His opponents despise him. They see him as the antithesis of everything America stands for... of all that is good in the world. They believe if he is returned to office – it will be the end of America as we know it. And perhaps even the end of the world.
It gives me no great pleasure to say this. But former President Trump is poised for a major comeback. And for good reason. It gives me no pleasure because I do not want to see a man ruling the nation that is a deluded habitual liar whose and impulsive and vindictive way of ‘governing’ is designed to do – not what’s best for the country, but what is best for himself. . I do not want to see a man whose narcissism rules mightily over his conscience.
I say this in spite of his policies – most of which I supported. Even though Trump is anything but an ideologue those polices reflected a conservative ideology. Which is the political ideology I lean to. But any residual support I might have had for him died in the aftermath of the last Presidential election.
There is not the slightest doubt that his opponent and current President, Joe Biden, won the election. And yet despite all of the evidence Trump is still promoting that lie to his adoring fans. I’m not sure whether he believes that lie or is just using it to rile up his base. I’m not even sure how much of his base believes it. But it doesn’t matter. The support of his considerable base is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.
Personally, I would like to see just about any anther politically conservative candidate run. There are several that come to mind that I would vote for in a heartbeat. And I am virtually certain any of them would win. In my view, there is no way a man like Trump should ever be returned to office. And yet, I think there is a good chance that he will. His base may not make up a majority of voters. But it is large enough so that independents fed up with the current administration can turn the election Trump’s way.
Trump is not going to let this golden opportunity slip away. He will no doubt seek the nomination and get it with a huge majority of votes from delegates at Republican National Convention. So despite all of the legitimate reasons that he should never be allowed to lead this country again, there is every reason to believe he will.
Why do I think he will win? We are currently in the midst of highest rate of inflation in over 40 years! When that happens the sitting President will be blamed. I’m also quite certain Biden will run for re-election. And he will be trounced.
The truth is that inflation is not entirely his fault. It was caused by the pandemic. And has been exacerbated by the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Fuel prices have risen to record levels. Most economists believe this is only the beginning. When the price of fuel goes up, so do all commodities that are transported by gas guzzling trucks. Boycotting Russian oil has only added to that.
Now the pandemic and the war in the Ukraine are not President Biden’s fault. But his polices with respect to fossil fuels did not help matters.
Before the pandemic the US economy was humming. Before Biden took office, the US had become energy independent and even had an oil surplus. Now we are begging our oil producing allies like Saudia Arabia to replace Russian oil. But they have refused to increase production. The current relationship with them has soured under Biden because of our suspicion that the Saudi crown prince was involved in the assassination of Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian dissident and columnist for The Washington Post. It didn’t help matters that he stopped the Keystone Pipeline construction that would have eventually funneled Canadian oil into the US.
There is no way that under these conditions, the President can win a 2nd term. Trump knows that and is probably salivating at the chance of a comeback. As is his considerable political base.
These are my thoughts as the war in the Ukraine continues and prices continue to rise at a pace not seen in decades. With no end in sight. Not a very easy situation to contemplate domestically as we watch with horror what is happening internationally. A renegade nation led by a madman has - without provocation - invaded a neighboring sovereign nation. And is currently and indiscriminately killing innocent civilians with near abandon! Not caring a whit about what the rest of the world thinks about him. And there is no end in sight for that either.
