Betraying

THE HISTORICAL PROFESSION has not yet begun to tackle Donald Trump. It really hasn't been that long since he left the White House, and, who knows, he might inhabit it again. The historical profession likes to give history a little time to ferment and age before producing seminal works about it. But before long it will start happening, and it will be interesting to see what the best historians in the world have to say about Trump. Thus far, of the many books already published and widely read about Trump, most of them were written by people close to Trump, friends and family members, and most by journalists, not historians. Among the best mosts recent is "Batrayal: "The Final Act of the Trump Show", by long time broadcaast and print journalist Jonathan karl. Karl wrote a book about the first few months of the Trump administration, now he some the same with the final few months. In teh first book, karl seems reluctant to admit that Trump is the horrible liar and criminal and incompetant fool that he is; in the second book, Karl makes no doubt; he understands. Psychologically, Trump's last year in office resembles Hitler's; constant outbursts of anger and blaming others, launching vicious verbal attacks, reckless, chaotic behavior and policies. The most obvioius common theme in all the many books written about Trump by people who know him well and people who have studied him well is that he (Trump) is not an honorabe, respectable, likable person, but rather a bully, a liar, and a narcissistic jerk. Given what we know about Trump's life and administration, biographies of him by the best historians is not likely to be any more flattering. The best possible outcome, for everyone, for both parties, would be for Trump to quietly fade away. That doesn't seem likely to happen, however. More likely he will run for president again in 2024, creating a fascinating free for all inside the Republican party and throughout the nation. the worst scenario, probably, would be for Trump to run for president as a Republican, and to lose a close election. In that event , all hell would literally break loose, and the United States would plunge into civil war. We must not let that happen. Surely that won't happen. What has already happened is shocking beyond all possible expectation, the big lie being told often enough by the cult leader, and being widely, fervently accepted as truth by the ult members, tens of millions of them. Could it happen again? Why, of course it could, and probablly will. So often people say "only in America". That a sitting president of the United States would be defeated for reelection, but claim that the election was stolen by massive voter fraud, and to try to remain in power illegally, with the full support of nearly half the country is a scenario no one would have likely believed possible for the United States, except in a dystopian novel.