There is really nothing more to add regarding the state of play in Washington. The US is stuck with getting through the (deadly serious) clown car debacle playing out in slow motion. The majority outcome of the November election arose because well-intentioned voters (not the Kool-Aid crowd who wear the hats) wanted a lowered cost of living, were willing to overlook the behaviour of the candidate, and voted in enough numbers to move the needle. There are always elections where people are feeling the pain of inflation and vote to “throw out the bums”. This would be one of those. It is also likely that gender politics contributed. As in readiness for a female president.
Ever since the election of 2016, my attention has been split between normal everyday life (the good stuff) and an obsessive interest in how this entire matter plays out. Albeit through self-selected media outlets that generally lean to the liberal side, consistent with my outlook. If I had a vote in the US, I would vote for Bernie Sanders.
The current occupant of the Oval Office is a malignant narcissist. This also makes it easy for him to be politically successful. People tend to admire the charismatic sociopathy of such individuals. They make good car salespeople. But you don’t want to get too close.
The first time around was one thing. He thought he could demonstrate the required judgement and make decisions on his own. That was the guy who suggested ingesting bleach may be an effective strategy to combat COVID. Right. That guy. What has changed this time around is that a group of handlers – extremely wealthy self-interested conservative thinkers, including the dude who runs Tesla and the Koch brothers – has emerged (think Project 2025). They seemingly recognized that the fellow with the unusually orange-coloured face is the perfect tip of the spear for their agenda. Clever. Presidential leadership managed and directed by non-elected billionaires.
Leveraging Fox News and social media expertly led to the first election win. Now think about who owns X, and the ironically named Truth Social. And the lean-in shown by the social media giants. And the exclusion of certain press from White House briefings. This comes as close to a propaganda engine as the US has ever seen.
All the above is in plain view. Elections in the US hinge upon the independent voters, neither Democrat nor Republican, also known as the swing vote. It is not clear that they voted for what is taking place in Washington. Along such lines, given the extreme seriousness of things, it will be interesting to see what kind of voter pushback surfaces. I know where I am placing my bets.
