The Trump Magnet - It's All About Power

It'ss no secret that for many ambitious people in our culture, it's all about obtaining as much money and power as possible.  And people do all sorts of unethical or questionable things in order to gain money and power.  This is nothing new.

But in any dictatorship, you have an added factor thrown in.  You have a leader who has or desires absolute power and will brook no disagreement with, nor even discussion of, his plans.  In such a culture, people seeking power and secondarily money know that to be given power, they must bow to the dictator, flatter him, and support him without any questions.

And that is why we see a host of people in Washington who grovel before Trump and do his bidding without any questions.  Even when the position Trump takes is diametrically opposed to an important position that they have taken in the past.

Perhaps the most egregious example of this is Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House.  A year ago when he was fighting Far-right members of his caucus over aid to Ukraine, he put himself on the line, risking his Speakership, by insisting that the budget include a large aid package for Ukraine.  He, like so many Republicans in Congress and out, viewed Russia as the aggressor in the war as well as our enemy for decades.  For him it was a matter of principle to provide aid to Ukraine.  Now, he has done a 180º,  parroting Trump's statements claiming that the Ukraine was the aggressor and that Zelensky is a dictator.and should thank President Trump for his help.

It is sad to see what has, at least for the moment, happened to the promise of American democracy and our founding documents.  Not only are we no longer the shining city on the hill to the rest of the world, we are no longer the protector of the health and safety of our citizens, especially the weaker and poorer.  We've never been really good about protecting the environment, which supports our life on Earth, but under Trump, environmental protection is viewed as an enemy.

Despite his campaigning as a protector of the people, especially the middle class, he has shown himself to be what in truth he has always been—a man enamored of wealth and major corporations—and his goal is to support their wellbeing.  This is what his kind of king does.