The ultimate Trump defense

A recent argument between myself and my best friend revolved around Donald J. Trump.

My friend believes he is “evil.”

By that he means that every bad thing he did was craftily planned and deliberate. 

I am less sure of the strategy behind his tactics because I rate him as a second-rate intellect with little knowledge of history and even less of how democracy functions. His “evil” may flow more from ignorance than a dark heart. Or not.

His experience as a business titan led him to believe that when the boss gives an order, it is to be obeyed without question. It is possible that he saw the presidency as another “boss” job, and the boss must be obeyed. Checks and balances for him means an accounting ledger, not a Constitutional formula. 

I know him to be a serial liar, someone who used lying as a business tactic. I learned that when I covered his business dealings in Atlantic City. I knew him slightly and was friendly with a few Trump executives. 

One quick example: When the Taj Mahal opened — gaggingly opulent, with thick rugs, layers of carrera marble and enormous gold-covered chandeliers dripping crystal ornaments — the official press release said the tower was the tallest in New Jersey and claimed 52 stories, by my memory.

A friendly Trump source, with a smile, said, “Take a close look.”

Let me put it this way. The Taj is now the Hard Rock, which claims an accurate 41 stories. No one shortened the tower.

When I asked my friendly source if the 52 stories was a typo, he smiled and shook his head. “He knew no one would count.” 

And the tallest building was an office tower in Jersey City, not in A.C.

Trump bet that no one would check, and his brass laughed up their sleeves about how the boss had pulled off another one.

This is an example of an obvious lie, part of his Business Lies — that of a developer, or casino mogul. 

His Presidential lying began on Inauguration Day, when he claimed the crowds were larger than those attracted by President Barack Obama.

This had to be the ultimate day in his life — becoming the most powerful man in the world, only 44 men had preceeded him  — but he is so small-minded and narcissistic he was obsessed by the size of the crowd.

And he called Mario Rubio “little.”

Various publications produced satellite pictures showing the inaugural crowds for each president, at the same time of day. Obama’s crowds were bigger, but Trump never accepted the visual proof.

That was his opening day. On his closing day, he said he had won the election, and “by millions of votes,” it wasn’t even close. He repeated it many times. 

Is this just Presidential Lying?

There is another option that I have written about.

“Is he lying? Is he mental? It’s hard to say, and if it’s hard to say, can you get a conviction out of a jury?”

My best friend thinks I am preparing an alibi for Trump, something along the lines of an insanity defense.

He points to Trump’s actions to overturn the election as consciousness of action. It’s hard for me to disagree.

What I am actually asking: Is it possible that he actually believes the crap he spews?

In the first few rounds of the House Jan. 6 hearings,  many members of his inner circle testified under oath that they had told him that facts proved he had lost the election, but he ignored them, accusing some of them of disloyalty. Is this how a sane man acts?

His actions are enough to question his grip on reality.

I am not talking about his myriad misstatements of fact, his butchery of the Queen’s English with run-on sentences and abrupt changes of topic, or his off-hand comments, such as injecting bleach to fight covid. 

I am talking deliberate, oft repeated lies, among those cataloged by the Washington Post  and others. Check a few out right here.

Trumpsters reject the WaPo as a Trump enemy.

But when WaPo accurately quotes him as saying something that directly contradicts known facts, what can they say?

Nothing, which is why they refuse to view anything that goes against their beliefs. It’s like questioning the existence of God.

I can’t say what is going on in their minds.

I don’t even know what is going on in Trump’s mind, but if he can question Joe Biden’s mental acuity, I can question Trump’s sanity.