You're Fired!
Why, oh why should it come as a surprise that our President is acting like a CEO? Like a Master of the Universe whose mere whim becomes action and whose enemies disappear? For those of you fortunate enough to have no first hand experience working in Corporate America, let me connect the dots for you.
You see, CEOs like Trump are used to doing what they want, when they want, if they want … and anyone who has the temerity to challenge them IS FIRED!
So he wants to climb the corporate ladder into the presidency? He works with some folks he probably considers his “ace in the hole” aka the Russians, who can swing the election for him with some well timed hacks and leaks damaging his adversary’s campaign. It works! And it’s just business as usual.
Trump probably doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with dealing with one of our country’s most enduring adversaries to defeat a political rival. He’s done the same thing a million times in business deals … you know, the enemy of my enemy and all that. The fact that he’s dealing with countries instead of companies is completely beside the point, at least to him.
He doesn’t want to release his tax returns as presidents and presidential candidates have been done for the last oh, seventy or so years. Then he doesn’t … get over it.
He doesn’t want to put his business investments in a blind trust? Then don’t. And when a reporter has the nerve to question Trump’s son-in-law about having oversight into Trump’s business investments, he’s told that it’s a blind trust “because I said so.”
He doesn’t like being on the wrong end of an investigation? Then he fires the head of the F.B.I. In fact, let’s back pedal a bit. He apparently made a demand for Comey’s loyalty back when he was deciding whether to keep him on … you know, back when he had the “utmost confidence” in Comey … which is a classic Corporate America move. In Corporate America, much like in various criminal organizations, loyalty is highly prized and rarely reciprocal.
Now he’s divulging classified information to the Russian foreign minister during a meeting (where the U.S. press wasn’t invited, but the pictures of which appeared all over the Russian press). Trump is accused of providing the Russians information about the threat of ISIS using laptops to blow stuff up --- information he got from some ally that told us not to tell anybody.
I can just picture the scene: Trump is glad-handing with the Russians, trying to impress them with his wit and likeability, and, just like you do in a business negotiation, he dropped a little tidbit of gossip to make it clear that he’s a player and in the know about stuff worth knowing.
And what’s so deliciously ironic about that particular faux pas is that he banged the same drum against Hillary Clinton for months – she put classified emails on a non-secure server, so she’s unfit to be president. Well, Mr. President, here’s back at you.
But don’t be surprised that Trump has no clue about checks and balances, the three branches of government (can you name them? – neither can he), and all that nonsense. His view of the presidency is more akin to a CEO, which is more akin to a king than a president. And I can’t wait until the American people take a line out of this reality show that has become our world and tell him he’s fired.