There has long been an expectation that an “October Surprise” would impact the upcoming November 6 elections. Even though October is now behind us, I know better than to assume that one or more major news events won’t occur before election day. However, I will contend that the October Surprise has indeed already occurred. It’s just not that much of a surprise.
October was a truly tragic month for sanity and humanity.
- A Saudi Arabian journalist for the Washington Post was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
- Packages containing apparent pipe bombs were sent to numerous Trump critics.
- A racially-motivated shooting at a Kroger in Kentucky left two people dead.
- A Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh was the scene of a mass shooting.
At times like these, we look to our leaders for consolation and assurance. In particular, we look to the President of the United States to provide comfort and perspective to a grieving nation.
To be sure, not all Presidents have had the same intrinsic abilities to command a moment and provide the necessary tonic to a nation thirsty for guidance. It is phenomenally difficult for even the most talented orator to strike the right balances between anger and resolve, between sadness and compassion, between despair and hope. And yet, past Presidents of both parties have risen to the occasion when tragedy struck: Lyndon Johnson after the Kennedy assassination, Ronald Reagan after the Challenger disaster, Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City bombing, George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks, Barack Obama after the Sandy Hook massacre.
Each of these leaders did more than simply read a script provided by a seasoned speechwriter. It is largely in the unscripted moments (Bush’s extemporaneous bullhorn speech at Ground Zero, Obama’s voice cracking as he spoke of the murdered children in Newton) that each of these leaders rose above politics and self-interest to display a heartfelt personal empathy on behalf of us all. That is what true leaders do. Regardless of political persuasion, the President of the United States is unfortunately often called upon to be the Consoler-In-Chief.
How far we have fallen.
Donald Trump has proven yet again that he is temperamentally, intellectually, and spiritually incapable of performing this duty. Indeed, he is only making things worse.
While occasionally straining to read a few throw-away “thoughts and prayers” Hallmark sentiments, Trump has then proceeded to provide almost daily servings of word casseroles, seasoned with dog-whistles to his political base. These rants are simply falsehoods at best, inane policy pronouncements at the norm, and dangerous incitements to violent intolerance at worst. There is no comfort here. Only raw politics.
In the midst of all of October’s violence…
- Trump demonized a caravan of mostly Honduran refugees slowly headed toward the United States. These migrants, fleeing violence in their home countries and seeking a better life, are largely on foot with severely limited resources. Nevertheless, Trump announced that he was sending over 5000 Army troops to stop the “invasion”. For the subset of the migrants that somehow manage to eventually reach the U.S. border, they would have the right to apply for asylum, and the United States would have the right to deny that asylum. That’s it. The U.S. Border Patrol is perfectly capable of handling this relatively minor non-invasion. In 2000 alone, an unassisted Border Patrol – with half of the agents it currently employs — arrested more than 1.6 million migrants. If the Border Patrol needed the help, they could be ably assisted by over 2000 National Guard troops already at the border. Lost in the politics is the fact that the United States Army is legally barred from directly enforcing immigration laws and can be used only in support roles. The Army troops cannot themselves use force to stop anyone at the border. Thus, active duty military personnel are being deployed as a political prop for Donald Trump.
- Trump claimed that “Republicans will totally protect people with Pre-Existing Conditions, Democrats will not!” In fact, it is the Obama-era Affordable Care Act that first protected people with pre-existing conditions. (I know this personally as the only way that I can get coverage is via the ACA.) The Republican Congress voted 54 times to repeal the ACA with no replacement and the Trump administration has made it their mission to weaken it as much as they possibly can. There has never been a Republican plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions. Trump’s claim is more than dishonest; it is dishonorable.
- Trump announced the imminent introduction of legislation to enact a 10% tax cut for the middle class. This despite the fact that Congress isn’t even in session and that Congressional leaders appeared clueless. Trump also claimed, without any explanation, that the cut would be revenue neutral despite clearly providing 10% less revenue. The attempted pandering here is simply too obvious.
- Trump announced plans to end birthright citizenship by Executive Order. This despite the fact that the 14th Amendment makes it quite clear that he cannot. Trump also claimed that the U.S. was the only nation that offered birthright citizenship when, in fact, about three dozen countries do so (including Canada and Mexico).
- Trump claimed to be a “nationalist” – despite that word being very closely associated with the alt-right agenda. Concurrently, Trump also specifically claimed to not be a “globalist” – which is just someone that acknowledges the fact that economic and foreign policies cannot be considered in total isolation in today’s inter-connected society. Thus, Trump essentially said, “I’m a racist, not a realist.”
- Trump continued his political rallies at full throttle. He praised a sitting Congressman for physically attacking a journalist. He claimed that the mail bombs were a Democratic “false flag” operation and then quickly pivoted to blaming the media after the Trump-enthusiast perpetrator was arrested. He increased his attacks on CNN after they were targeted by the mail bomber. He floated a ludicrous conspiracy theory about George Soros funding the caravan after Soros was targeted by the mail bomber. He blamed the victims of the Pittsburgh massacre for not having armed guards in their synagogue. He couldn’t even resist adding a political endorsement while speaking of the tragedy. And yet, at every turn, Trump insists that he is the true victim.
Donald Trump is a failure as a leader and a failure as a human being. For the moment, however, we are largely unable to hold him accountable. Barring some miracle, it will be another two years before the electorate will have a chance to correct its 2016 mistake. Our President obviously has no shame so there is little benefit in trying to shame him. Donald Trump is who he is. He is not going to change. That’s unfortunate, but it’s not a surprise.
What we can do now is hold Trump’s enablers accountable. Republicans, the majority of whom really do know better, have blithely looked the other way while Trump’s vitriolic rhetoric divides the nation. They have traded their souls in blind pursuit of policy achievements. Eventually, many will recognize that whatever political battles they won were not worth the destruction of what truly makes America great.
We need to have intelligent and spirited conversations about immigration, the deficit, health care, and gun rights. There are strong and reasonable opinions on all sides of these and many other issues. I personally look forward to the eventual return of sane Republicans with whom we can engage in passionate debates and tough compromises. I look forward to a time when not everything needs to be a zero-sum game.
In the meantime, however, the only solution is to remove the current Republican enablers from their all-encompassing control of the legislative branch in the upcoming mid-term elections. I pray for our nation and eagerly await a November 6 judgment.