When you literally spend your entire Presidency OFFICIALLY running for reelection

[Tom Rinaldo]

governance is not the goal. Dominance, not leadership, is the sole agenda. This was a conscious choice by Trump. Americans are used to not much getting done politically during the 10 months that precede an election while Washington enters campaign mode. Between elections is the period when, with varying degrees of sincerity, the people who Americans elected attempt to attend to the people's business, and claim to represent the nation as a whole, not merely their political base. That is gone now.

For all the media talk about Red and Blue political tribalism that point has been obscured. Donald Trump officially began his 2020 election campaign as soon as he was inaugurated in January 2017. This is new for the American presidency. The one person who can officially speak for all Americans now spends every month of his reign demonizing those Americans who did not support his election and/or stand in the way of his reelection. This week, while campaigning, Trump called elected Democrats "evil people".

Much like the North Korean "Supreme Leader" who he has "fallen in love with", Trump uses the specter of an enemy to consolidate his untouchable standing among the people who now prop up his rule. For Kim, that enemy has always been America. No matter how bad things get in North Korea, Kim knows who to blame, and Kim cultivated permanent hatred of America as a means to consolidate his rule. In his perennial campaign mode it becomes clearer every day who Donald Trump holds up as America's enemy - it is half of America itself. We are witnessing the formation of a cult of leadership in the United States of America and the Republican Party is fully complicit with it.

Once again the mass media is behind the curve in their latest manifestation of "both siderism". Donald Trump does not simply play into political tribalism practiced by "both sides of the aisle." He is institutionalizing tribalism as a means of control. It is not in his interest to bridge divisions inside America, it is in his interest to widen and exploit them. His bully pulpit is a sword used to vanquish those who refuse to swear loyalty to him. Left unchecked look for the rise soon of a Trumpian American version of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard. And no, "both sides" are not doing this.

[Brainstormy]

1. well said

and I agree. This is indeed a new, and terrifying, development in an American presidency.

[Tom Rinaldo]

2. Thank you. For anyone who cares about democracy, terrifying is indeed the word

Trump regards opposition the same way Putin does, and he would love to install Russia's version of "democracy" here. The frightening thing is that he is succeeding, though his work is far from done. Even Russia's infant democracy took a decade or more to smother, ours is much much older and stronger. But look what Trump has done already in less than two years. His political party has been forced to virtually worship him. The independence of the Justice Department is hanging by a thread, and when that goes we enter into some version of a civil war with mass people power needing to mobilize to counter entrenched power.

Never in my 69 years has the presidency itself been defined in such starkly partisan terms. No, neither Nixon or Reagan (or Johnson either if viewed from a Republican perspective) ever defined half the nation as his enemies. Agnew might have gone there had he had a chance, but he fortunately he didn't. The Right wing media has been integrated into the ruling oligarchy now also. Trump is building his regime on the model of a cult of personality with "the leader" capable of no wrong, and any criticism defined as antipatriotic.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

3. Trump likes being president, but he has no interest in doing the job of president

He likes campaigning, because people cheer him. He doesn't want the chore of doing things like figuring out how to fix the ACA, (1) because it requires actual study and reading and (2) no matter what he does, people will say "you're wrong, Donnie".

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. He likes power, not work. He has no problem exercising power

on any front at any time without doing due diligence on anything. He "trusts his gut", remember? He doesn't have to work to use the power of the presidency.

[FakeNoose]

5. All Cheeto cares about are the crowds of people cheering for him

...even when he has to pay them to stand there, it's still the only thing that matters.

He never wanted to be President and we all knew that. He's never worked a day in his life nor has he ever answered to a boss or supervisor. "Real jobs" mean responsibilities, and those are for the suckers.

That being said, the reason he started his 2020 re-election committee immediately after the inaugural was because of the money. There were $ millions leftover in that "inaugural celebration" account and he had to figure out a way to drain it out. So many people had to be paid off and the inaugural money (from donations) had to be accounted for. So voila - the re-election campaign was born and the money all went into the new black hole.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. Yes I agree, Money was a part of it.

But he also loves the ego high of power, and there is only one way a demagogue like him can avoid being swept out of power, and that is by being a demagogue like him. He will try to pull the nation down before he will give in to being taken down himself.

[BarbD]

6. Instead of "Hail to the Chief", it should be "Hail to the King".

I explained to my children and grandchildren that they should not vote for any Republican no matter where they are on the ticket. The entire Party is enabling the corruption at the top.

[sprinkleeninow]

8. I said this very same thing when hearing of * holding more rallies again.

* has done zero in the way of expected 'executive' work, excepting the work of iniquity that * has wrought and continues to foist upon our country and our nation's people who have intellect and do not deserve this.