Comparative politics professor Lee Morgonbesser tells the Bulwark that Trump’s opponents need to understand the how President Donald Trump does so much damage to democracy while also seemingly losing so much of his mind.
“A decade into the Trump era, there remains a fundamental tension in the way critics and opponents think, write, and talk about Donald Trump,” said Morgonbesser. “He is alternately a conniving destroyer of republican institutions or a mentally and emotionally debilitated, increasingly senile wackjob. Both accounts have much to recommend them. There is evidence to support both, and each helps explain the man and his effect on American politics and policy.”
It's “flattering” to say Trump is implementing the so-called “authoritarian playbook” in his second term by firing inspectors general, appointing unfit loyalists and launching investigations into his political opponents. This would put him in the field with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and India Narendra Modi. But Morgonbesser is confident Trump is more in the “mad king” classification comparable to Caligula, Charles VI, Henry VI and Peter III.
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“There are plenty of reasons to give credence to this theory, too,” said Morgonbesser, referring to Trump’s weird fade-outs at campaign events where he repeatedlypaused rallies for twenty minutes or more just to listen to piped-in music as the crowd waited awkwardly.
“He regularly confuses the names of places (for example, conflating Afghanistan with Alaska and then Alaska with Russia) and people (‘Tim Apple’ for Tim Cook and ‘Kristi Whitmer’ for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer).”
Morgonbesser also cites Trump claiming on numerous occasions that he had run or was running against Barack Obama for president, and asserted, erroneously, that his uncle had taught the Unabomber.
“His speech patterns have become so obviously nonlinear that he himself nicknamed his style ‘the weave.’ He has spent an inordinate amount of time and attention on the Kennedy Center,” Morgonbesser adds.
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Resolving the contradiction between the “wily authoritarian” and the “mad king” means understanding that Trump’s fading mind must rely on administers and advisors to continue his march to American authoritarianism.
“The ‘personal Trump’ spends much of his time on social media, calls in to cable news shows on a whim, watches unhealthy amounts of television, and is often seen with flagging energy,” said Morgonbesser. “The collective Trump, including his staffers, allies, informal advisers, and appointees, can together tirelessly do a significant amount of work.”
But “time may not be on Trump’s side,” added Morgonbesser.
“He is already 79, showing signs of deteriorating health, and liable to be under considerable stress for the foreseeable future. And he does not seem mentally robust, which is too bad for him and too bad for the United States,” Morgonbesser said, while adding that even a deteriorating ‘mad king” … can wreck just about everything they touch.”
Read the Bulwark report at this link.