More and more, I wonder if the disgruntled senior Trump administration official who wrote the anonymous op-ed in The New York Times was actually representing a group – like a “Murder on the Orient Express” plotline where every senior Trump adviser was in on it.
Why? Because the article so perfectly captured the devil’s bargain they’ve all struck with this president: Donald Trump is an amoral, dishonest and disturbed person, a man totally unfit to be president, but, as the anonymous author self-servingly wrote: “There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage of the administration fails to capture: effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.”
That’s the anonymous-Republican credo today: We know Trump is a jerk, but you’ve gotta love the good stuff – you’ve got to admit that his tax cuts, deregulation, destruction of Obamacare and military buildup have fueled so much growth, defense spending and record stock market highs that we’re wealthier and more secure as a country, even if Trump is nuts. So our consciences are clear.
This view is not without foundation. Economic growth and employment have clearly been on a tear since Trump took office. I’m glad about that.
But what if Trump is actually heating up our economy by burning all the furniture in the house? It’s going to be nice and toasty for us – at least for a while – but where will our kids sleep?