Chair wielding maniac

| 4:30 pm EST February 9, 2020
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Donald Trump has been acquitted by the Senate. But the polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans think the Senate trial should have had witnesses, and half or more of Americans think he’s guilty. This leaves Trump in the tricky position of having to find a way to prove to Americans that his impeachers were wrong when they accused him of being a cheater and an abusive maniac.

Unfortunately for Donald Trump, he doesn’t appear to have any idea how to play the part. If he’s supposed to be coming across as a good guy right now, or even a strong guy, or a winner, he’s doing it wrong. In substantive terms, he’s making revenge-fueled moves like ousting Colonel Vindman and Ambassador Sondland. In an infinitely less meaningful but perhaps higher profile development, Trump has decided to align himself with some real losers.

Trump wants us to believe he wasn’t trying to cheat in the 2020 election when he tried to conspire with Ukraine. Yet this weekend he tweeted strong support for Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball for life because he was cheating by betting on games he was participating in. Trump also wants us to believe he’s a reasonable guy. Yet he just tweeted support for Bob Knight, a guy who eventually lost his basketball coaching job due to endless scandals, including instances of maniacally throwing folding chairs onto the court.

Does Donald Trump think these are the good guys? In his mind, sure. Rose and Knight are amoral people who did awful things and were eventually brought down for it, and in Trump’s mind, that makes them the victims. After all, he’s a guy who has spent his entire life doing awful things and trying desperately to avoid being taken down for it. Even when Trump is supposed to be playing the part of a reasonable guy who was unfairly victimized by impeachment, he’s instead aligning himself with a pariah and a chair wielding maniac. It couldn’t be more fitting.