Inside the Bunker: Delusion and Isolation in Trump World as It Begins to Crumble
Chaos here, backlash there, shock everywhere. And in Washington and around the globe another gasping chorus of WTF commentary: reckless, not normal, reality show run amok. ~ Politico
It has that fin de regime gloom about it. Policies falling apart or not launched at all. The leader's staff leaving in droves. They no longer believe in him and recognize him for what he is: a delusional, incompetent and frustrated character becoming more manic by the day as chaos reigns and his adversaries close in. He sees phantom enemies as his paranoia grows. Everyone around him is a potential or real traitor. He trusts no one. His daily tirades betray an increasingly unsound mind. His acolytes in Congress display obeisance in public, but in private question their leader's mental stability.
His most trusted non-kin aide, a millennial neophyte - out of her depth and out her league, yet easy on the eyes - has had enough of the stress and craziness and flees, leaving her boss dejected. "Confidants said the president feels abandoned and alone — not angry with Hicks, but frustrated by the circumstance. Coupled with last fall’s departure of longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller, Trump will have few pure loyalists remaining," the Washington Post reported.
The president is becoming even more unhinged. Take some of his latest remarks:
“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.”
“A teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened.”
“I really believe I’d run in there, even if I didn’t have a weapon.”
“Alex Baldwin, whose dieing mediocre career was saved by his impersonation of me on SNL, now says playing DJT was agony for him.”
“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!”
"Finally, Liddle’ Adam Schiff, the leakin’ monster of no control, is now blaming the Obama Administration for Russian meddling in the 2016 Election."
And a sampling of recent headlines:
Trump’s White House Is a Black Hole
"Pure Madness": Dark Days Inside the White House as Trump Shocks and Rages
Demoralized West Wing stokes fears over Trump’s capacity to handle a crisis
Is This the Beginning of Trump's End?
Defeat is inevitable. Everybody knows it, even Trump
Trump's seat-of-the-pants trade policy will get us into a spiraling trade war with our allies as well as with the intended target, China. His sabre-rattling on building more nuclear weapons and on North Korea are leaving America's friends, but also GOP leaders, uneasy. There is no policy process. Those whose job it is to manage one reportedly are on their way out. His daughter and son-in-law may soon follow as the stink of corruption grows. Can this president handle it? Clearly not judging by the rising tumult and disorder in his White House.
And then there's Mueller, homing in like a torpedo. The financial wrongdoings alone will, once revealed, shake the political carnival known as the Trump administration to its foundations. And if conspiracy to collude with Russia is also exposed, well, expect Götterdämmerung - or, more appropriately, Trotteldämmerung (Twilight of the Fools). Wagner’s epic opera is a tale of treachery and destruction, naked ambition and villains outsmarting heroes. The antagonist, Hagen, is greedy and manipulative and ultimately brought down as a result of his own self-inflicted wounds. It's beginning to sound familiar, isn't it?
Whether Trump's inevitable downfall is an orderly Watergate-style one or a messy and destructive one will depend largely on whether his cargo cult following - the much vaunted "Base" - and their Stepford wives-like reps in Congress will eventually open their eyes and give up their "Führer befiehl, wir folgen" docility.
Meanwhile, it gets lonelier and more surreal inside the bunker that Trump has built for himself.