Far be it for me to offer Donald Trump a graceful path to exit from his disastrous presidency. But there is now an obvious and plausibly productive off-ramp for Donald Trump to end his first and now-evident only term as president on a high and heroic note.
I hereby dare you to take it, Donald.
Do I believe that Trump deserves full credit for a vaccine that may be successfully administered in the next several months? Far earlier than all expectations, certainly when compared to the development of vaccines against previous widespread diseases? Sure, he hyped the unlikely prospect of a vaccine available before Election Day. And, yes, he and his supporters now grouse about the fact that the Pfizer announcement of a 90 percent positive rate in its early tests for efficacy against COVID-19 was not published until a few days after the election rather than a few days before. I get that. Why shouldn’t he think, well, great for Pfizer? But why did they stick the knife in my back by not announcing this a week earlier? Or what about Johnson & Johnson? Well, first of all, Pfizer and J&J announcements of preliminary good news on vaccines would not have reversed the president’s electoral fortunes.
There are two stark facts that confront any remaining Trump loyalists. One is that Joe Biden is the president-elect. Period. And the second is that as of 12:01 p.m, Jan. 20, 2021–one minute after the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.–the Capitol Police who enforce law within the District of Columbia’s Federal Triangle, encompassing the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court–will evict any White House trespassers from the new president’s residence. That means you, Donald, and any Trumps hanging out in a government-owned house where they no longer enjoy free lease. I fully expect that Donald lacks the grace even to attend the inauguration ceremony, where he no doubt will witness a far larger crowd on the Washington Monument grounds than attended his 2016 event.
But if he wants to avoid the humiliation of forced eviction–a perfect bookend to his disgraceful reign, which began with a don’t-believe-your-eyes lie about his crowd size as compared to Barack Obama’s 2008 inauguration overflow–Donald now has an opportunity to claim a heroic presidential epitaph.
Donald can say now, whatever the facts to support his claim, that his Operation Warp Speed brought a successful vaccine to Americans, and to the world at large, months before anyone reasonably expected. I did that for you, he can claim. I personally don’t buy it for a minute. The timing is inauthentic, accidental, but maybe not entirely so.
The Trump administration did indeed push hard for a quick vaccine solution. But this did not save his presidency. Nor should it have. COVID-19 administrative malpractice was not, by any means, the only black mark against the appalling record of the Trump presidency. I hardly know where to begin, but separation of hundreds of breastfeeding and otherwise preverbal children from their parents at the southern border–with NO MEANS OF REUNITING THEM–is a good place to start.
As far as I’m concerned, Donald Trump is an indecent reprobate guilty of international crimes of moral turpitude. But if he is at all invested in restoring his standing in history–and it stands so low now that I would oppose a Trump portrait ever being hung in the Capitol Rotunda (he’s already delayed Obama’s portrait ceremony because of baseless, racist assumptions about President 44’s legitimacy)–I humbly submit this one opportunity as his only shot in four fetid presidential years to do the right thing. Claim credit for a life-saving vaccine. Campaign for everyone to take it. Many of your followers don’t believe in science. Some regard a vaccine as voodoo, largely but not entirely because of your reckless rhetoric. Your followers no longer believe in anything Dr. Anthony Fauci says, even though you ignored him at YOUR PERSONAL PERIL.
Step up, Donald, and do the right thing. Again, I dare you.
Steve Parks is a retired New York journalist now living in Easton.
Vincent De Sanctis says
Unfortunately the man’s psychological makeup isn’t equipped to make such a gesture. How can he take credit in the minds of his supporters for pushing for a cure for an inconsequential public health issue if “Covid, Covid, Covid” was a Democratic Party political rallying call.
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Mr. Parks, So good to hear your hatred once again. I will be brief , with two simple inquiries. Firstly, how many of the “pre-verbal, breastfeeding infants did you welcome into your home when Obama started these separations in 2014? Secondly, what purpose will you have to go on once Trump is gone? Will you live to hate him as a private citizen?
Throw this in; How about offering a solution once in a while? Thank you.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Actually, Mr. Dean will enjoy, I’m sure, Mr. Trump’s diminishing appeal once he is escorted out of the White House.
And to be clear, President Obama NEVER separated families. Ever. That is a fact, which may be something a bit hard to digest.
The solution? Every candidate must pass an FBI background check. And how about also not allowing people
in dept to our enemies assuming the Office? How about throwing in a requirement to disclose Federal Tax returns.
How about a person of character who actually cares about all citizens?
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Deidre, The video from 2014 of separated children at the border has been shown many times. It was presented as from Trump, then someone noticed the date was 2014. You need a tv which receives a channel other than MSNBC. I responded to your comment of two days ago when you used “racist” for Trump. Did you see?
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Deirdre, You would trust the proven to be corrupt FBI for background checks? Maybe Biden can reinstall Jim Comey! You present a number of (“what if’s). In your comment. Since I’ll never hear from Mr. Parks, what if you share with the readers how many brown babies you have welcomed into your home?
Deirdre LaMotte says
Let us hope the Biden heath insurance
covers deprograming for millions who
are obviously in dire need!😉
Mike Huffstetler says
Mr. Parks:
The right thing to do is to ensure the integrity of the election process. Clearly election fraud occurred! Not voter fraud, because no voter who voted legally committed any fraud!
Moreover, the more it is investigated the more massive and overwhelming that the election fraud appears to be. Since the votes that were switched from President Trump to VP Biden using an algorithmic formula applied to the Dominion voting machines was insufficient to win multiple battleground states for VP Biden due to the magnitude of President Trump’s lead in those battleground states (i.e., WI, MI, PA, GA, NV & AZ) was too large, counting was stopped while additional fraudulent mail-in ballots could be delivered in the middle of the night to multiple Democratically controlled precincts, and often precincts notorious for historical fraudulent vote-counting procedures, votes necessary to take “Corrupt Sleepy Joe” Biden over the top.
This ignores the votes received by VP Biden from dead people and people who had moved from the state in which they purportedly voted. The magnitude of the total fraudulent votes purportedly cast nationwide in favor of VP Biden is in all probability well in excess of three million votes.
Did you know that the machines on which a large percentage of the votes are tabulated can assign fractional values (i.e., 0.50) and multiple values (i.e., 2.0) to each vote such that votes are effectively transferred from one candidate to another? If not, I suggest that you watch this video from an individual with a PhD from MIT, Dr. Shiva: https://headlineusa.com/scientist-algorithm-steal-michigan/?utm_source=HUSAemail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HUSAemail
Why would a voting machine have a feature that permits a fraction or multiple to be applied to individual votes one might ask? Good question! Did you know that those Dominion voting machines were originally designed for the purpose of manipulating elections in Venezuela?
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans do not know any of the fraudulent election facts, as there are very few true journalists remaining in main stream media who wish to investigate in an attempt to even learn the true facts.
When President Trump commences his second term as President everyone will know the true facts.
Tom Alspach says
Wow Mike, this astounding analysis surely should be set to music — specifically the theme from The Twilight Zone. Back here on planet Earth, Trump has employed an army of lawyers (now supervised by Rudy!) to press the fraudulent election claim in a multitude of jurisdictions. Yet despite all that talent, none has presented and prevailed with the claims in your comment above. Maybe you should forward your thoughts to Rudy? Time is running out.
Michelle Ewing says
Twilight Zone has been the Democratic theme song since 2016 Tom. Al Gore had 37 days for hanging chads in 1 state. I bet those Dominion servers in the foreign countries might offer quite a bit of valuable information. Are there any rational dems the least bit interested, or Orange Man just has to go- no questions asked?!
Michelle Ewing says
Thank you Mr. Huffstetler. A sane voice in an ocean of election fraud denial. After more than 3 years of liberal hysteria regarding the 2016 result, why the rush to prop up the basement-dwelling incoherent Biden? Let ALL Americans have faith in the 2020 result – once every LEGAL ballot is counted.