Donald Trump.
That pretty much says it all. It is amazing how much time he consumes in each news cycle. It is mind-blowing the shenanigans going on in the White House. If you were to write a soap opera based on the last six months, no would believe it. You couldn't sell the script as it would be too outrageous.
The latest quip was a brief comment after a U.S. warship struck another vessel outside of Singapore. Military personnel were lost and, as of writing this, 10 sailors are still missing. The president, when asked outside the White House about the incident, is reported as saying "That's too bad."
No one really knows for sure if the president was answering a question about the incident or what he meant by the comment but it has certainly blown up all over the 24-hour news. It seems to be a very shallow callous comment instead of the heartfelt sentiment Americans have come to expect from their commander-in-chief.
Both the president and vice-president subsequently sent out tweets expressing their sorrow over the incident but from a P.R. perspective, the damage had already been done. And tweets? Really?
It would be comforting to say this was just a single faux pas. A president caught making a one-off comment without proper briefing. However, it fits into the larger pattern of comments from the White House. Off the cuff remarks which appear to have little thought seem to be the new normal.
There is a saying: "If you find that you are digging yourself into a hole, throw away the shovel." It seems The Donald just doubles down and starts digging harder.
Take the whole Charlottesville incident. His first response was to blame both sides. It was almost like he was saying "Hey, this group of peaceful, law-abiding Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists were gathered for a peaceful demonstration when they were viciously attacked by a mob of unruly citizens who cannot tolerate hate speech. Both sides are to blame."
Ironically, if you follow his logic, then we should not be condemning the terrorist attacks in Barcelona last week. After all, it takes two sides. There are good people on both sides. Some of the terrorists are good people. And if those shoppers hadn't been there minding their own business, nothing would have happened. Both sides are to blame.
What a load of poppycock!
On the Charlottesville incident, Donald Trump subsequently read a statement condemning Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups. Maybe things would have settled down.
He certainly came across as rational and considerate - almost presidential.
And yet, 24 hours later, he was again defending the actions of hate groups and somehow throwing the likes of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington into the mix.
In an impromptu speech, at a press conference which was supposed to be about infrastructure announcements, The Donald appeared again and is reported as saying: "I think there is blame on both sides. You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I'll say it right now."
According to The Donald, there were people in black helmets and masks wielding baseball bats and bent on destruction. In this context, the rifles, guns, body-amour, and such brought to the event by the Neo-Nazis and white supremacists were for self-defense. Driving an automobile into a crowd of people, killing one and injuring 19 others must be, to The Donald, a reasonable response.
Between these two incidents, Steve Bannon was let go, Chief of Staff John Kelly has come under fire and might not last much longer, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions - a target of Trump's contempt - has defended the president's actions and words.
You just can't make this stuff up. The writers for the West Wing, Madam Secretary, and House of Cards must be throwing their hands in the air in disgust. After all, part of satirical television is to take situations to their extremes but how can you in the light of the last six months?
Real life is just too fictional.
But we live in Canada. Why worry about The Donald?
Well, even though he isn't our president, he is the president of the most war-like nation on the planet.
He is president of one of the largest economies in the world.
He is president of a country responsible for about one quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions.
And he is president of the country right next door to us. It is hard to imagine that we would not be involved if things keep getting worse.
Whether it is nuclear missiles fired from North Korea or settling the NAFTA with the United States and Mexico, our future is linked to what happens south of the border.
Let's hope for more President Trump and less of The Donald.
