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DO WE REALLY NEED
AN INVINCIBLE PRESIDENT?
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While the fires raged last week in the Wine Country and beyond,
creating unimaginable devastation and suffering, another story shared the
headlines that created a different kind of unimaginable scenario.
Harvey Weinstein, the rich and powerful film mogul, was accused
by numerous women, including several prominent actresses, of being a sexual
predator. He immediately was fired from the firm he founded, and was
declared a national disgrace by practically everyone.
He joined comedian Bill Cosby, Fox News founder Roger Ailes,
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and real estate developer and reality TV host
Donald Trump in the category of famous men who lost their jobs and their
dignity as the result of unwanted sexual advances on women over the years.
All of them vehemently denied culpability, but the evidence was
overwhelming. Hence, their lives were ruined.
Oh, wait. My mistake. Donald Trump was elected President of the
United States.
Unimaginable. I'm not talking about politics, or issues. Those
subjects are for another day. I'm talking about how some people can be
rightfully outraged by Harvey Weinstein's behavior and yet can conveniently
forget or ignore that the occupant of the Oval Office is accused of similar
behavior.
At least 15 women have publicly come forward and claimed Donald
Trump engaged in non-consensual kissing and/or groping of breasts, buttocks
and genitalia. Much like Cosby, Weinstein, Ailes and O'Reilly, intimate
detail of the incidents was given. Trump called them all "liars"
and threatened to sue, which he never did.
And then there was the tape. I was driving on the freeway on
October 7, 2016 when I heard the recorded conversation of Trump telling
Billy Bush (who lost his job and reputation for participating) that a
celebrity like himself can "just start kissing them...I don't even
wait, can grab 'em by the p****." I was absolutely convinced that was
the end of his campaign. No one could survive such vulgar behavior,
especially on the national stage.
After listening to that tape, does anyone believe Donald Trump
did not engage in the acts he is accused of by 15 independent women who came
forward with intimate details of their encounters with the future President
of the United States? Does anyone believe that 15 women, including mothers,
businesswomen, journalists, authors and Miss USA contestants, ALL blatantly
lied through their teeth? I hope not.
It's no wonder Donald Trump has an ego the size of Montana. The
man thinks he's invincible, and he has every reason to think so. While
Cosby, Ailes, O'Reilly and Weinstein resigned in disgrace and have been
vilified by the public and the press, Trump skates free. That's the
unimaginable scenario I'm talking about.
Donald Trump believes he can say or do anything his heart
desires, and he'll get away with it. He can call the leader of North Korea
"Little Rocket Man," and get away with it. He can challenge his
Secretary of State to an IQ test and get away with it. He can lie about
Mexico paying for his wall and get away with it.
Do we want a President who thinks he's invincible? I find that
concept very frightening. A Commander-in-Chief who believes he can do no
wrong, who believes every decision he makes is the correct one, who believes
he is the Master of the Universe---his comeuppance is inevitably right
around the corner.
When that tape was released, and when those 15 women stepped
forward, Donald Trump should have been relegated to the same misfortune that
befell Cosby, Ailes, O'Reilly and Weinstein. Instead, he miraculously
weathered the storm and got elected President. Unimaginable.
I understand the politics. I understand the hatred of Hilary
Clinton, the need of some people for change. What I don't understand is how
anyone could have voted for someone who so blatantly and wrongfully called
15 strong-willed women "liars."
I realize this is old news. Maybe it's the sadness of the
wildfires that got me all worked up. More likely, it was the public's and
the media's hysteria of Harvey Weinstein's exploits that brought back the
memories of Trump surviving what no one should survive.
Now we've got a President who understandably thinks he's
invincible. There's no doubt he will take it a step further and convince
himself the United States is invincible. Perhaps he'll be eager to show
North Korea or Iran that both he and our country can survive anything.
How scary is that?
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