The administration of Donald Trump, who views himself as the owner of success and as an undisputed winner, ends in failure. Most of the population opted for the restoration of traditional politics.
It was clear that it would not end well, but few could foresee such a pathetic finale. The magnate, who showed himself as the absolute owner of success, ended his term in failure and defeat.
The fact that his administration did not end well does not come as a surprise if we consider how impulsive and lacking in brilliance Donald Trump is. No one was surprised when government officials revealed anonymously that they worked to prevent the execution of many of Trump’s decisions, since they were terrible ideas born out of impulse and negligence that could only lead to disaster. Many in the White House worked to protect Trump from Trump himself.
He may have been the outsider who taught party politics a lesson, but his impulses got in the way and were mixed with racism and irresponsibility. His became a whimsical and egocentric administration. The result? Most of the population ended up opting for the restoration of traditional politics, giving power back to professional politicians (in spite of their lack of transparency), to escape the state of constant distress created by Trump.
His pompadour and his artificial tan are as notorious as his cultural and human limitations. Such a disastrous ending was to be expected. Trump believes that there is only success and failure, and labels people as either winners or losers. In the end, he lost and his reaction only augmented his defeat.
A barely honest and grounded interpretation of the situation would have shown that the right thing to do was to accept defeat. But, unable to do so, Trump took a dishonorable stance that would not help him at all.
There was always something hideous about his arrogance. He is the stereotypical self-centered magnate that names ships, planes and skyscrapers after himself. But, this time, it is hard to believe the size of his ego. It is like the tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” but it is not only a child who tells the emperor he is naked, but also the voters, the judges (to whom he appealed claiming a massive fraud), the media and, finally, his Republican peers.
This pathetic finale was foreshadowed months before the election when, in view of the polls that predicted his defeat, Trump started talking about a conspiracy to commit fraud against him.
More than 7 million votes behind Joe Biden, Trump’s bet was to win, not at the ballot box, but in court.
Trump, Rudy Giuliani and an army of lawyers dove into ballot boxes, trying to turn the situation in their favor. But Trump managed only to magnify his defeat and lose what was left of his political honor. This was furthered by shameless suggestions, such as the removal of mail-in ballots received and vote recounts in states where Trump was winning, but the trend was unfavorable; meanwhile, he demanded that the process continue in the states where he was losing, but the trend was favorable.
Trump claimed fraud in the courts of the states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin. In all of them, the judges dismissed his claims due to lack of evidence. So he went to the Supreme Court, believing that it would be on his side, given the recent appointment of ultraconservative Amy Coney Barrett (who took the place of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Again, his claims were regarded as absurd.
At this point, his conspiracy theory had only managed to magnify his defeat: He lost at the voting booths, in the Electoral College and in the courts in which he attempted to invalidate Biden’s victory.
The president, repeating over and over again that there had been a fraud, was already a pathetic sight. In the history of the United States, no other president has exhibited such levels of denial. Not even when Biden’s victory was made official by the Electoral College could Trump force himself to do the honorable and ethical thing: Accept defeat and congratulate the winner.
Advised by a small group, more and more resembling a sect of lunatics, Trump thinks that Jan. 6 will be his last chance to destroy the election and remain in power. Those who told him that the day on which both chambers of Congress would meet to accept or dismiss the decision of the Electoral College would be his last chance to win were probably thinking of the 1876 election. That was the most controversial American election in history. Samuel Tilden had won — with both the vote of the people and the Electoral College — but Congress considered the claims of Rutherford Hayes and declared him president instead.
But this is different. That time, there had been a large and verifiable fraud: In many states, the ballots of the Democratic candidate were printed with the symbol of the Republican Party, so many voters were tricked into voting in Tilden’s favor.
In the current situation, however, nothing justifies a decision like the one taken by Congress back in the 19th century. On Jan. 6, Trump will find only defeat and a new record for political scandal.
It is impossible to hide his failure. He could not be reelected in a country where the policy is that presidents serve only two consecutive terms. And his defeat is huge: He did not lose against a charismatic phenomenon like the young Bill Clinton (who defeated George H.W. Bush); his administration did not face cataclysmic situations, such as the occupation of the American embassy in Tehran or the Mariel boatlift that wore down Jimmy Carter; and he did not have to work with a ruined party, as did Gerald Ford after Watergate.
Just as all heads of state in world, Trump had to deal with the pandemic. And this is a scenario that highlights a ruler’s capability or incapability.
Naturally, the situation exposed the greatness of Trump’s limitations. And after his defeat, he embraced denial and fired those who admitted Republican defeat and congratulated Biden. An unsightly performance that, nonetheless, had the approval of millions of Americans.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Russia had carried out a massive cyber attack. It is not the first time for something like this to happen, but this time their objective was different: Russia’s previous cyber attack had the aim of undermining Hillary Clinton’s campaign — and helping Trump win the 2016 election.
Quien se sentía amo del éxito y eterno triunfador, acaba su gobierno en fracaso. La mayoría prefirió la restauración de la política tradicional.
Era previsible que todo terminara mal, pero pocos imaginaron un final tan patético. El magnate que se presentaba como dueño absoluto del éxito y del triunfo, acabó su gobierno en fracaso y derrota.
Que la gestión terminara mal era previsible en alguien tan impulsivo y poco lúcido. A nadie sorprendió la filtración en la que funcionarios revelaban desde el anonimato que trabajaban para impedir que muchas decisiones del presidente se efectivizaran, porque eran pésimas ideas surgidas de caprichos y negligencias que habrían provocado estropicios. Había que protegerlo de él mismo y a eso se dedicaban varios en la Casa Blanca.
Pudo ser el outsider que diera una lección a la partidocracia, pero se cruzaron sus impulsos y apareció el racismo, la irresponsabilidad y el gobierno de los caprichos y el ego. ¿El resultado? La mayoría prefirió la restauración de la política tradicional, para salir del estado de perturbación permanente que impuso Donald Trump, devolviendo el poder a los políticos profesionales, a pesar de sus opacidades.
Tan notorias como su jopo y su bronceado artificial, eran sus limitaciones culturales y humanas. Aún así, un final tan calamitoso era inimaginable. El arrogante millonario para el que sólo existen el éxito y el fracaso, y divide a las personas en ganadores y perdedores, terminó fracasando y multiplicando su derrota.
Una lectura mínimamente lúcida y honesta de la realidad lo habría llevado a asumir su derrota. Pero sin una cosa ni la otra, quedó atrapado en una actitud sin dignidad ni utilidad.
Siempre hubo algo grotesco en su petulancia. Una suerte de caricatura del magnate ególatra que le pone su nombre a barcos, aviones y rascacielos. Pero resulta inconcebible la escena del rey desnudo al que no sólo un niño le avisa de su desnudez, sino una amplia mayoría de votantes, los jueces a los que llevó su denuncia de “fraude masivo”, los medios de comunicación y finalmente, por goteo, los líderes republicanos.
El patetismo de la escena final comenzó a anunciarse meses antes de la elección, cuando con las encuestas vaticinando una derrota, Trump comenzó a plantear la teoría conspirativa de que habría un gran fraude en su contra.
Con más de siete millones de votos por debajo de Biden, el presidente apostó por dar vuelta en los estrados judiciales lo que perdía en las urnas.
Con Rudolph Giuliani y una legión de abogados buceando escrutinios, Trump comenzó a multiplicar su derrota y a liquidar su honra política con planteos descarados, como pedir que se suspenda la recepción de votos por correo y los escrutinios en los Estados donde ganaba pero la tendencia le resultaba desfavorable, reclamando que continúe tanto la recepción de votos por correo como los escrutinios allí donde perdía pero con tendencia favorable.
Denunció fraude en las cortes estaduales de Pensilvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona y Wisconsin. En todos los casos, los jueces rechazaron las denuncias por carecer de pruebas y fundamentos. Apuntó entonces a la Corte Suprema, creyendo que desbalanceada a favor de los conservadores como quedó con el nombramiento de la ultraconservadora Coney Barrett en el asiento que liberó la muerte de la jueza liberal Bader Guinsburg, lo favorecería. Pero su denuncia también allí fue vista como una patraña descabellada.
A esa altura, lo único que había logrado con su teoría conspirativa, era multiplicar la derrota: perdió en el voto ciudadano, perdió en el Colegio Electoral y perdió en los tribunales donde intentó invalidar la elección.
La escena del presidente repitiendo que hubo un “fraude masivo”, ya era patética. Ningún otro mandatario en la historia negó tanto la realidad evidente. Ni siquiera oficializado el triunfo de Biden por el Colegio Electoral, Trump pudo hacer lo que impone la dignidad y la ética: admitir la derrota y felicitar al ganador.
Asesorado por un grupo ínfimo y cada vez más parecido a una secta de lunáticos, pensó en el 6 de enero como última batalla para destruir la elección y continuar en el poder. Posiblemente, quienes le dijeron que el día en que ambas cámaras del Congreso realizan una sesión conjunta para aceptar o rechazar la decisión del Colegio Electoral, pensaron en la elección de 1876. Fue la más polémica de la historia, porque Samuel Tilden había vencido en el voto ciudadano y en el Colegio Electoral, pero el Congreso aceptó la denuncia de Rutherford Hayes y lo proclamó presidente.
La diferencia es que en aquella oportunidad se había producido una trampa inmensa y verificable: en varios estados las boletas del candidato demócrata llevaban impresos los símbolos del Partido Republicano. De tal modo, millones de votantes fueron inducidos a votar de manera errónea.
En este caso, nada justifica una resolución como la de aquel Congreso decimonónico. Lo único que encontrará Trump el 6 de enero, es otra derrota y otro record en materia de papelón político.
Su fracaso es inocultable porque no logró la reelección en un país donde la tendencia es que los presidentes obtengan un segundo mandato consecutivo. Y su derrota es gigantesca porque no perdió frente a un fenómeno carismático como el joven Clinton que derrotó a George Herbert Bush, ni su gestión padeció cataclismos como la ocupación de la embajada en Teherán y la crisis de los marielitos que desgastaron a Carter, ni quedó con un partido destrozado como Gerald Ford después del Watergate.
Igual que al resto de los presidentes del mundo, a Trump le tocó la pandemia; un escenario que aumenta la visibilidad de las capacidades o incapacidades de los gobernantes.
En ese escenario expuso la inmensidad de sus limitaciones. Y después de la derrota, quedó abrazado a la negación de la realidad y echando del gobierno a quienes admitían el fracaso republicano y felicitaban a Biden. Un espectáculo lamentable pero con muchos millones de norteamericanos aplaudiendo.
Mientras tanto se descubría que Rusia había perpetrado un masivo ataque de ciberespionaje. No es la primera vez, pero el objetivo ahora fue diferente.
El ciber-ataque anterior fue para perjudicar la campaña de Hillary Clinton con el objetivo de que Trump pudiera aposentarse en la Casa Blanca.
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The elderly president, vengeful and bearing a grudge, is conducting an all-out war against individuals, private and public institutions, cities and against U.S. states.