Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Trump jokes are no longer funny. His act has gone on too long. Acts about his act have gone on too long as well. It used to be that satirizing, ridiculing, parodying and mocking him were ways of taking him down to size, showing defiance and rendering him unworthy. At some point it has to be fait accompli. He is now a national joke, so why the need to keep making jokes about the national joke?

It certainly can be argued that he is still a force to be contended with, so we need to keep making fun of him. He is running for president again, and "the polls" show he is the leading "Republican" candidate. His leadingness in public opinion polls has been news for a couple of years now, which says more about the "news" industry than about what is important in people's lives. For pundits and pundit wanna-bes on TV especially, talking about endless minutiae regarding Donald Trump gives them a reason to exist, an easy way to feign knowledge and wisdom without knowing much of anything. And, they can rise up the ladder of punditocracy, maybe even becoming "the most trusted man in America" (always a man) like Walter Cronkite once was.

I was all-in on Trump humor. It helped keep my spirits up during this surreal episode in this country's history. Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart, John Oliver and Trevor Noah provided hilarious scorn and ridicule, and often showed great insight into the nature of Trump’s criminal operation. Others, like various players on Saturday Night Live, used parody and farce to lampoon the real farce that Trump has foisted on the American public for too many years.

I feel an energy shift. Trump is now a pathetic character. He is losing in court repeatedly, his behavior is becoming even more deranged and erratic, and former friends, allies and co-defendants are turning against him on a daily basis. He is like a bull in the final stage of a bullfight – worn down, enraged, body pierced all over with picador lances, stumbling, dazed and confused, the matador closing in for the kill.

The kill, in Trump’s case, is metaphoric. The matador could be any number of prosecutors, judges, witnesses, or even family members, should they turn on him after he turns on them. More likely it will be an agglomeration of matadors delivering the final thrust into the body of the exhausted beast. The end is near for Trump. No man has the strength to withstand the onslaught of prosecution, conviction and disgrace that is coming his way, certainly not someone 77 years old and in steep mental decline.

Trump's supporters likely also see him as a wounded and worn-down battler, except in heroic terms, the valiant hero fighting against the godless oppressors. What sane, intelligent people see as a grifter getting his due to the Trump faithful is the savior of mankind, a Jesus figure being crucified. Pundits and others, of course, see the MAGA crowd as a great threat to “democracy,” and are spreading fear about what his followers would do, should he be sent to prison or removed from eligibility for "reelection."(Fact-check: in order to be reelected you have to hold office. Otherwise you are just a candidate.)

When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, yell and shout. Television again, thrives on hysteria, hype, excitement. The sky is falling, let’s keep watching TV! Taking a calmer approach, I recognize the danger, but as we have seen, the actual threat of physical harm comes from a small portion of the "right wing." Most MAGA adherents are the kind of people who are fair game for mob-inciters, but who are not likely to act beyond the complaint stage. The people who actually showed up in Washington in 2021 to overthrow the election were a very small percentage of Trump's supporters. 

The same goes for the plotters who planned to kidnap and kill the governor of Michigan. Very few in number. Vigilantes are a danger, but modern law enforcement is up to the task of investigating them and bringing them to justice.

What is of real concern, though, is the condition that makes a candidate for office like Trump possible in the first place. He is the worst kind of demagogue – hateful, inciter of violence, scapegoater, a total criminal, loyal to no one but himself, and an advocate of the most divisive, mean and harmful government actions imaginable. Somehow he was able to convince enough people to vote for him in 2016 that he "won" the presidency.

What makes the situation even more pathetic is that the supposed alternative is Genocide Joe, the cheerleader for the carnage in Gaza. This makes him a man without honor, ethics and morality. If he can't be trusted to act with honor, ethics and morality elsewhere, he can’t be trusted here. Joe Biden, the 100% politician, can be trusted to do what is politically advantageous – to him. Hmm. Sounds a bit like Trump.

In spite of all this, I am optimistic. In Physics, potential is the thing that is not. The evil of today implies its opposite. Yang implies Yin. There was a buildup of negative energy over many decades. It came to fruition with the ascendance (or descendance, like on an escalator) of Donald Trump. He only got so far, and now his criminal operation is in shambles. It is fitting that we would have both him and Genocide Joe at the same time as our supposed leaders. Nature abhors a vacuum.

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R.I.P. Tom Smothers. Here's an example of his humor. He was in the Give Peace a Chance video.

Here's a song for Trump. Here's another. One way or another, Trump will be leaving his brokedown palace(s), maybe for the jailhouse, maybe for the poor house. Maybe here from time-to-time.