Another loss for Donald Trump

| 10:30 am EDT August 7, 2021
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When Donald Trump arrived at his first NATO summit in Brussels in May 2017, it was a time to meet world leaders while touring the progress of the military alliance’s new headquarters. However, only four months into his failed term, Trump appeared hellbent on strutting a tough-guy America First swagger while sporting a Putin-inspired chip on his shoulder.

A short silent video clip, which went viral, showed some world leaders jovially gathering for a photo before a brash Trump enters stage left, forcing his way into the spotlight with a dismissive smile. Once Trump achieved his goal of being front and center, satisfaction overcomes his look of indignation as he straightens his suit jacket with characteristic bluster.

To reach his desired position in time for the photo, Trump felt he had to put his hand on another world leader and push him to the side, a boorishness that a White House official would later explain away as a “casual greeting,” according to the New York Times. The man who stood in Trump’s way was Dusko Markovic, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, a nation that was to join NATO the following week after years of hostile opposition by Russia.

Two impeachments, one historic election loss, and one failed insurrection attempt later, Trump now rots in Florida surrounded by sycophants who dutifully feed the hungry fire of his destructive narcissism as a picture of mounting civil and criminal liability gains sharper focus each day. In a different part of that state, Trump just surrendered the front-and-center position he so craves—and to one who is far more admirable.

President Biden has joined the Hall of Presidents, an audio-animatronic exhibit that has entertained and educated Magic Kingdom visitors for 50 years, after months of preparation, according to Disney. The Biden likeness debuts front and center as he inspires audiences with the presidential oath of office. In spotlighting Biden in this way, Disney chose to push the disgruntled Trump robot to the back row to seethe in the shadows beside Andrew Jackson, where he belongs.

It is not surprising that Disney offered Trump a taste of his own medicine, forcing him far from the spotlight following a long career obsessively pursuing the opposite. After four long years of Trump, America now has a President who deserves our respect and attention. Unlike Trump, President Biden understands what Disney always reminds us, which is that when you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.