Even the New York Post says it’s all over for Donald Trump
Politicians can make dishonest pronouncements, repeatedly and confidently, and they can have surrogates echo their falsehoods. They can also get the media to give them free airtime to spread their deceit, and they can rely on the likelihood that interviewers will be too timid or ineffective at exposing the true nature of their drivel.
Sure, politicians want to win nominations and elections, and once they’re in office they want to remain there with high approval ratings. But Republicans politicians have cared so much about winning that it routinely comes at the expense of the truth as they throw America and its values under the bus. Indeed, if we’ve learned nothing this century in politics, it’s that the Republican Party loves to fool us.
The last two Republican excuses for President of the United States exemplify this trend at a dangerous level. As George W. Bush led the nation down a rabbit hole after 9/11 into the Iraq War, he delivered a flubbed warning while speaking at a magnet school in Nashville, Tennessee in September 2002. Imploring the audience against believing the Iraq regime, Dubya’s pronouncement was oozing with projection: “Fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can’t get fooled again!”
Unfortunately, America was fooled again, re-electing Bush to a second term, and then later helping a fascist man-child gain enough votes to eke out an Electoral College win in 2016. Even after a record two impeachments and a failed insurrection against his own government, Donald Trump has continued to fool a large swath of Americans.
The New York Post’s editorial board, which has defended Trump until recently, is finally calling for an end to all the fooling. “Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us 1,438 times, and it may finally be too much,” the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid wrote. For the Post, Trump’s recent “major announcement” of his digital card collection was a bridge too far. “Don’t give any money to con artist Trump,” the headline warns.
Ultimately, it’s up to each of us to do our own candidate vetting instead of simply getting wrapped up in some populist fever. We can also help others to not be fooled, by writing letters to the editor, sharing and commenting on Palmer Report articles, talking to others, and volunteering for campaigns and causes that promote democracy, transparency, and dignity. America can’t afford to be fooled by Republicans ever again.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month