Donald Trump, the infant-king
Papa Trump is the only one who knows what is best for America and only he can “fix” the mess, he says, that America is in. His solution to the situation he calls a mess, is to get rid of anyone who disagrees with him – and to do so in the most punitive way possible, to scare his opponents into submission. Trump continued this pattern when he ordered John Brennan’s security clearance to be revoked. Like many things Trump does, this move was a show of force, rather than an actual forceful move.
Revoking Brennan’s security clearance does nothing beneficial, but Trump’s hidden motive is to discredit Brennan’s character, just like he has tried to do with Hilary Clinton, Peter Strzok, James Comey, John McCain, Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren and the list goes on and on. While Mueller approaches from one side with facts and a criminal investigation, Trump is attempting to launch a counteroffensive based on petty retaliation and character assassination. It does not matter if what Trump says is true or not, just as long as his voters believe him when he says it.
The White House denied that revoking Brennan’s security clearance was politically motivated, which is hard to swallow on its own, but even more difficult when Trump turns around and blames Brennan for having an opinion on the Russia investigation. Brennan can have an opinion, as he is a citizen of the United States, after all. What Brennan is not allowed to do is share classified information. Brennan watched Trump on the news like everyone else did, he watched Trump on the world stage in Helsinki with Putin, and said what was obvious: that Trump was treasonous. Trump can’t afford for Brennan’s opinion to go unchallenged because Brennan used to be the Director of the CIA, and his opinion means something.
Therefore, Donald Trump must discredit John Brennan’s character so that his opinion is devalued, as if it was on the stock market. Trump relies on the perception that his voters hold of him, not the reality. So, if someone attacks that carefully crafted perception he has created, then that person must be destroyed in Trump’s mind, because they are threatening his illusion. This is a dangerous precedent that Trump is setting and one that is not worthy of the chief office of the White House.
