Faking a Look at a Presidential Book

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Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. (Getty Images.)

How does a literature blog respond to this past week’s ultra-depressing election of far-right wild guy Donald Trump as 47th President of the United States? Liar, grifter, felon, dictator wannabe, sexual predator, misogynist, racist, homophobe, non-reader…yes, that Donald Trump.

Well, a literature blogger could suggest a fact-based novel about how it came to pass that the ghastly Trump will again occupy the White House when that repulsive Republican should instead be occupying a jail cell. I’m not the person to author that book — I prefer to write about a cat happily occupying my apartment and life — but I can discuss some of the book’s main characters. Starting with…

Donald Trump himself: Born into a filthy rich family, he takes that one family fortune and turns it into six…business bankruptcies. Improbably becomes President in 2016. Loses reelection in 2020 to Democratic opponent Joe Biden, but Trump falsely claims he won via a “Stop the Steal” campaign that doesn’t stop Shohei Ohtani from stealing 59 bases in 2024. The 1994-born Ohtani accomplishes this feat despite not being a character in Haruki Murakami’s 1979 debut novel.

Mike Pence: The also-far-right (and judgmental Christian evangelical) vice president during Trump’s first presidential term subserviently does everything Donald wants for four years until refusing Trump’s order to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election. The mob Trump subsequently goaded to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, ghoulishly threatens to hang Pence — who doesn’t recite lines from A Tale of Two Cities because Charles Dickens’ novel features a different method of execution.

JD Vance: Trump’s 2024 vice-presidential running mate first becomes famous for his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Vance around that time calls Trump “America’s Hitler,” but, seeing where the wind is blowing among Republicans, goes on to cravenly transform into a bootlicking toady for Trump. This pays off big time for Vance with Trump’s 2024 win, which also makes the grotesque JD an early favorite to become the 2028 Republican nominee for President…of The Bootlicking Toady Society. Not to be confused with Mary Ann Shaffer’s and Annie Barrows’ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Mitch McConnell: The scheming but spineless Republican U.S. Senate leader initially denounces Trump for the January 6 riot, but doesn’t support the subsequent impeachment effort — dooming it to failure. That gives Devil in a Blue Suit (Trump) a political lifeline that helps Donald’s eventual return to power. Democrats prefer Devil in a Blue Dress, the Walter Mosley novel.

Merrick Garland: Biden’s 2020-2024 attorney general is so wimpy and cautious that the dawdling Democrat waits too long to try to bring Trump up on criminal charges for “Stop the Steal,” January 6, and more. Garland’s cowardly slowness makes Marcel Proust’s 4,215-page In Search of Lost Time feel like a quick read.

Joe Biden: A pretty good President in the domestic-policy area, partly thanks to the work of such people as progressive U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. But Biden’s continual arming of Israel’s brutally disproportionate assault on Gaza after Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, attack is a major blot on Joe’s record. Also, Biden had originally implied he’d be a one-term President but, despite advancing age and obvious cognitive decline, wrongly decides to seek reelection — short-circuiting a chance for a real 2024 Democratic primary that could have strengthened Kamala Harris or another candidate. The annual Jack Reacher novel is published anyway.

Kamala Harris: After Biden is finally forced from the 2024 race weeks after a disastrous debate performance against Trump, Vice President Harris becomes the nominee. She’s in tune with the majority of Americans on a number of issues such as reproductive rights, but being a woman and person of color doesn’t help in a country filled with so much sexism and racism. Harris runs a good, part-populist, part-anti-corporate campaign for a while — and makes the excellent choice of progressive Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate — but then tacks too right-center/Wall Street-friendly at a time when many Americans want change, are hurting economically, and distrust outsized corporate power. Of course, Trump is infinitely worse (including being even more corporate-captured) but still wins. So much for that — my could-be-wrong analysis, and the title of a novel by (Ms.) Lionel Shriver.

The Muse: Why did Trump win? Among the reasons: he’s perversely entertaining, doesn’t sound like a programmed politician, gives his supporters permission to be their worst selves, has a powerful right-wing political and media ecosystem behind him, and gets endless coverage from the mainstream media because that boosts their audiences and profits. Much of the media, and many Americans in general, are attracted to…the call of the wild — far-right wild guy Trump, and the title of the novel by Jack London.

Misty the cat says: “I’m where O. Henry will soon write ‘The Last Leaf’ again.”

My comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Misty says Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for my book features a talking cat: 🙂

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about Trump’s depressing win and more — is here.

187 thoughts on “Faking a Look at a Presidential Book”

  1. In my amazing 20/20 hindsight I had thought Biden and the Dems might have went in too Anti-Trumpist for all four years. If they had caved in and finished the wall and cracked down on Illegal Immigration, then Trump would have had nothing to sink his dentures into. Perhaps there may have been one or two other ‘negotiable’ Republican gimmes they could have caved on and still chosen their hard lines in the sand on their more critical platform items. By not giving the Conservatives anything, they lost too many of the moderates to win the election. Come to think of it, perhaps the wall was finished—but it was a wall between our own righteous ignorance and all his populace xenophobic fanboys.

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    • Thank you for the comment, Chuckster. Well said, and I hear you, but Biden and the Democrats did move right on some issues — including immigration — and it didn’t work. I guess many conservative voters prefer Republican over “Republican lite.” I think Biden and the Democrats might have been better off going full populist given the economic anxiety most Americans are feeling.

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  2. Hi Dave,

    I’m late to the party on this one and I’m going to do what I did the week before and completely ignore the topic, though for very different reasons.

    I don’t know about single books spanning different genres, however I always have multiple books on the go and try to keep them different from each other so that I don’t get too confused. That hasn’t quite worked this week. I’ve just finished Cormac McCarthy’s “Child of God” which is about a misfit who does some pretty horrible things, and yet, because of the way Cormac puts his stuff together, the reader can’t help but care about the misfit. It’s kind of backfired on me though because I’m also reading Daphne du Maurier’s “Julius” which, while being very different, also has a misfit that I don’t want to care about, but I can’t help myself!

    I might ignore this week’s topic too. If I ignore it enough, will he disappear?

    Sue

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    • “I might ignore this week’s topic too. If I ignore it enough, will he disappear?” — ha ha. 😂 If only…

      I admire your ability to read multiple books at once. I’m just not able to do that. 🙂

      Re Cormac McCarthy, he did have the impressive ability to make rather sordid stories VERY compelling.

      Thank you for the comment, Sue!

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    • Hahahaha, but I couldn’t find a place to comment. Here is good enough. I can relate to your many allusions. They remind me of the Roman/Greek god Mercury/Hermes, who was credited for his verbal dexterity in earning a place in Jupiter’s/Zeus’s Mt. Olympus court as “messenger of the gods”. “I know everything, but what I don’t know, I’ll make up.”

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  3. I think Joe Biden felt guilty about not running for President when he was still Obama’s VP, that he hadn’t done enough to keep Trump out of the White House in the first place, which is why he clung to the White House longer than he should have.

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    • Thank you for the comment, Benny. There could be something to what you say regarding Joe Biden and the 2016 election. If his son Beau hadn’t died in 2015, and if Obama hadn’t put his support behind Hillary Clinton…

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  4. Evergreen Dept.:

    Paul H. Douglas (The Coming of A New Party) in 1932 wrote “Such are the realities of that Democratic Party toward which so many unsophisticated liberals look for light and leading.  The truth of the matter is that it is not only corrupt locally but is indeed largely maintained by the business interests as  a kind of combined lifeboat and lightning rod.”

    OTOH…

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  5. Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the campaign season

    As each dying media outlet wrought its ghost upon the screen.

    Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

    From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost perspective —

    Sorrow over cloaked invective, now passed off as stuff insightful,

    By  the mediocre and the frightful

    Re the rare and radiant candidate the angels named Kamala–

    Blameless here for evermore.

    Quoth the Raver “Nevermore“.

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    • Thank you, jhNY! Impressive satirical take on “The Raven” poem!

      Neither of America’s two major political parties would want Edgar Allan Poe as a constituent; he wasn’t rich enough.

      But the Baltimore Ravens football team is having a good year…

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  8. Okay, I don’t know a lot about American politicians but I have an inkling that Donald Duck might be better rather than that other one. The yellow-orange face looks almost just the same, and the Duck one seems all together more useful.

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  10. Excellent characters, Dave. I’m on ‘Fiction,’ Chapter One because ‘this, too’ may not pass. Project 2025 is already in the transition room, and I fear greatly that the American democratic experiment may end in an authoritarian’s egotistical head and in the actions of his loyalists who will flood the federal government’s offices.

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  11. Dave,

    I feel we need to be honest. From what I understand Trumpelstiltskin did read Mein Kampf.

    I’m in agreeance with your finger point analysis, and all books.

    Oh, you forgot to add weasel to your description of Mixed McConnel!

    Biden’s hubris was the major part of the downfall at the feet of misogyny and racism.

    Anyway, as you can see, I too have reverted to books.

    A well know tale by Brothers Grimm – Rumpelstitlskin is on my mind. It’s the story of a mean hateful and small (even big people can be small) creature who steals babies, cooks them and eats them.

    Hence- Trumpelstiltskin. He will steal, cook and eat America. He’s already started with the babies, in a figurative sense, with the abortion ban.

    PS. I haven’t watched any news programs since. It makes me too sick, watching the media kill for ratings.

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  13. Dave, someone from another place told me last night…

    Only in America could someone who has declared Bankruptcy three times could win the election to be the next American President !

    Only in America we never had a Woman President , even in some third World Country there always was a Woman as President.

    Ask Misty …

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  14. Dear David. Please your facts straight before you go ranting about Donald Trump. You do no do the information media any value by your ranting. John Wallace.

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    • John, I think my facts are accurate; I read, listen to, and watch a ton of stuff from the left alternative media, the right alternative media, and the mainstream media. Not to mention reading many books (usually the focus of this blog). But thank you for the comment.

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  15. Interesting literary take on the elections and Trump’s victory. The onus of this to large extent falls on the Democratic Party, I think they require serious introspection and need to analyze their campaign strategy. They are little too occupied with the political correctness but don’t realize that it’s not always effective. Bernie Sanders in 2016 would have been a much better choice, for 2024 Biden should have stepped down way earlier so that the party could have prepared better. Kamala Harris needed more time as she didn’t seem very prepared and connected with the people at large. The soaring prices, geo political situation esp. with war in Ukraine and Israel didn’t help either.

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    • Thank you, Tanya! Many good points! A lot of the blame for last week’s election results IS on the Democratic Party; perhaps “political correctness” is part of that, but I think the bigger problem was that the Dems didn’t focus enough on the fact that many Americans are struggling economically. And, yes, sending billions and billions in military aid to Israel and elsewhere when that money could be better used for the needs of Americans…

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    • It’s hard to have any kind of campaign strategy in a nation so swamped with misinformation; the more Americans rely on social media for information, the less well informed we become as a whole. I think Biden’s tough stand on the Ukraine was actually a bonus for his administration; historically Americans like presidents who stand up for democracy. I agree Bernie Sanders would have been a better choice. I dispute that the prices are “soaring”; they soared and then inflation leveled off again.

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  16. What a perfect summation, Dave! My family is still in shock; it’s still mind-blowing that he won. I mean, what does this say about our country? It’s embarrassing, and there are close people to me who voted for him that I’m struggling with. And it’s not about the two parties. It’s about Trump and what he stands for. Difficult, to put it mildly, but humans have suffered, they have fought, and they have won over time, so we will persevere again. Thanks for this great post!

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    • Thank you very much, Lauren! Well said! “What does this say about our country?” Something not very good. But while a majority of 2024 voters went this time for Trump, I think a majority of the U.S. remains appalled by him. Still, his election IS a shock for your family, my family, and millions of other people. Yes, all we can do is persevere and oppose Trump’s dismaying agenda in any way possible.

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      • Your mention of slavery, Benny, reminds me that the U.S. is a country that not only had slavery but also a genocide of Native Americans, didn’t allow women to vote until 1920, etc. So, given that sordid history, not a surprise when things get rotten, even in the 21st century.

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  17. You’re creative to connect these colorful (to put it mildly) characters of politics with books. I winced and shivered at the descriptions of the characters. But I had to chuckle when you brought up Proust’s epic “Lost Time” books. And I chuckled at “Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.” My family watched the movie a few years ago, and my daughters thought it was supremely boring. I still tease them about it.

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    • Thank you very much, Dave! 🙂 Yes, “colorful” is a euphemistic understatement in describing some Republican leaders these days. 😦

      I haven’t seen the “Guernsey” movie but the novel held my interest. Maybe the film didn’t do it justice. Then again, my daughters also find things boring that I don’t. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Audrey! I know what you mean about hearing and seeing Trump. He’s so repulsive — as in ugly inside, which is what matters.

      Misty appreciates the compliment! Though there’s white on his fur, he’s not a white supremacist like Trump. 🙂

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  22. Thanks for a good summing-up of the situation, Dave. As a non-US citizen I don’t feel able to comment adequately, apart from wondering how on earth people could elect a person with all the negative traits that you mention – and more As it’s going to affect us all too though I’m not looking forward to the next 4 years – apart from any publications on any subject that Lionel Shriver might give us. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Laura! It does boggle the mind that Trump won despite having numerous negative traits. If anyone was looking for a role model, he’d be the last person on the list, and no decent-minded company would hire anyone like him for the “lowest” kind of job. Yet he’ll be President again.

      And I agree that Trump’s actions the next four years will have a negative impact well beyond the U.S. 😦

      Ha! 🙂 Lionel Shriver novels are always to be looked forward to! 🙂

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      • PS that should read ‘affect’ – I was tired and missed it. The thing is on DJT, I’ve heard people claiming that it’s possible to detach the personality from their actions, so that an unattractive character can still do positive things in their profession. I personally don’t believe that – who they are MUST influence their actions. Even if it were possible though, when the list of negative characteristics is so long, it ought to suggest that the person is incapable of doing good. Just my view. We’re all in for an interesting 4 years. 😐

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    • Part of it is misinformation. The other part is a subculture of cruelty that is a side effect of judging men by their ability to play “king of the mountain,” teaching us to kick down on people as part of climbing up. It leaves a lot of men with pent of frustration because the very nature of the game means most men lose and too many take it out on others.

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  23. Thank you Dave,I agree. VP Harris was dealt a bad hand in 90 days,no primary, the electorate came out in full force for DJT,the orange menace,in part propaganda, fear,reality showman ,Musk paying for votes and $100 chump change to Rump,heck we didn’t have a chance. Plus on first note,sexism, he won against women.

    If someone like a white man,say Gov.Newsom,throws his hat into the insane ring in 2028,politics, which are cyclical , we may turn back Blue.

    2026 can even change if people are outraged by DJT. As I remember reading his approval rating was 36% after two years of first term.

    Watch when DJT doesn’t keep his promises,watch the electorate turn against him.

    I spent time in Northern PA this week,at the place I stayed I overheard a man who voted for him despite DJT being an”a-hole”, this man and millions of others may not like him they know he’s corrupt,but it’s because they sold them what maybe a rotten bag of goods that their lives economically will be better.

    We know DJT cares of himself only and will enrich the coffers of Musk ,the ultra wealthy and their. Buyer beware.

    I thoroughly disagree on the comment made that Carter was a bad President, this man should read Jonathan Alter ‘s bio on Pres. Carter,President Biden will go down as one of the best President’s.

    The Chips Act bringing factories back to America,IRA or Inflation Reduction Act,watch how Rump takes responsibility when benefits go to Americans in next few years ,also American Rescue Plan, lowering costs of certain percription drugs,capping costs of insulin, a myriad of assistance for Americans thanks to President Biden and coming together on all sides of aisles.

    Alas 4 more years then he’ll be gone but he’ll haunt us as he’s changed this country for the worse and soiled our democracy. 😔

    Michele, E&P way back

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    • Thank you, Michele! I agree that Biden had some solid accomplishments amid his missteps, and it IS infuriating that some of those accomplishments will be noticeable during the term of Trump, who will take credit for them. Of course, Trump will also try to roll back some of those good things — relating to climate change, for instance.

      Yes, a longer campaign for Harris or another Democrat might have gone better if Biden had dropped out earlier or not run for reelection at all.

      As for people voting for Trump even though they thought he was a despicable man…just weird.

      Elon Musk — ugh, ugh, ugh. What a lowlife. So glad I belatedly deleted X when he started his lovefest with Trump. I should have deleted Twitter when Musk first bought it.

      Would be great if the Democrats do well in the 2026 midterms, hopefully with a more populist message.

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  24. Yes, the US has been through worse and, yes, most of us will get through the next four years, but Trump and his crew are going to cause a lot of suffering to a lot of people–and not just in the US. As someone who lives in Europe in the shadow of Putin, knowing that the US President-to-be doesn’t care who Putin conquers is nauseating and frightening.

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    • Thank you for the comment, Kim. GREAT point that Trump will not only be trouble for the U.S. but for Europe and the rest of the world as well. He does indeed admire Putin (among other dictators); Ukraine has to be very worried at the moment.

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      • I agree, bennydonald3—I’m also worried about China moving on Taiwan while Trump and his MAGA cabinet are ignoring the world to focus on deporting immigrants, drilling for oil, and taking revenge on enemies. I only hope you’re right about the Russian government, but even with Europe’s support (which in some countries is growing ever more grudging), Ukraine is going to have trouble holding on.

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  25. I’ll give you a more conservative analysis, it’s partly racism and misogyny but Biden is generally perceived as the weakest president since Jimmy Carter, the total failure of the Afghanistan War and no attempt to restrict illegal immigration until fairly recently played a major part in Trump’s victory. On some social issues such as transgenderism Americans are generally rather conservative. The Democrats have lost the white and most of the Hispanic working class and their strength is mostly confined to large metropolitan areas, Harris lacks personal charisma and the ability to connect with voters compared to Bill Clinton and Obama, Democrats are perceived as overly politically correct with terms like Latinx. I know that many Trump voters voted for him while holding their noses. 2028 is going to be interesting because Vance does not have much popular appeal but Democrats do not seem to have a strong contender either. AOC is kind of charismatic and populist but she is a woman who represents one of the bluest districts in the nation and she is on the far left wing of the Democratic Party.

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    • Thank you for your perspective, Tony. You make some points I agree with and some I don’t. I agree that Biden was perceived as weak by many — partly an age thing; he’s obviously much diminished mentally and physically. But as I mentioned in my post, he did some good things domestically — including being more labor-friendly, being against mergers of huge companies, dealing at least some with the existential threat of climate change, etc. The withdrawal from Afghanistan did not go as well as it ideally should have, but it was long overdue after the U.S. spent about 20 years there. Continuing to arm Israel as it obliterated mostly civilians in Gaza? A disaster.

      Yes, the Democrats are too much into identity politics — but so are the Republicans. In the latter case, it’s white, conservative, male, Christian, etc., identity politics.

      True that Trump is a “unicorn”; less-charismatic Republicans will indeed have a tougher time in 2028.

      I’ve followed AOC closely; her district is not that far from where I live. She’s still progressive, but significantly less left than she was a few years ago.

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    • According to polls about how people across the board view Harris and Trump, respectively, and what issues people felt were most important in the election, the fact that Harris was a woman was mostly not a factor, according to the people. Misogyny and racism had very little, if anything, to do with her not winning. She couldn’t separate herself from an administration that people are totally disillusioned with. She failed to give any semblance of a platform, and leaned too heavily on abortion being a top issue for voters.

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    • I feel that a woman presidential nominee would be at a disadvantage compared to a male with the same qualifications. However I think that Hillary Clinton would have won if she had been nominated instead of Obama in 2008 because the Republicans were really unpopular that year due to the fact that Iraq was in chaos and the most serious recession since the Great Depression was occurring.

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      • I agree that women politicians have a sexism disadvantage, especially at the presidential level. I also agree that Hillary Clinton would probably have defeated John McCain in 2008 given all the disasters the Republican George W. Bush/Dick Cheney administration wrought. And of course Clinton won the popular vote in 2016; the stupid Electoral College robbed her of victory.

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    • One factor that hasn’t been emphasized enough was that more Americans (especially those who do not have highly specialized skills) have been harmed by globalization than have benefited from it over the last few decades, Trump is largely a reaction against globalization similar to Brexit in the U.K. I also read that while Harris won women’s votes by about 10%, Trump won the male vote by more than 20% so even if more women voted than men, the advantage lies with Trump. There is also a feeling among more traditional Americans (not just whites) that American society is changing too fast.

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      • Yes, Democratic leaders are as guilty as Republican leaders when it comes to the globalization that has often harmed the average worker while making the rich richer. And, yes again, not enough white women voted for Harris. Why so many of them chose Trump is very troubling.

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    • Biden might get the blame for the failure of the Afghanistan War, but all the Presidents involved share some of that blame for failed policies. I think the only national politician who understood the problem was McCain, who warned that “nation building” is a fifty-year project, not just setting up voting booths and hoping for pro-American governments getting elected.

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      • I think one of Biden’s best accomplishments was getting the U.S. out of Afghanistan after two decades, even with the withdrawal being messy and costing some lives. MANY more people would have died if the U.S. hadn’t withdrawn. Of course the current Taliban leadership in Afghanistan is terrible, but countries can’t “nation-build” other countries.

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  26. Dave, I love your approach for a potential novel on “Devil in a Blue Suit.” Lots of fascinating characters to whet one’s creative juices! So many possibilities for a story ending to satisfy one’s targeted audience, be it leftist or rightist. As someone who witnessed the implosion of the Peoples’ Temple under their leader, the Reverend Jim Jones, I see no happy ending for the “Devil in a Blue Suit.”

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    • Thank you for the comment, Dan! You’re absolutely right; as bad as things currently are and will be the next four years, the U.S. has went through much worse times and survived — though of course many individual citizens did not survive.

      “I Will Survive” — great song! 🙂

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  28. A brilliant post, as always Dave. You have illustrated how books can serve as invaluable companions during transitional periods in our lives by providing comfort, guidance, and perspective. Even during the most difficult, worrying and sad times, books can illuminate paths forward, helping us navigate uncertainty with greater clarity and confidence. I am reminded by Ray Bradbury’s thought in Fahrenheit 451:

    “The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.”

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  29. i don’t listen to the mainstream news since it’s true they all sane washed Trump. I am listening to old interviews with Gore Vidal, and John Flannery’s podcast. I believe those who voted for Trump will have to see their own dreams fall apart because we who didn’t vote for him certainly have. But Trump isn’t going to be around long. I see a lot of infighting among his administration and then there’s Trump, who is not going to let any of them take center stage. I even see someone within that administration getting tired of handling him and taking a page out of Putin’s playbook, (don’t stand too close to the window Donny). You can only deport so many people then there is noone left to deport so he will have failed there, you can ban abortion but women will find a way perhaps an underground railroad to Cali so he’s failed there. Unfortunately, it will hurt us as well as his supporters. We may have to pool our resources to help others, but The resistance will rise up. 4 years is just a blip of time. And I suspect if there is an election in 2028, people will demand he leave. Cults never end well.

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    • Thank you for the comment, Anonymous. You’re right that much of the mainstream media “sane-washed” Trump — making him seem semi-normal/semi-reasonable when he is in fact a fascist with some major psychological issues. And, yes, I imagine many who voted for Trump will regret it. Then again, when things get really bad during the next four years, Trump will find something or someone else to falsely blame — and many of his followers will believe him.

      I see that you have some optimism in your comment regarding resistance, etc. Hope you’re right. Many people are exhausted.

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      • I remember when my generation very much wanted McGovern to win over Nixon primarily because he wanted to end the Vietnam war. No need to say Nixon, the vile wormy little crook, won. So I went through a major depression because I felt the system failed us. Yet I was young and determined and resilient. The Vietnam war did end because it wasn’t sustainable to begin with, civil rights were established, men and women enjoyed and celebrated each others strengths as well as weaknesses, and there was more cohesiveness between races. Unfortunately racism, mysogny, and hatred continued to exist. Now we have to revisit all these things we think we’ve lost. I must say we had a good run, and will again when the scales fall away from the eyes of Trumps followers. It will mean hardship for us, but we had it before, we will have it again. So I’m gonna do a little time traveling and regroup. Peace out *smile* Susi

        “There is nothing to be learned from history anymore. We’re in science fiction now.” ~ Allen Ginsberg

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        • I appreciate the follow-up comment, Susi! Yes, the good times and bad times ebb and flow. Things are better in a number of ways in the 21st century than when Nixon and McGovern faced off in the 1972 election (wish McGovern had won), but I might revise that statement depending on how bad things get during Trump’s upcoming presidency.

          Never saw the Ginsberg quote before. It’s great!

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  31. Every country gets the leader it deserves. The Palestinians got sequence of Hamas terrorists , Israel got Netanyahu, The Russians the autocratic Putin, The Hungarians the right wing Orban, India has the Hindu nationalist called Modi… the list is endless. Now in the we have in the US the richest man of the world teaming up with the most powerful one, under the legal umbrella of a high court that is dominated by Christian fundamentalists (an probably more to come during the following four years), backed up by a congress that has to serve the incumbent at his whim.

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    • Thank you for the comment, Shaharee. I hear you when you say countries get the leaders they deserve, but I still feel Trump has the support of no more than 40% of the United States. The rest voted for Harris or third-party candidates or didn’t vote. Unfortunately, the non-majority-level of support Trump has was enough for him this time — with the help of media disinformation (Fox News, etc.) and other things.

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      • Those US citizens who didn’t vote have no right to criticize the outcome of the elections. We have seen that during the protests on and around the university campuses in the US when Trump was elected the first time: most of them didn’t go to vote because the democratic party top ejected Bernie Sanders out of the race when it was clear that the US voters would go for an outsider (that was my own analysis back then, and I’m not really deep into that stuff), and the students themselves decided decided to stay home at election day. Voters may have their opinions about how a two party system has lead to this outcome but fact is that NONE of the two parties have showed any interest in changing it when they had the opportunity. The democratic party is a master in shooting in their own foot because of internal feuds. I have said it before: no biparty system is pluralistic but rather has a tendency to polarize. That’s what happened and will keep happening until one of those parties who wins the presidential elections AND the congress, has the courage to change it. The “winner takes it all” is a rule that actually enforces this. ·You can win a seat (or a state) with 40 % of the votes when the opposition scrambles and divides the remaining 60 % of the votes in parts that are lower then 40 %.

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        • I appreciate the reply. Many good points! I personally always vote, and wish everyone eligible always voted, too. But I can understand that people disgusted with both the Republican and Democratic parties might sit some elections out. They’re totally sick of broken promises from both parties, and sick of both parties kowtowing to big donors and big corporate interests.

          I think Bernie Sanders would’ve beaten Trump in 2016 and 2020 if the Democratic Party hadn’t “ejected” (to use your word) him from those races. Real populist vs. fake populist.

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    • Ha, Melissa! 😂 Thank you! When Misty runs in circles, he’s practicing for an Oval Office occupancy. 🙂

      Misty is wearing a harness and leash, not a scarf. 🙂 He’s now so well-trained on his daily outside walks that we often let go of the leash (while still watching him closely).

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      • Misty running in circles will still get more done. Instead of immediately overturning any of the previous administration’s progress, he’d be happy to play ping-pong with the red dot from the laser pointer, not the map of the Republican takeover.

        I had a cat once that I tried (for a short time) to take for walks on a leash. He’d crouch down in the grass like he was paralyzed.😅

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        • Ha ha! 😂 A cat in the Oval Office would indeed do better than any Republican president! 🙂

          Sorry about the cat you had not doing well with a leash. 😦 We were lucky that Misty adapted to that. I guess he had incentive to do so because we live in a modest apartment and going outside gives Misty a chance to stretch his legs, run around, and explore. 🙂

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  34. I wonder if people are unaware or if they disagree when saying this post is interesting. In my limited discussion with a handful of people about the election, no one seemed to be in the know. One didn’t know what happened on January 6…so there’s that.
    While I appreciate your (accurate) assessment of Trump as a businessman, I wonder why half of America considers him to be so shrewd. Bankruptcy is not a positive thing…multiple bankruptcies is (in my opinion) a mismanagement of money, not justified by being wild and impulsive.
    I appreciate this post for other reasons, one being that I am coping with this demagogue circus in much the same way. I personally did not know how to broach the topic with the red mob I’m surrounded with, or when I did I was met with silence because my points are rational and valid. So, no one would discuss. Their minds were obviously made up long ago. Probably back in 2020. Since the election I have stopped talking with them. Perhaps not permanently, but for now while I process what it means to have ‘friends’ like this. So, I have to process somewhere, with someone, even if that means into a void on the internet. Thankfully it seems it isn’t a void, people answer back. Others share similar ideologies. I think you read my post in response to the election.
    Hugs.🫂

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    • Thank you, Melissa, for your comment. Very sorry you’re not in an area with more likeminded people. The result of this election is VERY painful, and it’s even harder when people we know or know of feel the result was positive and that Trump deserved the win when he’s quite possibly the worst person on the planet.

      Also, it is indeed true that a lot of people don’t follow politics closely and might not be aware of Trump’s many crimes and his sketchy history as a businessperson. Or they believe his lies and spin when he denies those crimes and pretends he was/is some kind of business genius.

      I did read your election post, and will go back and reread it in a few minutes.

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  37. This post about Trump and his gang, and the mistakes of the other side, is really interesting.
    I was hoping for a different result, but I sadly have to admit that now the right wing, even the extreme one, is gaining more and more ground also in Europe
    Where will we end up?

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    • Thank you, Luisa! Yes, an awful shame that the U.S. results weren’t better. And the leadership of some European countries has indeed also unfortunately tacked more conservative. Those leaders might have the support of a plurality or a small majority of “average citizens,” but they mostly represent the powerful. 😦

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