A Jan. 5 page-one article in the Minnesota Star Tribune, “With (his sudden annexation of) Venezuela, Trump is diving into a new era of risk,” begs the question: what is this troubled little man’s grasp of risk?
The whole notion of risk hinges on the possibility that something might go wrong. But Trump, since childhood, has been taught—by his father, by Roy Cohn and other mentors of ruthlessness—that, if you employ certain techniques, mistakes are, if not impossible, never yours.
No consequences, no risk. It’s all pure rote.
A BLOODY WAKE
You do whatever you want. If you’re caught breaking the law, you vow it never happened. If that doesn’t work, you blame the thing that never happened on someone else. If they fight back, you double down. If threats fail, you sic your lawyers on them.
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| IMAGE: Harvard Gazette |
it's a political lackey turning on you, you either fire, libel or “primary” them out of a job.
No consequences, no risk. It’s all pure rote.
The scheme has worked for Trump his whole life. His business misadventures have left a bloody wake of folks holding the legal and financial bag for his mistakes. His personal life—think infidelity, sexual predation, slander, whatever—is also Teflon-coated. (Even his family members have all signed NDAs.)
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| PHOTO: France 24 |
A PERILOUS GAMBLE
Not even when he parlays his charade into the presidency of the United States has the man ever had to live with the results of his reckless, ego-driven actions. Why would his playbook for that role be any different from that which has guided his entire life?
One of the most powerful men in the world with no morals, no conscience, no accountability, no soul. Where’s the risk in that? I assure you, it is not on Donald Trump. And if this doesn’t compel you to take constructive political action, it should.
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| IMAGE: Shutterstock |
