Trump is right, it is a witch hunt 

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Sometimes I want to kick myself. But it’s really hard to be an opinion columnist and not spend an inordinate amount of time on the subject that most dominates the national news: Donald Trump.

After all, I’m not so unique; Trump persistently hogs the media, not just in the U.S., but all over the world. And while some, like Putin and Kim Jong Un, are guffawing uncontrollably about the political stupidity that has allowed the Trump disaster to continue on, most of the planet views it more for what it is: The great American tragedy.

The reality is that Trump is more than just news. He’s also a very touching human-interest story, the kind that might be featured in a schmaltzy Hallmark film. Every time Donald opens his foul, butt-hole-shaped mouth about how his persecution is such a relentless and unfair scourge, I (almost) get tears in my eyes. Almost.

I nearly have to stuff a sock in my mouth to keep from crying over Trump’s constant, near-sobbing mantra of “This is a witch-hunt, Biden’s goddamned witch hunt, and I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. I swear it on the soul of my dear departed mother. And, you know me: I’d never fudge on the truth. This whole thing is a political hatchet-job, and I am blameless as a newborn lamb.”

Invoking the names of God and Jesus, Trump insisted that They personally chose him to lead our great country. And, totally predictable, the little flock of nit-witted Christian Evangelicals, the mentally unfit, the skin-headed, tattooed carryovers from the Third Reich and a rag-tag bunch of red-necked conspiracists have been echoing his claim, that he’s still America’s elected president, and that “This man can save our great nation from the bonds of sin.”

Wow! Trump really is a modern incarnation of deity.

Personally, the deification of Trump seems to be a bit of a stretch, but I must agree that the poor little turd really is being picked on. The Feds pick on him. The state courts pick on him. Democrats smear his fine reputation and good name.

No wonder he’s able to sell so many of his deluxe Bibles to the devout. He’s very deserving of pity. In fact, he’s one of the most pitiful characters, ever, in the history of our country. In order to claim that we’re good human beings, we must find a pinch of compassion in our hearts.

But all kidding aside, how can anyone not feel sorry for Trump, a man who has spent a lifetime depleting his almost-half-billion-dollar inheritance, grabbing a long parade of apparently-willing “pu--ies,” enduring spectacular business failures, suing everyone from Santa Claus to the Easter Bunny and creating an illusion of success and wealth from a non-stop life of fraud. That’s enough to make anyone cry.

For me, the tears aren’t inspired by compassion for the man. They’re about how much damage the little bastard has done to our country and the world. Somehow, his little playbook of dirty living, grift and knee-jerk decision-making has become a best-seller across the planet, and the Trumpish small-man-dictator-types across the globe have sought to have the same sort of grand notoriety Trump’s nastiness has created. When these would-be dictators are called on the carpet for their assaults on their own countries’ freedoms, all they have to do is point a finger toward the U.S. and note, “Well, Trump did it in the U.S., so it must be O.K.” (See, the U.S. really is a world leader!)

Trump has become a model for the dismantling of freedoms across the globe, and he bears some personal responsibility for those who suffer under the reign of similar sorts of tyrants. He is definitely the poster-boy for how the desolate absence of real class and character are no problem in politics.

Poor Guy! It seems that since he jumped from his brief TV career into American politics he’s been exposing just a little bit more about himself than is prudent. That’s really at the core of the problem. Even Melania knew it would happen. She understood that lying low had been Trump’s only past protection, and that prominence would expose her man for what he was. That understanding made her loathe to join her husband at the White House.

When you’re such a fundamentally pathetic person, it’s a bad idea to provide the world with a magnifying glass, and that was just what Trump did. He could have remained in the sub-basement, but he insisted on entering politics and publicity has been his undoing. At this juncture, a world of people is aware of just who he is, what he's done and how far he’s willing to go in order to evade the reach of decency and justice.

There’s really no question about it: The civil and criminal prosecutions of Trump definitely are a “witch hunt.” The sad thing is that no human being can avoid the incontrovertible facts of America’s greatest witch. In a very real sense, he’s made his own sort of pact with the “devil,” and now everything is crashing down around him.

The illusions of his highly-inflated billions are quickly disappearing and by the time he’s made proper restitution for his ill-gotten gains, criminal acts and tax evasion, there will likely be little left. With his accoutrements of wealth destined for the trash-heap, and the evaporation of a kingdom built of fluff, what will be left of Trump?

Only a foul-mouthed braggart with the one-time illusion of substance and a trail of damaged humanity left in his tracks. With a little luck and determination, Americans may still have a country when the Trump disaster is finally over.

We can make it happen, but we’re going to have to leave stupidity and ignorance behind.

The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol, and their adorable and ferocious dog “Poppy.” comments@cityweekly.net