TRUMP AND TRUST

As the Billy Joel song emphasizes, “It’s a matter of a trust”, trust being the key attribute that society lacks in the world of Donald J. Trump . Since time immemorial the American President has been thought to epitomize the nation’s values. He is relied upon as the leader that magically will protect and tell it as it is. As a rule his Office is respected and trusted regardless of his political persuasion. It is not for nothing that an anomaly to that paradigm, Richard Nixon, had his character encapsulated by the question, “Would you buy a used car from this man?”

Sadly it has reached the stage where it is common currency that you cannot trust what, Donald J. Trump the President of the United States of America has said, opined, offered as a deal, threatened or promised. The Washington Post keeps a meticulous record of his lies, misstatements and the like and has notated 7500 in his first 700 days of his inglorious term of office thus far. 

Trump’s inaugural started so darkly, miserably, negatively and crushing all hope that the Presidency might change him as he lied about the size of his inaugural crowd and gave a glimpse of what was to come by demanding that his administration echo his patent fabrication. As Donald’s legal woes escalate who knows where it will all end. It is fair comment that the dignity and majesty of the Presidency has not impacted on his mendacity in fact it appears to have magnified this destructive trait.

 ON TV EVEN THE BUSINESS CHANNELS DON’T BELIEVE HIM

Trump’s lies, deception and breaking of trust are the subject of virtually every TV program. Besides the political commentaries, the news and the nightly political satire which is saturated with his daily dose of dissembling, the lack of trust in what he says or does has permeated even normally apolitical venues. When you switch television channels to the stock market in order to escape the sterile political debate you will hear the following from the usually apolitical money managers: 

Manager A, “The market has the jitters as Trump has questioned whether he can fire the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.”

Manager B, “But the President has now said that he will never fire him”.

Manager A, “That means nothing he can change on a dime”.

Manager B, Laughing, “You are quite right. The market is hardly likely to be reassured by anything he says”.

TRUMP IS ENABLED IN HIS FANTASY WORLD AS HE BETRAYS TRUST TO “WE THE PEOPLE”

The Donald betrays trust and lies to “The People”. In this endeavor he still has his enablers.

While the majority of the American population have “got it” a stable forty percent of the electorate, an overwhelming majority of Republican legislators and his echo chambers Fox News and conservative radio hosts apparently support his approach as long as he delivers on their agenda. He can lie till he is blue in the face, they just don’t care. 

So America is saddled with a President whom you cannot believe a word he says. The forty percent who still support him argue, “Don’t listen to what he says, Watch what he does”. Even they know his verbiage is untrustworthy. They are hanging around, ironically, waiting for him to deliver on his promises. 

The current government shutdown crisis  is yet another example of the suspension of reality, Trump said again and again on the stump and it is fair to label it as his defining mantra: “I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me. I will build a great great wall on our Southern border and I will have Mexico will pay for that wall”. This refrain became a feature of his Nuremberg style rallies and he would invoke mob participation, “And who is going to pay for that wall” to which the adoring assembly would screech in reply, - “Mexico”. Mexico from the get go categorically denied that they would pay for the wall so Trump is now demanding the money from the taxpayer, including those in the audience and they remain nonplussed. 

So the POTUS conveniently forgot about Mexico’s payment and even about the wall till his enablers in chief, Fox News and talk show host Rush Limbaugh, reminded him that “The Great Wall” was his defining priority. So the POTUS held a meeting with the Democrat leadership demanding money for the wall shouting, “ If  I don’t get what I want…..I will shut down the government. I am proud to shut the government for border security…I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down.” 

The Democrats wouldn’t deliver on Trump’s commitment so the POTUS perversely claimed that it was the Democrats that shut the Government not him. Amazingly, thirty - three percent of the electorate agree with him. At least seven percent of the flock, who have drunk the Kool Aid, have abandoned this particular fantasy. In the interim the enablers have also forgotten that what Trump defined would be a “great great wall” has morphed again and again to what Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi has characterized as being “a beaded curtain”. Lindsey Graham says the President now claims it is not a physical wall - calling it a wall is s metaphor for border security while his outgoing Chief of Staff says a cement wall was abandoned by the President a long while ago! 

In truth nothing Trump promises or says can ever be trusted which does not seem to bother his unquestioning followers. 

DONALD HAS NEVER OPERATED ON TRUST NOR EVEN FUFFILlED CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

The Donald has for his whole career betrayed trust.

In his personal pre presidential life Trump was an unashamed defier of the conventions of society. He also learned to manipulate its checks and balances of the legal system. His earliest role model and lawyer was Roy Cohn who was the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy’s counsel. Cohn operated on the principle that you never admitted anything. You responded to any charge by attacking the accuser, regardless of whether it was an individual or a governmental agency. The Donald although he fondly remembers his mentor abandoned him when he was not in a position to be of any use to him. Cohn died a lonely death from AIDS betrayed by Trump. He lamented that, “Donald pissed ice water”. Loyalty requires trust of which the POTUS is bereft.

The failure even to fulfill contractual obligations let alone trust has resulted in Trump being involved in 3500 litigations prior to his Presidential run. He used his resources to take on those who were vulnerable including homeowners. He failed to pay contractors in the full knowledge that they never had the wherewithal to take him on. He went into the nomination process with fifty legal matters still outstanding - the most notorious being his fraudulent Trump University where according to court depositions he instructed recruiters to prey on the most weak - the pensioners and out of luck students. 

In New York alone there were 5000 litigants who reflected on the litany of broken promises, lies and fraud which ranged from being duped that they would be photographed with Trump, (a cardboard cutout was used) to the promise that the secrets of The Donald’s success would be shared with them.  True to form Trump counter sued for a $100 million dollars boasting that he never ever settles a case. While not batting an eyelid he made this one go away by settling for $25 million.

HIS FRIENDS AND CHARITY ARE NOT IMMUNE FROM DECEPTION 

The Donald betrays the trust of his friends and charitable organizations.

It is difficult to handicap in which arena his lack of trust and his deceptive behavior is at its worst. However the manipulation of his Charity Trust has to be up there. It transpires that, as far as can be traced, he has not put a penny of his own money into that entity. His friends and associates are the major donors and he uses their money for his own purposes including buying memorabilia of his good self and paying off his debts. He also uses those in need of charity to further his own crass objectives. The tale of the raising of money for the Veterans Association on the campaign trail is illustrative of this gross unsociable and even illegal venture.

Trump in order to gain attention on the electoral trail held a rally to raise money for the VA. He said he raised $6 million. According to the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit against The Trust he raised $2.4 million which he handed over to the then Chairman of his campaign Corey Lewandowski to disburse to the VA. Some of that “largesse” was publicly dished out by Trump on the campaign.

Trump has had to close his Foundation down as it has been investigated for two years for all manner of illegal activity including IRS and Campaign Finance violations.

Nothing is sacred to The Donald - not his friends, charity nor those in need.

LOYALTY AND TRUST FROM THOSE HE WORKS WITH IS A ONE WAY STREET WITH THE DONALD: BUT WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

The Donald betrays the trust of his friends, employees and administration while demanding loyalty from them. 

The Brookings Institute has tracked the administration turnover of the 45th President. They focussed on his ‘A Team” whom they defined as the senior members of his circle and noted that as of mid December 2018, sixty five had been through his revolving door. This is more than all but one of the post war Presidents’ replacements in their entire four years of office. The other stark difference between this POTUS and the rest is the abuse and humiliation he has heaped on those that make up his inner circle. Then he demands public slavish praise, flattery and sycophancy from those he has appointed.

Those in his Administration have responded to his treatment of them by leaking detail of any and anything related to his impulsiveness, ignorance, inner moods and rants. There have been a number of devastating exposes of WhiteHouse dysfuction, notably by Michael Wolf and Bob Woodward that are lavishly sourced by “White House” informants. Then there was the New York Times op ed piece that claimed that there was resistance to Trump within the WhiteHouse. The author claimed that he was one of many that were working from within the WhiteHouse “to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worse inclinations”. The inside source further confided that, “Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions.”

Even more devastating is the number of his inner circle that have caved and are singing like canaries to the Special Counsel. They include his Campaign Manager and his Deputy, his National Security Advisor, his personal lawyer and fixer, his long time financial chief, his close friend from the National Enquirer and a slew of lesser campaign members. Only two that matter are publicly remaining loyal to the President, Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi. They are the alleged connections of the campaign to Wikileaks. It is evident that they are banking on a pardon should the worst happen. They would be well advised to rethink their positions as Trump might, like Nixon, only think of his own skin when it all hits the fan.

The Donald is experiencing, but not learning, that fear and humiliation is no way to gain lasting loyalty. 

HOW LONG CAN REALITY BE SUSPENDED?

The question that hangs over this surreal scenario is how long can the lack of trust in what the the Commander in Chief and leader says or does be tolerated? There is no law that can enforce a  President to be trustworthy. To refer to just one pertinent issue of trust that is part of the American Presidential culture - candidates all reveal their tax returns to the body politic. There is no legal recourse to Trump breaking that trust. On the world stage America’s tried and trusted NATO allies cannot trust the American President to deliver on his commitment and has caused uncertainty and confusion. Again there is no law to prevent him from betraying America’s promises.

Donald J. Trump has always functioned in the anti social paradigm that his word means nothing and that gave him an advantage, Society relies on the grease of trust to function. It cannot legislate nor can the costly legal system enforce social behavior, fairness and equity. Armed with an army of lawyers Trump has navigated the world with his amoral philosophy. It remains to be seen whether as President he will get away with it. 

Whatever happens Trump’s endearing legacy will be that his word means nothing. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

This President’s character can be encapsulated by the question, “Would you play roulette in one of his bankrupt casinos? One hopes that Trumpism won’t be forever as Billy Joel reminds, “Because its always been a matter of trust”.