Donald Trump doubles down

Think of it yourself, a man who is notorious for not paying his bills. So much so that he’s filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy no less than six times, and he is probably on the verge of filing a seventh. So much so that he’s no longer welcome to stage his Hitleresque rallies in scores of cities across the nation because he skipped town after refusing to pay police and venue costs. So much so that he’s become notorious for condemning long standing family businesses to penury and ruin simply because he’s too cheap and too double-dealing to pay them for honest services rendered.

That same man has now doubled down on his promise that, if Americans are stupid enough to re-elect him to the presidency, he, Donald Trump, will not come to the aid of any NATO ally that is attacked by Russia if that nation has not kept up with its NATO bills. He’s even made it into something of a slogan: “If they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect.”

That’s right, on Wednesday night, at a rally in South Carolina, Trump said: “I’ve been saying, ‘Look, if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect, OK?’” No pay, no protect. No pay … no protect. Make America Great Again, indeed.

He said this in front of an audience that is predominantly composed of evangelical Christians. And they cheered him for it. They think that’s great. They positively love him for it.

I bring their religion into it because, apparently, those same “Christians” are unfamiliar with the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.” The parable comes from Matthew 18:21-35. It describes the story of a servant who was forgiven a massive debt by his king, only in turn to refuse forgiveness to another servant who owed him a relatively lesser debt. When the king finds out he is not well pleased. The king orders the unforgiving servant’s original debt restored and the miscreant cast into prison. I particularly like that last part of the parable: the Unforgiving Servant is cast into prison.

The subtext of Trump’s message is also clear. Trump isn’t merely Vladimir Putin’s useful idiot, he will also find any petty excuse to actively assist Russia in attacking and subjugating a NATO ally. He’s ready to greenlight Vlad the Impaler’s ambition to restore Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union to its former glory. Meanwhile he claims that if he and not Biden were president, Putin would have never invaded Ukraine in the first place. I can’t imagine why not.

This is the kind of ludicrous double-think and hypocrisy you’re required to sustain if you’re a Trump idolator. All that’s required is an inability to think, and Trump supporters are certainly good at that.

Even so it’s a serious misstep on Trump’s part. He practically created Biden’s next campaign ad for him. Trump might keep his idiot followers happy with such insane and stupid talk, but he’s doing himself no favours with undecided voters. Meanwhile the knuckle-dragging MAGA cretins are going to vote for him no matter what.

But Trump’s ego was bruised when he got pushback for promising to help Putin attack a NATO country, and he can’t let it drop, not even if it keeps him from reclaiming the presidency, not even if it keeps him out of prison. He’s just that much a slave to his own ego, and that’s the best Biden campaign contribution of all. Trump proves once again that he is his own worst enemy. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.