Trump: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

‘Waiting for the other shoe to drop’ is an English idiom. It means waiting for something bad to happen. It applies to Donald Trump and his campaign for the Presidency. After his political and PR disasters of the previous two weeks, I wondered whether Trump had reached rock bottom. On Monday, I read about a Trump campaign sea change, when Trump delivered his economic speech with the use of a prompter. Had he responded to his senior advisers’ advice to keep on message? Would it last? Twenty four hours later, the other shoe dropped. Trump talked about Second Amendment rights, linking them to a Hillary Clinton presidency and the nomination of Supreme Court justices.

Let me explore these two days in greater detail. Following Trump’s economic speech, The Wall Street Journal reported on its analysis by Moody’s: “Taken at face value, these proposals could produce a prolonged recession and heavy job losses that would fall hardest on low and middle-income workers.” In other words, Trump’s economic plan would hurt the very people Trump says he intends to help. “I am your voice,” he says but doesn’t add, “And in your wallets.”

According to Trump, his tax cut and deregulation proposals would stimulate the economy at a time when a business slowdown in investment and industrial production has already raised concerns that the American economy could slide into recession in the next year. But there was not much detail. Trump says in the coming weeks he will clarify his policies on spending cuts and modifications to the tax plan. Evidently, there will be deficit reduction plans and growth incentives. Trump went on record to say voters don’t care about specifics. In other words, Trump doesn’t have the specifics!

On tax and spend, Trump talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. Moody’s conclude that massive spending cuts in the federal budget would be needed to avoid a $1 trillion deficit. Trump’s budget maths do not add up.

On trade, Trump said he would use the threat of a 45% tariff on goods from China and 35% on non-oil imports from Mexico as negotiation tools to seek better trade and currency terms. Does Trump truly believe Mexico and China will not retaliate? Protectionism and isolationism has never worked for USA. Just look at what happened in 1936 when similar American trade policies deepened the Great Depression. Altogether, the vaunted Trump economy plan is typical Donald hot air.

So is Trump’s display of poor understanding of the Constitution. This week, at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump warned his supporters that if Hillary Clinton is elected president and appoints judges to the Supreme Court, there is nothing anyone can do about it. This is abject nonsense. The American Constitution is clear as crystal that the President nominates judges to SCOTUS, subject to the Senate’s right to advise and consent. If this was not the case, President Obama would have filled the late Justice Scalia’s seat months ago.  

Worryingly, Trump added: “Given the Second Amendment, maybe there is something that could be done. If she [Mrs. Clinton] gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks.” He added: “Although, the Second Amendment people. Maybe there is. I don’t know.” What Trump was suggesting is not absolutely clear but it seems he might have been hinting at assassination. At best, Trump’s remarks were out of bounds. A Trump adviser, Jason Miller, trying to walk back the remarks, suggested the candidate was not speaking literally. “It’s called the power of unification. Second Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power,” was his argument.

The Clinton campaign retaliated with total justification: “What Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way.” Indeed, one wonders whether criminal charges might be brought for incitement to violence.

Interviewed on CNN, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama argued that Trump didn’t mean to threaten Clinton, although he acknowledged that Trump’s statement “may have been awkwardly phrased.” CNN host, Wolf Blitzer, replied, “But even if he was joking, it’s not something you joke about.” Trump has tried to laugh the comment off, suggesting that the media was at fault for misrepresentation and getting it wrong. Whatever the outcome, there are no circumstances under which Trump or any other seeker of office should use such language or put forward such an idea in the first place.

In a recent blog I suggested that a Trump presidency would be neutered by the immense powers in Congress and the Supreme Court. Some readers have asked about the use of nuclear power. “Can he not just press the button?” Before any decision to use nuclear is made, the advice of Congressional leaders and the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be taken. If a President chose to go ahead with a nuclear strike against a country with whom America was not at war, I have no doubt that Section 4 of the 25^th Amendment would be enacted swiftly. The section provides:

            Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.  

The 25^th Amendment has not been tested but the provision is available to stop a President acting like a dictator. There is also Posse Comitatus Act which restricts a President from using the American armed forces in executing civil laws. This Act could be used by Congress to prevent a nuclear strike when no Congressional authority for such a strike exists.

Trump is to politics what Bill Clinton was to fidelity. I truly hope this is my final blog on Trump until the October debates. After all, can it really get worse? Dumb question. Another shoe just dropped. The latest Trump offering: "In many respects, you know, they [Muslim terrorists] honour President Obama. He is the founder of Isis. And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And that's what it's about!" Three days after Trump made this claim and repeated it on three occasions, he said it was just sarcasm. Well he would, wouldn’t he!

I am fed up with writing about Trump. He is a dangerous jackass, a bully, a misogynist, a racist, a pathological liar, a man who will say anything to insult and denigrate an opponent regardless of truth. Who can rid the election of this meddlesome wannabe? I am not calling for assassination. In November, I hope for a resounding victory for Hillary Clinton and that Trump leaves the political stage forever.