It's Medication Time (Yet Again)

While the Special Counsel continues to gather evidence that may ultimately doom Trump's presidency, it is becoming disturbingly clear that this may not happen soon enough.  Every day seems to provide more reasons why the malevolent orange shit-gibbon is wholly unfit for office and that his ignorant, erratic behavior is not merely embarrassing, but is threatening the safety and security of the country and the world.

First, there's his frighteningly fragile ego, most recently demonstrated by a report that twice a day -- once in the morning and once in the afternoon -- a special folder is delivered to Trump that contains screenshots of positive cable news chyrons, admiring tweets, and images of him looking strong and powerful.  Not just once a day, twice a day.  See, Donnie, you're a good boy and everyone loves you.  Now turn on Fox & Friends, and everything will be ok.

Then there is his refusal or inability to tell the truth -- a level of dishonesty that is unequaled except perhaps by Jon Lovitz's old SNL character, the pathological liar  --"Yeah, that's the ticket!"  PolitiFact rates just 20 percent of the statements as true.  A New York Times piece this week asserted that "Mr. Trump is trafficking in hyperbole, distortion and fabrication on practically a daily basis."  Carl Bernstein, of Watergate fame, stated that Trump "has lied as no president of the United States in my lifetime has, day in and day out."

Also this week, Trump unwittingly retweeted classified information that U.S. satellites detected North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to a patrol boat that he learned about, not from our intelligence agencies, but from what is evidently his preferred source of information, Fox & Friends.  This is reminiscent of his inadvertent disclosure to his Russian cronies of highly classified information that burned a critical Israeli source on ISIS.  The Leaker-in-Chief cannot be trusted with sensitive information.

And, he certainly can't be trusted with the nuclear codes.  Everyone knows by now about Trump's off-the-cuff remarks that instantly escalated tensions with North Korea, putting us closer to a nuclear confrontation and causing alarm around the globe:  “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States" or "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”  Maybe Trump owns stock in companies that build air raid shelters -- "Trump Bunkers."  That can be the only rational explanation for such a dangerously irresponsible statement that was reportedly made without any considered strategy and without consulting anyone who might have more knowledge or experience with diplomacy and international relations -- which, frankly, would include most people, animals and minerals.  Apparently, he said what he said because he was in a "bellicose mood."   Obviously, his aides should have given him another folder of positive screenshots.

Meanwhile, we're supposed to be comforted by the fact that the caretakers for our supposed democracy are a trio of generals.  It has been reported that Trump's new chief of staff, John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, both former Marine Corp generals, have agreed not to leave the country at the same time so at least one of them can babysit the president.  Former Army general H.R. McMaster, the National Security Adviser, is purportedly the other adult in the room.  As disturbing as this is, at least for now, who better to restrain the impulsive president from his worst impulses -- the generals or the white supremacists (i.e., Bannon & Co.) or Trump's own family of grifters.  As Michele Goldberg puts it, "it is entirely possible to be aghast at the growing political influence of America's military and intelligence communities and still see it as preferable to an untrammeled Trump administration."  Still, the situation is not sustainable. 

The 25th Amendment outlines a procedure to remove the president when he becomes disabled or incapacitated.  It states: "whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it.  The 25th Amendment was invoked twice during the Bush Administration to temporarily transfer power to the Vice President when Bush underwent a colonoscopy.  It is time to use it permanently with regard to another asshole.