be devoid of anything resembling human decency yet still get millions to drink his Kool-Aid. Do you favor Republicans over Democrats? Yes? OK, fine. Why THAT Republican?
Speaking of 'anything for a buck,' I watched Cipillone's speech yesterday. And the first (and only) thing I thought of was that there were plenty of soundbites designed for people who get their news from one particular source. While lying repeatedly, in the manner of his client, he also dictated the narrative that 40% of the country will accept as gospel.
To call this era in our history 'shameful' is a gross understatement.
10
Because all the most intelligent, dignified, and accomplished professionals find whining to be the honorable path to success.
Only one with no intellectual ability would stoop to these tactics. (Other than a child, of course.) Pathetic when an adult in his 70's resorts to a child's tactics. Speaks volumes.
3
Been saying this for years. Trump is a master whiner who portrays himself as a victim. His supporters see that as a strength, because he tells it like it is. The rest of us see Oz hiding behind a curtain of lies.
8
The Senate impeachment trial is reminding us of things we know very well about President Donald Trump.
Let’s give Donald Trump credit for doing one thing extremely well. Unencumbered by the burdens of honesty, morality or patriotism, Trump has always had the ability to find other people who would man the front lines in doing his dirty work.
Whether those other people are persuaded by Donald Trump to do his bidding by their fear of Trump, by their own greed and corruption or by their desire to be close to power, the men and women in the trenches soon become as ruthless as their leader.
The trenches are filled by Republican officeholders in the Senate and the House. The most prominent officers range from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to the pathetic Trump lapdog, Lindsey Graham.
There is, of course, another group of angry men and women whose knowledge of history and government is as faulty and twisted as Donald Trump’s. They cheer at the Trump roadshow, and they thrill to his close ties to armed white supremacists.
These are difficult times, but we must not lose confidence in one group: the majority of American voters.
8
This is what you get from pampered, over indulged, trust fund babies. This is why the 90% have a deep seated mistrust and dislike for those who inherited their wealth, which is, by far, the majority of our wealthiest. And you're surprised.
6
Imagine how he'll whine should the next administration do what is necessary to restore the rule of law in this country and fully investigate him, his family, his cabinet, his donors, and everyone else associated with his efforts to destroy our democracy.
7
Well said, as always, Mr. Bruni. Thank you.
3
I don't think there has ever been a president who has been so widely regarded as unqualified, stupid, narcissistic, lawless, generally offensive and dangerous.
Despite this, he will be found not guilty, and under the electoral college system, of being reelected. Our system is dangerous.
6
Dear Frank, the tragedy is that the US-Senate is defending this mentally unstable crook of a president.
It is so unbelieably frustrating to see these adult persons, I mean the GOP-senators, selling the reputation of their country in order to safeguard their re-election as Republican representatives. I rather have dinner with a rattlesnake, then to have a meeting with these miserable pundits.
9
Too many voters self-identify with Trump (as either bullies or self-imagined victims [as opposed to society's true victims]).
2
Yes the system is rigged along with a lot of other institutions like the stock market, higher education it turns out and more. It’s important to remember that vision of those tea party conservatives and so called entertainers like Limbaugh and whacky political hacks like Gingrich and especially moguls like Murdoch all had a goal in mind. To take over and control the levers of power in this country much the way Putin did in his. With the thin veneer of legitimacy. White power. The, we built it were not letting you take, it attitude. Myopic, racist, backwards. Yes, that and more. What to me was important here is the process and the impeachment itself. The impeachment is a win for freedom in this country. The freedom to stand up to corruption and demagoguery. We may not win this war in the short term but a battle was won when the speaker of the house impeached trump. That is a win for all the little people in this country. The marginalized. That is something to celebrate.
3
@Bobby C
Yep, we're becoming more like Russia every day.
It's been demonstrated time and time again that Donald Trump is incapable of admitting when he is wrong.
It seems this is true of the Republican party, as well.
Dear Republicans, how do you look at yourselves in the mirror? How do you sleep at night knowing that the current occupant of the White House is an ignorant scoundrel, bent on destroying all that is good and just in the United States, and by sitting back you are allowing this to happen, despite what the majority of Americans want?
How will you explain to your children and grandchildren that you let Donald Trump run roughshod over the Constitution of the United States and its laws when you had every opportunity to do the right thing?
Just do it. Do the right thing for the United States of America. Conduct a just and fair trial. For America today, and for the America of tomorrow.
4
It seems to me that since "they are all in the loop" the Republicans cannot let the truth come out. They all might wind up in jail especially Barr who is the ringleader. Mulvaney, Pompao, Juliani, and even Pence have lots to hide. It is really a shame what is happening in this trial. I shudder to think what else Trump can do to this great country if he gets away with all he has done. He will remain unchecked and be able to do more damage. It is hard to watch all the lies from the Republicans. History will not be kind to them.
5
Nothing more dangerous than a weak man in a powerful position.
6
Every day it becomes harder to distinguish between Trump and Captain Queeg.
4
@SPQR
At least for part of his life, Queeg was a competent Naval Officer.
1
I just don't get what he's got on people. Everyone knows who and what he is, yet he gets away with it all the time. One would think by now someone in this world would tell him "shut up. We've had enough with you and will do no more business of any kind with you."
2
@Ken,
It is chiefly the responsibility of the American electorate to do so. Will they? The rest of us are waiting.
Voters should quit whining. They have what they voted for. Trump is the voice of the people in a "democratic" society.
trump’s always been right and he’s always been wronged
3
I support our house of representatives, many newly elected to do the peoples' will. McConnell and the senate continue to wag the power dog tail. Vote them out.
3
Trump is Jesus to his followers. He presents himself on one hand as their saviour from the establishment that ignores them and on the other as a “nailed to the cross” victim of main stream (establishment) media.
Who is more pathetic? Trump or the good folks that place him on a phony cross of his and their making?
5
Trump listened to Limbaugh and Hannitty, kicked it up a notch, and rode it i to the White House. He's a demagogue's demagogue.
3
Frankly, Frank. The American people are the ones who are really suffering from this torturous Senate trial. Democrats should have staged a much better produced show. Poor Bernie. And Lizzie. And Amy. What a death sentence for their campaigns. We'll be left with Joe.
Advantage persecuted Petulant Adolescent President.
I’m not. Afraid of trump.
Why is the senate?
If you won’t remove him we will come November 2020.
We will remove all the senate. Ineffective. Dishonest. Not for America.
Disgusted by this kangaroo court.
Hope you suffer for this grave collective sin against humanity.
5
I listened to Wolf Blitzer on CNN today say that reports from the WH say the Trump doesn't understand why this is happening to him. I fed up with the media. They are soft pedaling him now just like they did in 2016.
2
Mitt Romney, where is your courage and sense of decency? Ditto Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski?
6
yup, and once he is acquitted (because the fix is in) he will be insufferable.
4
Frank, I hope your food recommendations are better than your aptitude for politics.
One only wishes he was treated much worse...he might take his marbles and go home then, taking his eternally whiny voice with him, to never return. Well we can dream can't we?
2
In the words of the late great English comic Kenneth Williams ‘Infamy! infamy! They’ve all got it Infamy!’.
1
in holland we see that a group of bully 's has formed under the republicans to protect and keep their bully leader out of the wind. it is a painful spectacle to see
3
It is amazing that Trump is still able to walk, let alone play golf with the wounds in his hands and feet.
5
Good analysis, but the words "Trump" and "genius" are mismatched.
They never go together, they never will.
2
It’s not polite to poke at the mentally diminished, or the boneless... don’t be so mean on poor little Donny!
I don’t think he comprehends a single charge against him. He never had a clue about how a civilized person should operate. The more shameful part of all this is, how the republican establishment tied themselves to someone with complete lack of ability for rational thinking, or basic human decency (I’m not a democrat).
Today, America’s bereft of her original zeal, because of the sellout to this pathetic conman.
2
The optics of Trump and Jivanka living it up in Davos tonight on my dime are hopefully the last gasp of the Trumpian era.
5
Trump’s whining stinks of privilege as well as guilt.
One day, justice will eat him for breakfast, like the boy who cried wolf.
3
I read today that Harvey Weinstein considers himself a victim and sincerely cannot understand that he’s a perpetrator and criminal. As a fellow malignant sociopath, I have no doubt Trump thinks that he, too, is a victim. These men are highly disturbed and disordered people. We never needed “adults in the room” trying to manage Trump. We needed ethical, courageous people with integrity to speak up, speak out, and work together to stop and remove him from office. Look at how much damage Trump, McConnell, Republican Senators, Barr et al have done already. This situation is a nightmare...
5
In short, the Trump he pretends to be is the Trump he is. From the outset the pundits were talking about his MO, his hostile, combative and intimidating, in your face business methods. He was what he was, a miserable creature with no morals and no shame, constantly unpleasant and rude. He was Donald Trump before he was elected and remained Donald Trump after the election. He sees himself king of the hill and sees no need to change in any way since what he does has gotten him to be President of the United States.
2
If the president likes playing the victim, perhaps he should get something that might come closer to justifying that: ban him from Twitter for repeatedly violating its terms of service.
3
Bruni - This column lays bare how out of touch you and your ideological brethren are. At least half of this country thinks that Trump has been persecuted since the evening of his election. He was discounted and ridiculed during the campaign. This newspaper predicted he had a 10% chance of winning, and he won the election. Since that day you have done nothing but try to remove him from office, while the country thrives like it never has.
Wake up to reality. Im not a Trump supporter but I know for sure you are guaranteeing his reelection because you never gave him a chance.
6
You know that for sure? Impressive. And thanks for giving the NYT so much out-sized power since only a tiny fraction of the electorate read it - or indeed anything.
9
@John Wilson He never gave me, a Democrat, a chance to accept him. In fact, he has denigrated and even implicitly threatened those of us who did not vote for him, many, many times. He was given the rare opportunity that only 44 men before him have been honored with: to be the president of the United States of America, ALL of us. He could have demonstrated a bit of humility and promised to serve ALL of us as best he could. But the lying and bragging and name-calling and tweeting started from Day One. He never stopped campaigning and has used my tax dollars to fly all around the country appearing before his faithful, witless Deplorables at his hateful, toxic rallies. Sadly, I think he will be re-elected but not because he in any way deserves it. And the Resistance will continue. He will NEVER be my president because he never tried, not once, to address my concerns or value me as a fellow American.
14
@John Wilson
The country thrives like it never has?
Do you actually mean the 1% thrives like it never has?
12
The endless cut and paste hateful narratives against Trump. When will there be something new? Clinton did not cooperate with Congress during his impeachment, witnesses were truly another problematic issue. Pelops called Clinton’s impeachment trial a partisan ploy. History repeats itself again. Unfortunately weaponized social media allows no one to walk it back. This is no more than the pot calling the kettle black. Politicians are professional liars nothing more, every vote is bought and paid for, they sell their influence to get into office and to stay there too. The republic is lost, and its a joke to think either party can save it. Trump knows it better than anyone else. Let the voters decide especially the ones Democrats endlessly insult. You get what you hate, you are going to get an abundance of Trump.
5
@C And believe it or not Trump is the biggest liar of all. WAPO count is now up to 16,241 lies and misrepresentations.
Also the bile and name calling coming from Trump on a daily basis is not something that should be admired.
Yes let all the facts come out about how Trump has used his position to enrich himself at the expense of all others apart from the wealthy in the nation.
You wonder why people dislike him so intensely investigate his personality and the way he treats others. Study his business ethics or lack thereof and see for yourself the character of the person you are holding so highly.
6
Another article where the journalist complains about Trump and does little to do what's required - paint an attractive alternative. Mr. Bruni here is doing what he claims Trump does so well. Whining. This plays into Trump's hand "The journalists are out to get me" (Fake News) and it will convince no-one other than the left that Trump is bad. This will just serve Mr. Trump up a second term. I want to see the day when the left and the media focus on a better path (and not some "impossible to get elected" far left fantasy). Get real everyone. Trump's odds of winning are now >50% but trending in the right direction for him.
7
Anna, NY,
Nancy Pelosi was giving out pens to celebrate the impeachment of President Trump. She was jubilant and giddy after this event. She was very proud of herself. The Democratic Party’s aim has been to remove the president from the start. This senate impeachment trial will not fulfill this goal not today or in the future. He will not be removed and will be re-elected.
10
@KMW
This is conjecture of course. You know nothing about Trump or Pelosi in reality- as citizens, we all have to look at facts and hold people in office accountable.
You can still like people who should not be in positions of public trust- have at it. And American citizens have every right to remove those who violate that trust. Innocent people usually cooperate by providing witnesses to their innocence although Trump has decided to stonewall and deceive- not the usual route for the innocent.
84
@KMW Whatever this reality does for progressives and social commentators, the workers already celebrate the results of Trump's leadership, and their families will remember this era with a smile.
6
This comment summarizes just how far removed from reality all Trump supporters are. This is due to their utter ignorance. Ironically this ignorance is due in large part to the sustained GOP efforts over the past two decades to defund America’s educational system in a successful effort to keep a large portion of the public stupid and unquestioning.
4
It is unfortunate most citizens do not look beyond his complaints and believe him. Our institutions are being challenged, it looks like no one in the Republican party has any backbone to be fair about this trial. Making accusations that the process was rigged in the House is just not true. It was not thorough enough because the President and the Republican Party did not want the truth to come out.
3
The really awfully sad and cruel aspect of this is the Senators who support him. That is truly tragic.
11
Think of Trump two years from now, where I and millions of other Americans would like to see him, in a jail cell feeling really sorry for himself.
At least he will get to spend some quality time with himself.
11
For Trump, victimhood is nothing more than a camouflage for his own inadequacies and failures. It’s astonishing that so many people, as well as the entire Republican Party, have been duped by this conman. In truth, the only one he can blame for his failures is himself.
10
@Bob
Mr Trump has tapped into the Art of Rabble Rousing. He does this by posing as the most victimized person in the world. Then he tells everyone he is victimized because of his being a Stable Genius and has all the solutions to humanities ills. All anyone has to do is kowtow to his genius and keep kowtowing to him
Unfortunately there are many who remember others who thought they were better than everyone else and when they got power the results were a horror.
Just an old white man's opinion...
All of this is indisputably true and yet, somehow, between 40 and 45% of America's citizens believe that Trump's grievances are real and justified. And if he said that 2 plus 2 equals 5 they'd believe that as well. Is this "president" really that great a thespian or is his support base simply that stupid? We'll know the answer come November.
8
@stu freeman
There are many who cannot be bothered to think, then there are those who believe they are "Better" than the "Others" these folk also do not think.
It's much easier to believe that the world is against you especially when someone in or claims authority tells you that you are right.
We see that repeatedly in history...
Just an old white man's opinion...
1
Nobody disputes the fact that Trump lies. The problem is that Democrats lie too.
Remember the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.
He was accused of attempted rape when he was in high school 35 years ago. Democrats forced an investigation. The result was that nobody except for the principals could remember what happened. This is the REASON for statutes of limitations. Charges like this are often unprovable, and also not disprovable.
Democrats could have said, "The evidence to support the charge was inadequate. So we have no choice but to presume innocence." Democrats could have gone ahead and voted against Kavanaugh on the basis of his position on abortion.
But instead Democrat after Democrat said Kavanaugh was "unfit to serve."
Now whenever Kavanaugh tries to speak he confronts placards declaring he is a rapist.
Is this what Democrat's want? In order for a Republican to be considered for the Supreme Court, he or she must be subject to an unfair process which presumes that he must be guilty.
Needless to say, it is payback time.
The Kavanaugh hearings made politics in the US even more divided.
Democrats should apologize to Kavanaugh. But they are too sanctimonious to do that.
Both parties lie! Oh for a third party. I hope Mike Bloomberg gives some thought to running as a third party candidate.
Or else that Democrats come to their senses, and abjure the politics of personal destruction.
Kavanaugh wasn’t on trial. He was interviewing for a job, a job whose foremost requirement is judgement. He showed himself to be blatantly unqualified when he unleashed a partisan attack as his pitiful defense. An honorable man would have withdrawn.
Contrary to your assertion, other witnesses that might have testified weren’t heard. More than one accuser came forward.
Remember, accusations of rape aren’t normal. Ailton’s, Roberts, and Gorsuch all managed confirmation without such accusations. The stink of suspicion follows Kavanaugh not because Democrats lie, but because accusers accuse.
4
If the country fails to punish the GOP in November, then we will have this to look forward too.
The complete infestation of unqualified right wing "judges" throughout our judicial system.
The exploitation of our environment for profit.
The end of Social Security and Medicare.
Add your own unthinkable horror.
10
If it's preordained that Trump be acquitted, then the Republicans ~ standing together in solidarity with their snake of a president ~ will have made it easier to campaign against the lot of them come November 2020.
6
This is what I despise about Trump the most: his 'victimhood'. "Oh, poor me, I'm right, I'm perfect, they are all mean to me, I don't deserve such meanness, oh, poor me!".
He is perfect in only one way: being the 'poor me'.
Some leader. The whole world is laughing. America First is really Bully Alone.
I'm 68 years old and these past four years of his campaigning and being president are the worst years in my American Life.
Everything Trump Touches Dies. Susan Collins, my worthless senator, was at 68% approval when Trump was 'elected'. Now she's down to 42% and falling. I hope she loses her Senate seat because she can't stand up to the bully. We here in Maine detest her and soon she will be retired. Trump the Bully will have destroyed Susan the Weak.
10
I am not watching the Impeachment Season of The Apprentice and pretending it’s Law & Order. We all know how it ends. Nobody is coming to save us. All my energy is going into GOTV for 2020. That’s the last story arc of this country that will matter.
6
The movie "Circle of Iron" has an apt description of people like Trump, "unmask a bully, and you find a coward in disguise."
In a graphical sense one could take Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" and change it to "The Whine" with Trump's face in all it's flaccid over-tanned glory.His parents likely spoiled him, thus he never became a real man, only a user who's perfected his craft and shtick all the way to the White House. And we're so dumbed down from a lack of real statespeople, we've taken P.T. Barnum's maxim of "a sucker born every minute" as how we treat politics and those who play the game. For it is all become a game, and as a former host of a reality TV show, why not him for President? Why not, indeed.
4
@Patrick
Disagree with that comment. For the losers in a game go back to their lives. This game is the destruction of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. That will affect all of us.
I find this terrifying...
Just an old white man's opinion...
@Alecfinn I agree with you - perhaps the irony of my ending "why not, indeed" was too subtle - given all we know now and all that Trump has done, the "why not" is demonstrable in his actions since becoming president. Res ipsa loquitur, the thing speaks for itself, it was I who did not speak as well. But we're both on the same page.
This is a roller coaster ride of an op-ed, Mr. Bruni. I went from hysterical laughter ("Behold, at the Resolute Desk, a jumbo shrimp") to abject sorrow.
Afterwards, though I must - as always - venerate your wicked clever way with words, I am left feeling empty, bleak, even hopeless. Our words evaporate as soon as we use say, write, and read them. We continue at feverish pace to catalogue Trump's evil, to build pyres of outrage to burn, and yet he is still here, outlasting it all and flaunting his ability to get away with it all.
Where is the hook to pull this madman off the stage?
6
@Still Lucid
The. reason we invented writing was to preserve our thoughts.
1
The last sentence: “We should all be such victims”—
What kind of a sardonic ending sentence is that?
1
Facts of life:
1) Donald Trump was impeached.
2) Donald Trump will not be convicted.
3) Donald Trump will be reelected.
Sorry Frank, but it will be you and your colleagues who will be weeping on November 3, 2020, not Donald Trump.
1
@Erik The country will weep when the carnage of vengeance is unleashed by Trump.
Trump is the viewer focus and the diversion. With this very tense time, watch for indications of a coup with Trump out of the country.
1
Trump and his Republican acolytes in the Senate are shameless con artists who turn the law upside down. They can only get away with their disgusting trickery because their farce is amplified over and over again by Fox News and Twitter who appeal to the basest of instincts of an audience that is ready to be fooled.
4
At least Job learned that life is not fair and so all we have ultimately is our communities and love.
1
trump is not being persecuted. Rather he is being prosecuted. there is a huge difference which your piece does not bring p. Yes he is a whiner. But despite his baby pleas it is time that he paid. his lies, his cheats should be made an example for the country. we are not an oligarchy.
2
I was the foreman of a jury once. I was picked to be on the jury out of over a hundred people. The other jurors picked me to be the foreman, their representative. I took the responsibility of the whole thing, the whole time, with the utmost seriousness. I fought as hard as I could for many hours for justice for a poor little abused girl. The others wanted to accept what was basically a misdemeanor charge and declare the perpetrator not guilty of rape. I refused. I said I would rather accept a mistrial than disallow the perpetrator from being tried properly. I just wish our Senators had similar integrity.
3
Trump is a victim.
He's a victim of uncontrollable self-indulgence, of self-delusion, of an out of control ego, of insatiable hubris, of slavery to vanity, of almost every despicable human trait known to man.
Yes, Trump is a victim. A victim of himself and his own insurmountable weakness.
But, today, here and now, Donald J. Trump is first and foremost, a victim of a political party which is so afraid of him, a group so terrified of being the brunt of a twitter storm, of upsetting the delicate sensibilities of a draft-dodging coward, that they are physically incapable of holding him accountable for his actions.
5
This would be the greatest attack platform for any Democratic opponent: he’s an oxymoron. The billionaire bankruptee who won’t show us his taxes; the victor-victim; the strongman-underdog; the winner-whiner; the greatest brain who doesn’t know someone he’s met countless times; the guy who says it like it is but doesn’t mean what he says when it gets him in hot water; the transparent president who forbids his inner circle from testifying and submitting documents.
Trump is a fraud. America has been conned. Remove him from office now.
4
Yuck! Just yuck! I’m so over all of this nonsense. All these corrupt politicians need to go. Scoff at Bernie all you want, at least he’s authentic and not bought and paid for.
2
Trump is a perfect match for his hard core voters. They are all victims that have been treated unfairly by the federal government. There is no self responsibility for the fact that they are poorly educated and have never made anything of themselves. Plagued by high unemployment, alcohol and drug addiction, and poor living conditions they are unable to look in the mirror and accept a scintilla of critical self examination. Trump is their savior, he absolves them of any acceptance of their miserable plight. He is their Saint of victimhood.
3
Think of Trump two years from now, where I and millions of other Americans would like to see him, in a jail cell feeling really sorry for himself.
At least he will get to spend some quality time with himself.
1
Through all of this, it has become painfully clear that the checks in balances in place are no match for the lying, cheating forces of this president and the GOP that supports his every move to our doom.
What does whining and winning mean to us? Environmental degradation. Social divide. Injustice for immigrants and asylum seekers. International ill-repute. Economic debt. Government service reduction. Shorter lifespans.
And, most importantly:
One last year of political power for the Good Old Boys From the Deep South.
Donald Trump's "victimhood" is what is so appealing to his supporters. He has told them that they're "victims" as well.
Trump refuses to acknowledge the catastrophic damage he's caused to this country. He is willfully ignorant. And his racism stokes resentment among his white base. He tells them that all their failings are those brown peoples' fault. That those brown people took something away from them that was "rightfully theirs."
And this talk is like oxygen to Trump voters. Willfully ignorant and racist themselves, they refuse to acknowledge the role they've played in their own failures in life. They refuse to better themselves, or to accept personal responsibility. They would rather tear everything apart in this country, and then throw tantrums.
Sound familiar? It should. Trump and his voters are mirror images of each other. They revel in their imagined victimhood. They believe that as white Christians, they are somehow "persecuted", that their "rights" are being violated. Now, of course, these claims are false. But like Trump, they love to hear lies.
And so we are into the tens of thousands of lies Trump has made to date. And all of them are designed to stoke racism and bigotry, to let his voters continue to live in their fantasy world where they imagine themselves to be the "victims".
But understand this. Those of us who are people of color know who the real victims have been in this country. And it isn't Donald Trump, and it isn't his voters.
1
Furthermore. Once Trump is out of office will be prosecuted. Just wait and see.
I never heard President Obama whine about anything.
8 years...nothing!
We heard nothing but vitriol toward the man and his family from the right for those 8 years.
president* trump (victim) whines all the time in direct correlation with his supporters. It never ends.
He's impeached, that's that. The House did the job we asked them to do. Now, the Senate will exonerate trump* for their constituents...all 1/10 of America. No witnesses? No evidence presented?
"Law and Order" would have never survived on TV if trials on their show contained no witnesses or evidence.
1
Trump is sui generis: a bully and a victim at the same time. We live in amazing times.
So, the guy who claims to be the best and the richest and the toughest is also now the victim. It takes a special kind of sociopath to do this, to let his greatest, richest, toughest self be portrayed as someone who is vulnerable, frail, and in need of sympathy. This man has a real sickness.
1
So true, so true; great column! Thanks.
Looks like Augustus, acts like Veruca. Not a good combination.
And while whining, Trump also cheats. He complained about the possibility of contracting a venereal disease as “his own personal Viet Nam” while avoiding the draft with a questionable deferment for bone spurs from a doctor who was a tenant of his father and had not examined Trump. He shrieked about a “rigged” election the outcome of which he might challenge while courting Russian help and coordinating with Wiki leaks. And he showed documentary proof of a much larger inauguration crowd than President Obama while doctoring the photos. Trump is full of complaints—he is a bottomless victim.
Why is the Trump legal defense team stopping witnesses from giving testimony that would exonerate their client Trump?
1
@Lawrence
Possibly because there are no witnesses that will exonerate Trump.
1
Jumbo shrimp. A mere two words sum so well.
The Republicans in the Senate know all this, and yet they stand with Trump. They know exactly who he is. They understand the magnitude of his corruption. They see his crimes. It doesn't matter. And that's the biggest problem. When he's gone--and at some point, he will be--we'll still have to deal with the cheating, lying hypocrites who put him in office and left him there, knowing all along what a crook he is.
1
Bottom Line: He just wears people down until he gets what he wants. He must have been a pleasure in Nursery School.
I'm also reminded of O'Henry's short story "Ransom of Red Chief" where the kidnappers pay money to the parents to take the kid back.
Question: What is the antonym of dignity?
Our government has been on a downward spiral for so long, way before my parents births during the Depression, that I can't put my finger on why, and I haven't found anyone else who can either including Paul Krugman. This iteration of our attempt at self government, headed by Donald Trump, is such an embarrassment for our country to the whole world that it brings to me memories of living in the USA when Khrushchev headed the USSR and I would go to sleep at night as a little girl praying that we would not need to go to a bomb shelter.
2
I recall the vile way the Republicans attacked President Obama for being a whiner on the couple of occasions he pointed out that he inherited the terrible economy that wasn’t yielding fast enough to his efforts to fix it.
But a Republican president who whines all the time about everything—including light bulbs and toilets? Oh he’s a real man, a really tough guy, the Republicans say.
1
'He is always right, and always wronged.' is a perfect description of Trump's political genius and psychopathy. The only cure for this is accountability. Maybe, just maybe, he could get cured by a long time in prison and by being stripped of everything he owns, all of his power.
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Mr. Bruni,
This very creative column is just pitch perfect. Thank you.
Since Trump likes to claim white is black and black is white, I recommend your sending a copy in "large reverse print" to him with a caption saying "gotcha".
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Oh, you know, it’s tiring.
I don’t like him either, but after 3 years of this, I am just so tired of hearing about Donny.
He doesn’t merit this much talk, after three years.
Menckenian or Orwellian? You decide. My preferred allusion, due to the Evangelical base that elected Trump, is Savanarola. Would that the false prophet meet a fate similar to his. Does that make Bloomberg a Medici? Under the circumstances, I’ll take it. A serf has to know his place.
Trump and his supporters are constantly playing the victim. Manufacturing the “War on Christmas” every November is a cover for keeping a boot on the neck of any other religions.
The war on immigrants is just a cover for not doing nothing to gain skills for employment in someplace other than the factory your grandfather was laid off from in 1980. Nope. Easier to blame others and whine.
The “worthy” midwestern farmer isn’t getting billions in welfare, they’re sacrificing for fairer trade!
If you took the US Constitution and our laws and dropped it in the Middle of the ME, North Korea or Russia, do you think for a second the citizens of those country would be playing victim or taking their freedoms for granted?
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His supporters are whiners too. A few weeks ago I read the evangelicals complain that the Democrats are conspiring against "churches". Funny, I work for a normal mainstream church (Methodist) and haven't heard a thing about it.
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One wonders how in the space of just three years your nation had devolved from one that was held in relatively high regard in the world, to a republic that is seemingly coming apart at the seams. There is something amiss in your hierarchy and modus operandi that the machinations of one treacherous and callow real estate ‘mogul’ – sustained and incited by the party faithful – could place your country into such jeopardy. To paraphrase Greta Thunberg: ‘Your house is on fire’.
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@Jazzie The American republic is beautiful in theory but it was created by white men who excluded women, indigenous people and poor people. More than that, they built the whole thing on the backs of enslaved people.
Not really a very good foundation to build on, as it turns out but, given that history, I am not sure that we should be surprised at how easily it is crumbling.
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@Jazzie No longer a republic. It’s now an old fashioned monarchy, like England before there was a parliament.
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@Jazzie - With all due respect, you think it will never happen in your country. Think again. With this affront to democracy and civilization even (see recent threats against Persian cultural sites), now anything is possible.
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I look forward to the vindication of Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States. He will be exonerated of so-called charges, which incidentally are not criminal offenses and, therefore, do not reach the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. I look forward to his re-election in November and four more years of Trumpianism. The problem then facing America will be how he can remain in office after 2024. Trump has been the best thing for America in a long time. I would hate to see it end. Thank you.
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Of course, Trump is correct in one sense: the process IS rigged against him. It was rigged by the founders, who sought to permit the removal from office of any official who abused that office for personal gain.
Thanks, founders.
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This article is very informative about Trump's history as a professional victim. What surprises me is that the entire nation has accepted its role also as a professional victim of the world, which is treating us so poorly! Everyone hates us? Well, we seem to have accepted that too. Thus Trump fits into what the nation seems to want to hear and can be reelected.
Thank you for the insight on the power of whining. Once pointed out it is clearly an important element in Trump's malign chain of domination. It connects him to an important element of his base.
What does that say about our society? Trump has pulled back the curtain on what Republicans and oligarchs had previously exploited but imagined they could avoid being captured by. It is an ugly sight.
Its very apparent, and always has been, that trump is very unbalanced. Its also apparent that the GOP Senate controlled by Moscow Mitch will put on a show and let him slide. I hope this acts as a wake up call to enough people of the corruption of the GOP so trump and pals will be unseated in November.
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For the life of me, I cannot figure out why ALL Americans don't find his whining tedious, boring, tiresome and even infuriating. From the rallies full of his adoring fans to his Stepford Wives in Congress, it's like we are watching really bad parenting. And equally strange is that American culture has always embraced a can-do positivism that has greatly contributed to our power, growth and prosperity. Trump with his lazy, pass the buck, blame everyone for everything attitude is the antithesis of this spirit. We need to give this man a permanent time out and have a huge cultural attitude check ourselves.
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I know folks who love Trump simply because they identify with his perceived victimhood. Pretty amazing, huh? America’s “can-do” attitude has apparently been replaced with “poor me.” Doesn’t bode well for our future.
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That "victimization" Mr. Bruni describes, provides Trump a rock-solid psychological rationale for much of his most egregious behavior.
After all, the twisted reasoning goes, if people are being persistently unfair to you, then you are always justified in both pre-emptive and compensatory attacks on them.
Rules for living: Get them double if they get you. Get them before they get you. Get them or they'll get you. Get them for planning to get you. Get them for trying to get you.
We're now seeing this play out in international trade. And the consequences for our relationships with our European partners.
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Trump’s behavior is exactly what you would expect from someone with a Narcissistic personality. Narcissists have a very hard time being objective about the world and their role in it, hence the perpetual cry of “victim”.
It seems quaint in the Trump Era to be having debates about policy when the most fundamental question about his fitness for office is: does he have the personality, basic reasoning capacities and ethical values to govern in the first place?
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Trump is clearly a whining,corrupt,vacuous,narcissistic human being.
But I'd suggest the real problem in America today are the many millions of myopic gullible Americans who see nothing wrong in this pathetic excuse for an American president,still living in the past ( much like the Brits and their long gone empire) when "GREAT" America strode across the world as a colossus,answerable to no one and more than happy to project their values.
But the world has changed and moved on.His followers haven't and Trump happily taps into this rose tinted yearning for glories and times past.
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He must rank as the world's worst leader. What other contenders are there? It was laughable when the chief justice referred to the Senate as "the world's greatest deliberative body," in circumstances where the leader of that body pledged to "do impartial justice" in a trial that he has already announced the result of. Trump's impeachment is making the Senate look ridiculous.
How will the US memorialise this President when he is gone? A library seems wholly inappropriate. A garden or wilderness area would hardly fit. You couldn't attach his name to a humanitarian endeavour, nor anything to do with justice, equality or science.
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It's amazing how the most powerful person in the land can also claim to be the most persecuted, and somehow convince 40% of the American populace that he is a victim of the opposition party he so roundly defeated in 2016. Trump is indeed a victim but a victim of his own doing -- his greed, his corruption, his narcissism and his lies. If Republican senators allow him to remain in office, which is what I fear will happen, an unfettered Trump will do something so truly awful the entire country will turn against him. But it may be too late.
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Donald Trump proves the notion once again that genius, crazy, incompetence, and evil can coexist. History tells us that such characters often leave a wide path of destruction in their wake which Trump has also proven true.
Finally, we are also reminded that people like Trump - and I needn't name names but think just about every mass destroyer dictator in history fits the bill - never acts alone but is always made possible and enabled by those around him.
"He has turned himself into a symbol of Americans' victimization, telling frustrated voters who crave easy answers that they're being pushed around by foreigners and duped by the condescending custodians of a dysfunctional system."
Really, I think this gets to the crux of the mental illness that made a Trump presidency possible. Unfortunately, I see a parallel between Trump's supporters and Trump himself: They can never admit they were wrong.
Putting The Senate chamber and its members front and center, prime time can only be a positive for the electorate at large. We see first hand the evidence laid out by The House managers, flimsy arguments from The President's lawyers, and most importantly, the blind loyalty to party over truth.
The opportunity to see it happen first hand is both informational and enlightening. Us citizens/ voters are not dumb, and know a ruse when we see it. Senators will be paying the price.
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This sad sad frustrating circus illuminates how broken and corrupted our system has become due to big money influence and hyper-partisanship nd cynical hypicrisy. The charges against Trump, while valid, are too narrow with thie focus on Ukriaine. The media ignores deeper questions about our involvement there and its consequences.
Such lethal extortion is and has been basic to our foreign policy for decades with devastating economic sanctions, embargoes and interventions continuing against countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Iran and Bolivia with media support. This is the price paid by countries that dare to claim public ownership of their resources. It serves to ensure control of those resources by US corporations.
Trump is guilty of far worse crimes like profiteering off of his position, unthinkable human rights abuses and crimes against public health, national security, and life on earth in exacerbating climate destruction at a crucial time.
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Many pundits, theologians, biographers, politicians, journalists, long-standing political operatives and elected officials have voiced the same and many other criticisms about our de facto President. The ones who seem deaf and blind and dumb are a huge number of Trump minions, so many as to have him (God forbid) re-elected. Trump is not the cause of our collective apathy, just a catalyst and a symptom. The country in large measure has lost its compass; it follows anyone who will promise a simple answer to any complicated issue. Follow like lemmings to the sea, and don't be surprised when we get wet and can no longer breathe, with no rescuers in sight.
To put it in simple terms, Trump behaves like a spoiled brat. He learned at a young age that he could get what he wanted by whining.
Also, I have found from experience that the old adage that "the squeaky wheel gets greased" is true in many respects. If you are a hard worker who never complains, you also don't get noticed. But, the co-worker who complains about everything gets managements notice and many times gets what they want.
Everyone should step back and realize what this impeachment is all about. It is not about Ukraine. It is about elections and retaining or regaining power. Republicans hold the Senate and they want to keep their jobs. Period. Like all Americans. Democrats want Trump out but realize that's unlikely so they want to weaken Republican Senators in purple states so they can get their jobs and regain power. Period. What is really claptrap is Democratic talk about the Constitution when it is simply politics. Trump has been hounded, goaded and despised for three years and it led him to do something foolish, without a sufficient cut--out like Hillary and the DNC had with an English spy and his Russian connections. The economy, trade agreements and efforts to contain Iran and North Korea do not seem to matter to the haters. But politics will prevail in the end and Trump has the votes because his supporters remain fiercely loyal and any Republican who breaks with him entirely does so at their peril and they know it.
As to the comments about the timing of the whistle blower’s conversation(s) with Schiff’s staff, it is simply silly to make an issue of this. If someone approaches any member of Congress with concerns about whatever, how does the member determine the veracity of the statements without talking to the messenger. The whistle blower is the hero in this story. Sadly, our President and his enablers are the villains.
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There's a fool born every second and republicans know this and rely on this. Keep repeating the same mantra and the gullible will follow. The economy is helping to keep this alive, but we all know the economy doesn't stay good forever. When truth and reality finally surface, the fools are the first to fall, but everyone suffers. Trump is a genius in manipulation, but this administration will be remembered for what it really is long after he's gone.
I don't believe in guardian angels with one exception: Donald Trump must have one because he has implausibly managed to evade the law his entire adult life. Add escaping removal from office to his resume. It's mind boggling how Trump enjoys the full support of a party he hijacked.
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Trump has a persecution complex.
But it is really America with its democracy in shambles and its Constitution in tatters that is being persecuted by this shameless demagogue.
He has made the Senate which is supposed to be a great deliberative body into a shameless partisan
legislature without any deliberation, without any intellectual honesty and integrity.
The Senate impeachment trial is a farce and a sham.
The Republican Senators’ oaths to be impartial jurors
have already been violated and Majority Leader McConnell seems to be part of the White House defense team. For a conservative who claims to be a traditionalist in almost all his actions he has diminished the independence of the Senate as an honorable deliberative body. He and his Republican members have shown themselves to be profiles of cowardice and have chosen power and partisanship over the truth and the Constitution. I feel they need to be impeached and convicted along with their felonious leader. If not possible, they should all be voted out of office for their lack of honesty and patriotism.
Trump is just playing with a media that has become obsessed with their self importance. the media's unified knee jerk reaction to everything Trump drives the Democrats to believe their actions and words are effective and resonating with the masses. it is likely that they are just yelling into an echo chamber. the November votes will be the proof.
This is part of his political genius. This dark force and his enablers are plunging our democracy right off the cliff. I am heartbroken this morning.
"He’s always right and yet always wronged. He demands that we marvel at his invincibility even as we tremble at his degradation. He can vanquish any enemy — and his enemies are legion! — but look at how he’s pushed around. Trump takes a textbook oxymoron and gives it presidential form. Behold, at the Resolute Desk, a jumbo shrimp." One of the funniest and most accurate observations I've read about Donald J. Trump in a very long time.
He is a whiner who whines until he wins. If he loses, he keeps complaining, whining, that everything is rigged against him, The problem with this egomaniac is that he seems to have convinced a substantial part of America that the world does pick on him and interferes with his great genius that is trying to do only good for humanity. His followers are harder to understand than he is. Why do they follow him so blindly? Why should constant lying and whining gain so many diehard and devoted followers? The great unanswered dilemma of the Trump presidency.
How is it possible that Trump got this far? How did whining work for him when for just about anyone it would have resulted in crashing-and-burning in high school? Are dad's dollars the explanation?
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It gets sicker. Trump's hold on his supporters is a textbook case of the Stockholm syndrome defined in wiki as:
"a condition in which hostages develop a psychological alliance with their captors during captivity. Emotional bonds may be formed, between captor and captives, during intimate time together, but these are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. and abused"
Trump would probably even like this label given until 2012 he his claim, a.k.a. 'yet another lie', that he was Swedish!
The rest of us are just plain old victims of his continued abuse.
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We should weep for ourselves. When Trump is not impeached can you imagine the monster they we just created. A man who will believe that he can do anything to anybody and pay no price. We better stop trying to get into trump's psyche and get prepared for a Trump unleashed. Whatever are Trump's shortcomings they work with 53 Senators.Our fear should be if Trump is in office in 2021.
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So yes Mr Trump has his faults. That has been covered for many years. What about his prosecutors here? Do any readers honestly believe when the average American sees the performance of Mr Schiff, Mr Nadler and Ms Pelosi (and her gold pens) do you think one sees an honest broker, a fair arbiter and a serious person? I can assure you they do not. They have equally been zealots and fraudulent in their behavior. Most Americans see that very clearly.
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trump is not great, stable or a genius. He is not put upon, he is coddled by a lost party, the Republicans. trump exists because of the Republican Party. Especially because the republicans in Congress have deliberately decided to look the other way. These republicans are truly despicable. trump is completely unqualified to be in government. Yet these pathetic members of Congress keep him there for their own agenda. I think that agenda is a conservative Supreme Court. That will keep America as intolerant as possible. We must remove trump and all republicans from our government. Only then can this noble experiment have a chance of succeeding.
Frank, you have absolutely nailed it. And in delightful prose - my favorite is "This is the bodice ripper of political sob stories."
Thank you!
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Frankly I could careless how Mr. Trump feels. It's hard to swallow the 'victim' act when you look at all the people he's laid out and stepped on in his pursuit of his own self indulgence and aggrandizement! The list of real victims is endless and the death toll is rising as we speak.
Mr. Trump has utter contempt for honesty, ethics, morality and justice and views anyone who does as 'sucker.' He is a coward without shame, who the lives in an alternate reality filled with enablers and needs to be stopped before he causes irrevocable harm to the country.
I realize these are harsh words and I don't recall ever describing another human being this way. Harsh words for harsh times! November 2020 can't come soon enough.
There are times you wish you were trained as a psychologist when watching people.
One of those times was today as I watched consummate liar Adam Schiff struggle with all his might to seemingly avoid saying anything true as he provided word salad for the cameras.
The people who elected this specimen to high office may be the ones who actually need diagnosis and treatment, but you have to figure that they pay very little attention to actual political discourse.
Poor Speaker Pelosi must have been in a tight spot to have seen this man as her best choice to lead the fake investigation - or else, that his was the most expendable head to roll after the other side prevailed.
Spot on, Mr. Bruni. We recognize Trump is a world class whiner. We want him to stop using US taxpayers as his therapist for all his silver spoon grievances. Trump's next bankruptcy will be us. The Senate Republicans aren't listening to voters. What is the remedy? Looks like November. Meanwhile, the Constitution is a casualty.
i seem to recall the day trump promised, or in this case threatened, to drain the swamp. problem is that it's impossible to drain the swamp when you have become the swamp, constantly refilling it daily with the endless flow of crocodile tears shed by trump and the gop in an effort to drown his crimes and abuses in a torrent of self pity.
End of the Republic.
Brought on by decades long obsequious bowing to greed.
Trump feels persecuted because he truly does not see how he failed.
We are a country that values money, stature, and possessions, more than the doctrines and hard fought values that brought our independence and Republic into being.
Trump is spawn of generational rot. He truly does not know what he has done wrong, let alone where he has gone wrong, he truly feels as if he has succeeded.
He is mystified.
These are generational values passed on to him.
He was not taught the value of this democracy or who worked and fought so hard to maintain it.
He believes his is superior because of his accumulation of wealth, and his ability to wheel and deal with those who have the most money to win or lose.
He care not of the country. Only of himself.
And he is supported by a Senate and a large swath of our country who share the same (lack of) values.
He's not the problem. He's the visible cancer.
Rampant greed and entitlement is the root of all this.
Our country is very young. We are now entering our wayward pre-adolescence. Time will soon tell which direction we'll go.
Short sighted and mean, or visionary and thoughtful.
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From what the experts have been saying the only way to take Trump out is to totally discredit him and this is what the impeachment trial is all about. No matter if Trump is acquitted he will ultimately be the loser. Well done Democrats. You are fighting for the continued existence of our Western way of life and I am in no way exaggerating!
For most of us Trump's impeachment "trial" in the Senate is an embarrassment, a disappointment, and the real hoax that Trump has been alluding to all along.
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@furnmtz
Replying to my own comment to clarify: The trial is an embarrassment because it is not being conducted fairly, and the president's lawyers have no defense. It's a disappointment for those of us who want to see a real and robust trial. If McConnell gets away with blocking everything he can and goes full speed ahead to a vote of acquittal, then the whole trial will have been a Republican hoax.
"Playing'" the victim does not necessarily require actually feeling emotionally victimised on a conscious level.
Trump clearly and deliberately identifies those who challenge his personal views, political policies and most significantly legal charges alleged against his conduct as either illegitimate, rigged, or perpetrated by ulterior motives by emotionally or intellectually challenged parties.
It is a tactic that has served him well and continues to do so, despite the levels of absurdity and criminal trampling over the lawful structure of the country, much less the level of civil and moral interface of the population.
It is truly disgusting as Mr Bruni states.
'identification with the aggressor.' perhaps is key.
The aggressor remains omnipotent and those who challenge or oppose are labelled as enemies and the true aggressors and perpetrators of crimes.
Those who back the aggressor share in the omnipotence, bask in the so-called 'love' the omnipotent being bestows.
They are spared from attacks from this higher being themselves as the 'enemies' are the others.
The HB convinces the followers that they too are the victims of this persecution, even when they, say, had to personal access to the White House telephone lines.
Vicarious identification with Big Rich Proxy enduring and assuming their struggle at Mar a Lago is inexplicable.
But better to be a 'winner' not a 'loser' even if it is just a fantasy sold by a propaganda brand.
He is a movie star. He was so brilliant in home alone. The skill, the method acting, the charisma... a President out of central casting. What a star.
I believe he is being considered for the remake of sequel cinematic masterpiece, The Ugly American 2.
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