I was overcome by nausea when the news broke that Donald Trump had spent Easter writing 77 posts to his social media platform. Easter is supposed to be a time of reflection and happiness. It has a special meaning for Christians, but even non-believers celebrate the holiday. It marks the beginning of Spring, a time of year that offers hope and renewal. I planned to write about Easter in this week’s column but cannot ignore the melt-down of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
If you have not noticed, today’s Donald Trump is slowly melting, or, if you prefer, imploding. His speeches are progressively less coherent while at the same time more bellicose, angry, and paranoid. The failing United States, Trump believes, is out to get him. He is not being prosecuted for crimes; he is being persecuted by evil people. He is a victim, much like Jesus Christ.
When Trump compared his own prosecution to Christ’s crucifixion, I was shocked. If Trump’s sacrilege does not offend you, what does?
Does Trump believe that “evil” is behind his legal problems? Or is he just “playing to his base?” After reading several of Trump’s Easter rants, I concluded that it is the former. The ex-president has “lost it,” and his party is too far gone to recognize it.
A short book appropriate for the mental health section of a bookstore could be written on Trump’s 77 Easter social media posts. Was Trump going for a Guinness Book record? I quit reading them after the first dozen. They are repetitive and devoid of anything a future president should be contemplating on Easter.
One of the 77 posts seems to be getting more attention than others. This one, I am happy to report, does not include a self-comparison with Christ or plagiarism of any of Hitler’s speeches. Instead, Trump summarizes his defense in some of the legal actions against him. The post reads:
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON, INCLUDING THOSE MANY PEOPLE THAT I COMPLETELY & TOTALLY DESPISE BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA, A NOW FAILING NATION, LIKE “DERANGED” JACK SMITH, WHO IS EVIL AND “SICK,” MRS. FANI “FAUNI” WADE, WHO SAID SHE HARDLY KNEW THE “SPECIAL” PROSECUTOR, ONLY TO FIND THAT HE SPENT YEARS “LOVING” HER, LONG BEFORE THE GEORGIA PERSECUTION OF PRESIDENT TRUMP BEGAN (AND THEREBY MAKING THE CASE AGAINST ME NULL, VOID, AND ILLEGAL!), AND LAZY ON VIOLENT CRIME ALVIN BRAGG WHO, WITH CROOKED JOE’S DOJ THUGS, UNFAIRLY WORKING IN THE D.A.’s OFFICE, ILLEGALLY INDICTED ME ON A CASE HE NEVER WANTED TO BRING AND VIRTUALLY ALL LEGAL SCHOLARS SAY IS A CASE THAT SHOULD NOT BE BROUGHT, IS BREAKING THE LAW IN DOING SO (POMERANTZ!), WAS TURNED DOWN BY ALL OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES, AND IS NOT A CRIME. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
As they taught us in law school, Res Ipsa Loquitor–the thing speaks for itself. In writing this post, Trump shows himself for who he is.
For one thing, the post shows Trump to be a liar. The prosecutors and judges in the cases against Trump are not “Crooked and Corrupt.” Nor are they doing everything to interfere with the presidential election. If they were, at least two of the cases already would have gone to trial. And “EVIL and ‘SICK'” Jack Smith, who is “DERANGED,” would have brought his indictments against Trump in 2021 rather than 2023.
In the same post, President Trump demonstrates a flawed understanding of the law. He writes that the Georgia “PERSECUTION” is NULL, VOID, and ILLEGAL because of Fani Willis’ personal relationship with Nathan Wade. He implies that Willis and Wade are married, which is untrue, and that they are motivated by a desire to destroy America.
Would the conviction of Trump destroy America? Will America be destroyed if Trump is not elected president in November? I don’t think so.
Election Day is only seven months away. If Donald Trump’s melt-down continues, the Republican party will have to find somebody else to run against Joe Biden. It is premature to talk about what such a development would mean or who the Republican Party, which has been gutted since Trump appointed his daughter-in-law to help lead it, would appoint. What is certain is that the Trump that some of us (mistakenly in my view) admired and voted for, has left the building.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant writing on politics, government, and, all too infrequently, other subjects.
Chris Gordon says
If one were to create a fictional character meant to be the worst possible person to be President of the US, that character would be a near copy of Donald Trump.
John Dean says
Thanks for your comment. I agree. Now I have to figure out why so many people don’t reach the same conclusion.
Laura Rocco says
Why give him more airtime? Take the sail out of his wind.
John Dean says
Thank you for your comment. I look forward to not writing about Trump. I continue to write about him in the hope that some of his supporters will see him for who he is and look at alternatives.
I agree that we see too much about Trump in the news and not enough about the issues that should be discussed in a presidential election year.
Patty Heaps says
And what, pray tell, would be an alternative? There isn’t one. You say there is too much Trump yet, week after week, you chronicle your personal fear and loathing all the while ignoring the fact that the “alternative” is an old man with obvious mental deficiencies and cognitive decline with a circus administration and staff. If you believe that inflation is Trump’s fault, that the border is closed and this is one of the most robust economies ever, you might be part of the problem. In light of the real world, your hate has become trite and tiresome.
Deirdre LaMotte says
I have come to a different conclusion about our broken nation; a subset of our people really get off on Trump’s cruelty and coarseness because they find it cathartic in the manner of a Tarantino film. We’ve lost the cultural capacity to distinguish the real from the unreal, and the Trump spectacle is entertainingly, expressively, horrible. The bloodier and more frightening the better. His supporters
are sick.
You go Boss:
JOE BIDEN IS LIKE ONE OF THE FATHERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD I GREW UP WITH AS A KID.
THEY WERE FIREMEN AND POLICEMEN, AND THERE WAS AN INNATE DECENCY TO MOST OF THEM THAT HE CARRIES NATURALLY WITH HIM.
IT’S VERY AMERICAN.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Patty Heaps says
Poor Bruce – backing the wrong candidate since John Kerry.
The image of Uncle Joe from Scranton is a myth, created by a media that was more than happy to expose his him during his first two failed runs at the Presidency. The truth about Biden was enough to end his candidacy back then. Today they are too emotionally invested in this false narrative and actually believe their own lies, with the backing of social media. News clips and reports are heavily edited to remove Biden’s blunders, stumbles, and gibberish – and no, it’s not a stutter. The press are removed far too often when he make remarks (read from a scripted cheat sheet, complete with pictures) and go like sheep. His lies are glossed over as just “good ole Joe” telling a story. They can’t hide it all, but he is painted as better than the criminal dictator Trump. Joe is a good guy who loves his only living son in spite of his unfortunate addictions (and that pesky 7th grandchild) – and can spin the death of his other son to fit any occasion. And let’s not forget what a devout, faithful Catholic he is.
A member of the White House press corp lives locally and we occasionally have dinner. I asked one night if it was as bad as it looked and was told we only see the tip of the iceberg. The viciousness and ugliness thrown at Trump supporters makes me wonder which candidate has supporters who are “sick”.