Artwork by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
There was always that guy in high school who got away with everything—a Ferris Buehler. We all knew him. Maybe he was a smooth talker, a star athlete, the class president, or the valedictorian. Maybe he had that air of innocence and was the last one anyone would suspect. But we all knew somebody like that. The ability to dodge consequences, to be Teflon, is a mysterious quality. Some have it and some don’t, and it’s hard to pin down why.
How did John Gotti, “The Teflon Don” evade justice so long? Why were O. J. Simpson, George Zimmerman, and Casey Anthony acquitted? It’s an undefinable quality—which brings us to the strange case of Donald Trump and begs the question of whether this man, who has evaded justice and consequences his entire life, will continue to be Teflon.
Donald Trump was elected to office in 2016 largely because of his celebrity status. After all, as a master of branding, he managed to convince the world that his prowess in business and real estate was unparalleled, (a claim that is currently being rapidly deflated in present litigation) and that he would bring that skill set to the White House. He was a star of his own reality show, The Apprentice, in which he set celebrity contestants on some sort of business task and then evaluated their work. Every episode ended with Mr. Trump firing one of the contestants. His uttering of the phrase, “You’re fired” became something of a thing.
Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election from a gold escalator at Trump Tower. To some Americans, he seemed to be a breath of fresh air, a welcome change to the elitist and seemingly hermetically sealed world of Washington politics. He was different. He was bold. Yes, he was crass, he was insulting, he was a bully, and he was a misogynist. None of this was hidden—it was more than obvious. But people didn’t seem to care. They mistook his outspoken boorishness and rudeness for honesty. He was nothing like our former presidents—but to some, that was a good thing.
And then, to everyone’s surprise (and horror) he won, defeating the eminently qualified but completely uncharismatic Hillary Clinton. And so began one of the worst—and most dangerous—presidencies in American history.
Trump’s presidential term was marked by missteps, inconsistencies, infighting, gaffes, and always questionable judgements. He mismanaged the COVID crisis, demonized Dr. Anthony Fauci, former attorney general Jeff Sessions, Ted Cruz, and any other person who got in his way. He used the office for his own profit. He encouraged and abetted white supremacist groups like The Proud Boys and The Oath Keepers by telling them to “stand by”. He cruelly mocked disabled journalist Serge Kovaleski, actress Rosie O’Donnell, and others. He also created new international alliances with authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jung-In. Yet despite his incompetent, immoral, and dangerous administration, his base rallied behind him, and Trump was nominated again in 2020.
That he lost the 2020 election—albeit narrowly—is a testament to the good sense of most of the American people. But that’s where things went off the rails.
Trump refused to accept the election loss. He proclaimed loudly and incessantly that he was robbed, that election interference and fraud was rampant in 2020. Recounts, audits, and lawsuits confirmed that the 2020 election had been fair, honest, and equitable. Yet Trump still refused to accept the loss. He tried to coerce Georgia officials into “finding” him votes.
Then his minions in the White House hatched a plan for Republicans in swing states to bring false slates of electors to the electoral certification on January 6th, 2021. When these schemes failed to overturn the election, Trump rallied his followers to come to Washington, D.C., where, at his behest, they attempted to halt the certification process, which they did temporarily. Rioters defaced and vandalized the Capitol, assaulted Capitol Police, and entered the Senate Chamber. People died that day. After this failed coup, Trump left Washington, but was subsequently indicted for absconding with top-secret documents to his home at Mar-a-Lago.
Even though The January 6th House Committee Investigation, Department of Justice investigations have resulted in this ex-president of being indicted for the Capitol riots, and that fact that he is facing ninety-one felonies in four jurisdictions, he is still the Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination. This man could be in prison for the rest of his life, yet a significant portion of the Republican electorate wants him back in the White House, even though he is a terrible politician and an even worse human being. His crimes don’t matter to them. He is Teflon.
What is wrong with his people? How can they not see what this man is? Granted, in the past, Americans have made some bone-headed choices at the polls, but they almost always—eventually—recognized their mistakes, but here is a leader who egregiously misused the office of the presidency for his personal gain and who also deliberately tried to illegally overturn the election, to stage a coup—which very nearly succeeded.
Trump tried to destroy our democracy—and he’s still trying to do it, yet people still want to vote for him. He is Teflon; like O.J. or Casey Anthony or John Gotti. Nothing sticks to him—but why? Trump has always gotten away with everything from sexual assault to fraud to violating the Emoluments Clause. He is also a bully, a cheat, and a pathological liar.
Other get caught and pay. The threat of criminal scandal stuck to Nixon, causing his resignation. McCarthy was shamed by his colleagues and left his office in disgrace. Yet Trump, whose alleged crimes are arguably much worse than any, is still as popular with his base as ever.
Why do they fail to recognize—or acknowledge—that this man is a deadly threat to our nation and our way of life? Why do they love him so? Why do they always overlook his faults—or when that’s impossible—forgive him? Their devotion is the source of his political Teflon. The Republican Party doesn’t dare criticize him because of his zealous voting base, but his people love him because they think he’s God.
The two-party system used to provide guardrails against threats like Trump, but the Republicans now seem unable to do anything except kiss his ring. Power has become more important than decency or integrity or stability to them. Not that we can lay this all on the doorstep of the Republicans. A charismatic demagogue like Trump might have sprung up anywhere, from any party.
He is rich—maybe not as rich as he says. He is powerful—he does have a tremendous amount of clout in the party. He is recognizable, a celebrity, and God knows America has a long tradition of loving and electing our celebrities. Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronald Reagan, or Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Would they have been elected had they not been movie stars?
No, this is all on the American people. Fox and other news outlets might be feeding us propaganda for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but we should know better. Trump is not what he says he is. He may have seduced millions into his cult of personality, but his power is ebbing. He is under indictment, facing dozens of years in prison—and deservedly so. Common sense, horse sense, trading sense, whatever you want to call it, is stronger than Teflon. We need to look at what this man has done, who he is, and what he wants, and make it stick.