“Trump has the terrible strength peculiar to people who are incapable of embarrassment, and cannot fathom that they look ridiculous.”
So says George F. Will, in a recent article. Formerly a conservative columnist, Will tasted the new flavors of republicanism and became an independent Apparently, politicians such as Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and Donald Trump were a bridge too far for the former Reagan speech writer.
Nevertheless, the quote is delicious.
Our present occupant of the Oval Office has a penchant for naming after himself whatever is within reach, and some things only imagined. Adding his name to the Kennedy Center was his most egregious act.
Yet his renaming of the Institute of Peace (established by Congress in 1984) to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace is the most hilarious. Renamed without the required congressional approval, by a president who flaunts his warlike tendencies (Gaza, Ukraine, Iran, Greenland, Venezuela), yet covets a Nobel Peace Prize.
The prez also recently announced a new class of U.S. warships (the Navy does not want), to be known as the Trump Class. Part of a ‘Golden Fleet,’ he plans for them to be the most advanced, largest, and most glittery battleships ever built.
Battleships have not been part of modern navies since WWII, but what the hell.
Additionally, our peace-seeking leader of the free world has directed (by Executive Order ) that the Department of Defense be rebranded as the Department of War, and his Fox News reader Secretary of Defense retitled as Secretary of War.
Government-Associated Programs & Products.
These choices reflect government programs or initiatives branded with Trump’s name, and include Trump Gold Cards, a new U.S. immigration initiative, essentially a paid, and expedited path to U.S. lawful permanent residency. Think of it as an ICE-proof Green Card for wealthy foreign nationals and corporations that sponsor foreign employees. As ICE drags refugees and citizens off the streets without probable cause or required legal representation, individual Trump Gold Cards can be had with a $1 million ‘gift’ to the U.S. government, along with a nonrefundable processing fee of about $15,000.
If you happen to be a Bezos, Zuckerberg, or Musk class entrepreneur, a Corporate Gold Card is handy for jumping the line to sponsor employees for residency. Need a foreign-born specialist? Just pony up $2 million for each individual, with a few additional contributions for spouses and/or children. No unmarked cars or masked ICE agents to make an embarrassing fuss. Payments are treated as contributions or gifts, so applicants don’t get their money back.
Finally (at least so far), there’s TrumpStore.com, Trump’s Retail Merchandise Website, an emolument no president thus far has thought to offer.
This is the official retail website of the Trump Organization, selling branded products such as apparel (t-shirts, hats), drinkware, candles, gifts, etc., and various merchandise with Trump branding. It’s similar to any commercial e-commerce site for branded merchandise, except it funnels cash to a sitting president.
Think of it as what President Eisenhower might have done with the Military-Industrial Complex, if he’d profited from it instead of warning the nation of its excesses.
Or what George Will names as “the terrible strength peculiar to people who are incapable of embarrassment, and cannot fathom that they look ridiculous.”
In proper George Will style, he ends his column with a nod toward Trump’s Arc de Trump. “The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806, after his victory in the immense 1805 battle of Austerlitz, to celebrate France’s military glories, and himself. At Austerlitz, which was then in Moravia but now is in the Czech Republic, Napoleon’s 68,000 troops defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians.”
The ‘and himself’ is an important modifier.
“Perhaps the Arc de Trump, its gold paint glistening when bathed by sunsets, will celebrate, in addition to its namesake, the triumph of U.S. forces in the Battle of Nuuk. With a population of less than 20,000, and boasting that its rush hour traffic lasts 15 minutes, Nuuk is the capital of, and largest city in, Greenland.”
Choose your favorite from the above possibilities. It’s two weeks into January, and time to abandon your more mundane New Year’s resolutions.