Trump Laughs

And The Rest of us Remain Puzzled

Well, this week has been peak confusion when it comes to Agent Orange. I’ll wade through the Trump news below, but first a less ballyhooed story—a reminder of why Donald remains so formidable. It comes from Israel, where Trump gave an interview to Sheldon Adelson’s old tabloid, Israel Hayom. Here is what he said about Gaza:

"You have to finish up your war…And I will say, Israel has to be very careful, because you're losing a lot of the world, you're losing a lot of support, you have to finish up, you have to get the job done. And you have to get on to peace, to get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else.”

You have to finish up your war, you have to get the job done. Just brilliant. It ranks up there with his advice to the Proud Boys, “Stand back…and stand by,” as an example of Trumpian double-speak. You can take this statement any which way. In favor of a cease-fire? Not quite…although there is the “losing a lot of support” admonition. Crush Rafah? Also possible, with a wide-open escape hatch for Bibi: Get the job done.

Trump does this all the time. It’s why he’s such an underrated politician. It’s not all just egomaniacal rant. There is an almost preternatural appreciation of the byways of the English language: Go to the Capitol…but do it peacefully. And in Georgia: Find me the votes. Don’t steal them, find them. The “perfect” phone call with Zelensky…The man speaks like he’s a mob boss who suspects he’s being wiretapped. This is one way he stays two steps ahead of the sheriff.

He is also blessed with idiot enemies—the litigation liberals. All weekend I was getting “They’re Stealing Trump Tower” emails from The Don…and then, yesterday, “Trump Tower Saved!” Another Trump Triumph Over The Evil Establishment. Well, one might have expected that an Appeals Court would reduce—and perhaps, eventually, throw out—the excessive damages in the New York fraud case. But Trump’s accomplices in the media—most of whom have no idea that they’re his unwitting allies—kept citing the $435 million as if it were a real number, carved in stone. Next up, Stormy Daniels, brought by the genius DA Alvin Bragg. No doubt, that will work to Trump’s advantage, too.

There is one case against Trump—one—that is worthy, even though all of them have legal justification. (Definition of worthy: It enhances the possibility Trump won’t be President in 2025.) That is the January 6 suit in DC Federal Court, brought by Jack Smith. In it, Trump is charged with an actual crime against America. He tried to overturn the 2020 election through the fake electors scheme. It is a limited case: Smith chose not to prosecute Trump for mounting the Capitol Hill insurrection (Remember: Go peacefully.) The fake electors were a real crime, a coup attempt prevented by Mike Pence. I have a running argument with good friends about whether the Supreme Court’s attempt to delay the case will succeed. Pessimists think the wussy Biden Justice Department won’t have enough time to proceed after the Supremes toss Trump’s appeal (as they must). They may be right, especially if Merrick Garland—is he still here?—remains Attorney General. I have an outrageous suggestion for President Biden: Fire Garland and hire Chris Christie as a six-month replacement…or Liz Cheney, also a lawyer. Push the case. Put Trump on trial during the general election campaign. Televise the whole thing.

Of course, that’s not the sort of hardball Democrats play….as James Carville pointed out to Maureen Dowd over the weekend. Somehow, the Times didn’t censor Carville’s oh-dear, how-sexist opinion that the Dems play softball because they are the party of women. That’s an oversimplification, of course. I wouldn’t want to be downrange from a hellfire missile triggered by Tammy Duckworth or Mikie Sherrill, former military helicopter pilots. But still…just look at the weeping and whining and moaning over NBC’s stupid decision to hire coup enabler Ronna Romney McDaniel as a commentator. Yes, it was stupid beyond imagining—in large part because McDaniel isn’t even vaguely interesting or fun. And furthermore, because of the network’s lame attempt at balance: we hire both liar commentators and truth commentators—We distort, You decide. But the high dudgeon of Maddow et al was precisely the wrong response: If the bosses wanted to hire this person, give them what they want: Have her on as a guest all the time. Rip her apart. Can you imagine Rachel Maddow putting McDaniel through her paces, making her step away from all of Trump’s obscenities. “What do you think of Trump’s making fun of Biden’s stutter?” “Do you agree that refugees are vermin?” And on, and on…I’d have McDaniel until she flees to the Cayman Islands, dehydrated from defending every last thing Trump says. If you’re a Dem, you want Maddow eviscerating McDaniel, rather than collapsing into MSNBC’s all-too-frequent, smug, liberal holiness pose. (Breaking News!—I can hear Wolf Blitzer erupting—NBC is apparently going to get rid of McDaniel. That should make the network look really decisive.)

One more Trump thing: His social media company, the hilariously named Truth Social opened with a bang on Wall Street. All of a sudden the phony billionaire is a billionaire on paper —to the momentary tune of $5.5 billion—because his pals are bloating the price of the stock. I know nothing about markets, but here’s a tip: Short this stock. It won’t last.

Biden’s Back?

The media—the very same folks who were opining that Joe Biden didn’t get a bounce from his State of the Union Address last week—are now opining that, well, maybe Biden did get a bounce. On the basis of one poll—the august Bloomberg/Morning Consult tabulation. The poll shows Biden creeping up in various toss-up states…but—and this should be emblazoned on the pollster’s press release—all of these movements are within the margin of error.

To repeat the obvious: All polling at this point is perilous. You can say this much: It looks like a close election—but maybe not even that, given the age and volatility factors. If you’re a member of the media, you shouldn’t spend a breath on polling now, but focus on the news:

Especially the fact that Bibi Netanyahu is trying to push Joe Biden around. This should not come as a surprise. Bibi is part of the Putin, Orban, Xi, Trump authoritarian bully axis. He may be prolonging the war in Gaza in order to prolong his political career. He is that awful. The war in Gaza—as even Trump seems to acknowledge—has been an international disaster for Israel. But a disaster that can be overcome if:

1. Bibi goes.

2. The Israelis don’t level Rafah.

3. The Israelis join with the Arabs to establish a temporary security force and government to ease the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

4. The Israelis employ the subtle, long-term strategy they launched after the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972—brilliantly depicted in Stephen Spielberg’s film, Munich—of assassinating the Hamas leadership, one by one, including those who are hiding in Qatar.

But there’s an “in the meantime” problem: How does Biden react to Bibi urinating all over him? From my comments above, you might expect me to favor Biden launching on Bibi, threatening him, chastising him…but no. There is another path: Say Nothing. Do Something. Just stop sending offensive weapons to Israel. Defensive weapons—Iron Dome, Patriots, radars—are okay. But not a single bomb or bullet. And do not broadcast that fact. Do not tell the world you’re doing it: The Chinese believe that the strongest person in the room says the least. We’re the Superpower. Say nothing, Joe. Let Bibi whine. Let him twist slowly, slowly in the wind…

More Donkey Stupidity

Why are Democrats having trouble holding onto black voters? Well, one reason is they promise impossible things and then can’t deliver. Here’s an example from the People’s Republic of San Francisco:

Last year, a San Francisco panel came up with a proposal to offer reparations to its Black residents: Some would be eligible for $5 million each.

So far, all they’ve received is an apology.

You’re surprised? You shouldn’t be: This is an extreme example of the shell game that guilty white liberals play with black people all the time. A better example: They promise equity as opposed to equality. The Biden Administration has done that. Equity is about equal results; it is a fool’s errand. Equality should be about equal opportunity—the American Way.

Reparations has been the most irresponsible of promises. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a smart guy and I wouldn’t be surprised if his tongue was planted firmly in cheek when he made his 2014 Epater Les Gringos proposal in The Atlantic, which started all this nonsense.

Take San Francisco, for example: You’re asking Asian and Latino citizens whose ancestors were treated like dirt to kick in $5 million per head for the descendants of enslaved people? You make a promise like that and here’s what follows:

1. You get to feel righteous.

2. Nothing happens.

3. Some blacks—academics and activists, mostly—get pissed off because you haven’t kept your promise.

4. They stay home in November.

Here’s a better plan: Treat black like equals. Tell them the truth about what is possible. Do not indulge the activists. Provide financial support for impoverished children, regardless of race. Pay teachers more if they serve in poor neighborhoods.

I could go on, but….

Pitch

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