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Matthew Warner

I Don’t Understand

There are three abhorrent memories that come to mind this morning when I think of Donald Trump.

The first is that during his presidency, he took a vacation just about every weekend. And he didn’t just go anyplace; he always went to one of his own golf resorts. By doing so, he promoted his commercial brand (which you’re not supposed to do as president) just like he did when lining up Trump steaks in front of the press corps, and he spent our taxpayer dollars directly upon his own enrichment (after all, the Secret Service had stay in hotels somewhere). The Secret Service blew their budget protecting him during these dalliances.

The second memory is of his gaslighting about the COVID pandemic. Although he knew early on how serious it was, he lied about it to the public. He lied because he knew presidential fortunes can be tied to boom economies. To acknowledge the threat might have hurt our economy and therefore his re-election chances. And because of his gaslighting, the government responded slowly and ineffectively at a time when it could have made a difference. So he lied, and we died.

Finally, my third memory is of January 6, 2021. I’ve been watching the Congressional hearings this week instead of Tucker Carlson’s “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” routine. Trump corruptly tried to subvert our democracy. He and his rioters tried to overthrow our government. A majority of Americans believe he should be criminally charged.

So here’s what I don’t understand. A majority of Americans also say they would re-elect that fool.

Could both polls be correct? Could a majority of us both want him charged and want him re-elected?

I hope not. I hope we’re not that lost.