Poor Poor Pitiful Me

Posted on Updated on by Geoff CarterCategories:Capitol Riot, Politics, Social Commentary

Artwork by Michael DiMilo

By Geoff Carter

Americans across the spectrum were shocked, dumbfounded, and ultimately (like watching a rattlesnake) fascinated by ex-President Donald Trump’s social media post announcing that he was to be arrested on Tuesday and telling his followers that they should “Protest, take the nation back”—which was read by some as an invitation to fight on his behalf—an eery echo of his invitation for supporters to attend the calamitous January 6th assault on the Capital Building. 

MSNBC pundits and talking heads hashed and rehashed the possible implications of this announcement, including heightened security preparations by the city of New York in fear of violent protests should Trump be indicted. Fox News was uncharacteristically balanced in its coverage of this news event. Unlike MSNBC, which worried every aspect of the story to a nub—much like a terrier shaking a rat—Fox covered the post and then moved on to other newsworthy events like the drone collision over the Black Sea and the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. 

It seems to me—in a deliciously ironic way—that because of Fox’s complicity in the ex-president’s stolen election lie (which is being uncovered during the Dominion billion-dollar lawsuit), the station has toned down its usually vitriolic rhetoric. So instead of unequivocally backing the ex-president as they would have done in the past, Fox has been behaving like a normal news corporation, precisely because of the legal trouble they got into for previously backing the ex-president’s fiction about the stolen 2020 presidential election. This they did vociferously and constantly, even though evidence has shown Fox pundit Tucker Carlson and owner Rupert Murdoch were perfectly aware that the election had been completely legitimate. Deliciously ironic. 

Besides the possible pending indictment in New York, the ex-president is facing other possible pending indictments. A grand jury in Georgia is investigating his attempt to coerce Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger into giving him 11,780 votes—enough for Trump to win the state. Somehow, the ex-president thought it would be okay to make this request over a non-secured phone line. It was not. The conversation was recorded. 

He is also facing charges of mishandling and hoarding classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago home and then refusing to turn them over to the National Archives when requested. The Justice Department is also conducting a criminal probe into Trump’s involvement in inciting the January 6th Capitol riots. There are other sundry investigations and pending suits, but Trump’s most immediate concern is the charge that he ordered hush money paid to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star with whom he allegedly had a fling. This is the charge that will lead (in Trump’s imagination at least) to the Tuesday arrest.

After the post, a Trump spokesperson stated, “President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponization of our injustice system.”(NBC News). The ex-president himself has characterized the investigation as a witch hunt and accused New York DA Alvin Bragg, who is African American, of being a racist. 

Of course, none of this behavior is especially surprising. When cornered, Trump will invariably play the victim. He whined that lost the election because of widespread voter fraud, and that the Democrats are persecuting him and his family and that the media is constantly attacking him. He is the victim of—the ever-present and never-ending—witch hunts. 

Donald Trump is, if nothing else, shrewd. By framing himself as an isolated and oppressed figure fighting against the forces of corruption, big government, and—gasp—liberalism, he brands himself as a heroic loner who can save the poor but brave American people from—gasp—liberalism. Of course, everyone’s against him; he stands up for right. He’s the only guy out there who’s able to defeat the evil forces behind those dozens of witch hunts that keep hounding him. 

To millions of voters who have felt ignored and forgotten by Washington, Trump was—and is—the leader who voices their frustrations and channels their anger. According to the Special Congressional January 6th Committee, Donald Trump was responsible for bringing in thousands of his followers to Washington, riling them up, and pushing them into the direction of the Capitol. Members of the mob stated they did this because Trump told them to. They did it because Trump would have done it. Their actions were a reflection of his wishes. On a more basic level, Trump’s contempt for the establishment, which shines out in nearly every speech he makes, became their own. 

Playing the victim has made Trump into a martyr-leader for America’s forgotten. They have seen their taxes go up while their incomes go down. Some small farmers are hanging on by their fingernails. Their government representatives take them for granted—at least until the 2016 election cycle. These marginalized citizens could relate to being victims. They were ignored, forgotten, but exploited. They’d had enough. 

Like them, Trump was not respected by Congress or Washington, but unlike them, he was able to do something about it. He came out and said what he thought—which was remarkably similar to what a twelve-year-old might say. He called his opponents “Crooked Hillary”, “Crazy Bernie”, “Little Marco”, “Lyin’ Ted”, and—the most recent—”Ron Sanctimonious”. Apparently, this sort of juvenile name-calling resonates with Trump’s base. On a very basic level, perhaps it echoes how they feel about the Washington establishment. 

Of course, Trump is not a victim of anything, except perhaps his own ego. He is a shrewd, manipulative, ruthless, and opportunistic bully who nearly pulled off a coup in the greatest republic in the world. Even though he has been under investigation for years, he has so far been charged with nothing. He was born into wealth but has shown no talent for creating it. Instead, he uses all the tools of a con man. He enticed thousands into his sham Trump University. The Trump Foundation, a supposed charitable institution, was forced to pay two million dollars in court-ordered damages for illegal use of charitable funds for The United Negro College Fund, the U.S. Holocaust Museum, and others. The Foundation was then shut down by order of the court. It would seem that Mr. Trump has more talent for creating victims than for being one. 

History—very recent history—is repeating. The ex-president is once again begging his followers to protest the injustices that are being heaped upon him. He seems to be calling them once again to rise up and strike a blow for him and for justice. Many of them, including Trump stalwarts like The Proud Boys and The Oath Keepers, will probably show up.

The ex-president will play the victim for sympathy and to rile up his base, but he has never in his life been a victim. In his unrelenting and irresponsible quest to satiate his greed for power and money, he creates victims. 

If the New York or Georgia or Mar-a-Lago or January 6th indictments finally come through, perhaps our ex-president will get a taste of his own medicine. Perhaps he will finally become a victim of his own greed, short-sightedness, and treasonous behavior, when orange becomes the new orange.

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