Frank's Musings

There are two types of people who fall for the behavior of Donald Trump.  The first type includes ambitious bank lending officers who fear missing a fantastic financial opportunity that others have made money on and can’t wait to lend more capital for Trump’s next unrealistic scheme.  This group also includes those who have witnessed his political appeal to a loyal ‘base” and who are afraid of jeopardizing their election prospects, or who just enjoy sticking their thumb in the eyes of “elites.”  They also count themselves as his followers.

The other group of saps are disaffected citizens who believe that the cultures of America and other wealthy democracies ignore their personal welfare in pursuit of “social equity.” They see equity as nothing more than a disguise for the benefit that quick-witted entrepreneurs earn at their expense.

Trump believes that life is just a game. Neither group of saps realizes that they are only players in that game and blithely lose their wealth and self-interests by backing the solipsistic antics of a notorious swindler.  The comfort coming from the knowledge that many admirable people have also fallen for the same temptation is curiously irresistible to new sets of victims.  These saps are just as reluctant to acknowledge any of their mistakes as Trump is himself.  His genius has been to recognize that their refusal to risk losing their misplaced self-esteem makes their fealty a reliable asset in electoral politics.

The next presidential contest may be won by a candidate who can mobilize support from a carefully assembled constellation of voters with the stubborn need to rationalize their selfish political motivation, believing, as strongly as MAGA Republicans, in the virtue of the unthinking marketplace.  Alternatively, it can be won by an equally relentless group of people who celebrate the outcome of collaboration between citizens motivated to achieve a “more perfect union. “