TRUMP HAD A BAD WEEK. HE HAS NO REVERSE GEAR

Former President Donald Trump has a very bad week – one of his worst since he left office in January.  But nothing stops him from moving forward. 

Arizona.  The so-called “audit” by a Trumpist data firm in Arizona – a state Joe Biden took away from Trump last November – found that Biden actually won the key county there by as bigger margin than finally certified.  Trump was enraged by Fox News when its election night “decision desk” called Arizona for Biden, and never resiled from his belief that Arizona was rigged and stolen from him. Trump was wrong — and has been proven wrong.  So what does he say? 

The Fake News is lying about the Arizona audit report! The leaked report conclusively shows there were enough fraudulent votes, mystery votes, and fake votes to change the outcome of the election 4 or 5 times over.

The House Select Committee investigation into the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.  Trump hates this investigation.  His arch enemy, Republican Liz Cheney, is on the committee; she was stripped of her House leadership position by her party room because she supported the probe into what happened on January 6 and why.  The Select Committee has demanded all White House documents relating to January 6.  Trump has said he will assert “Executive Privilege” to shield those materials from the Select Committee.  But guess what?  He is no longer the president.  He no longer has the power to invoke Executive Privilege.  President Biden has said he has no problem with the committee’s request and is preparing to turn them over.

The Select Committee has also subpoenaed several Trump associates, including his former chief of staff and chief strategist.  Their presence is demanded for depositions in the coming days.

Trump could care less:

Trump’s taxes.  Trump sued his niece Mary Trump for $100 million to try to punish her for allegedly providing the New York Times with Trump tax returns going back several years.  Those tax returns helped form the basis of the indictment of Trump’s CFO of his company in New York.  There are reports the Manhattan District Attorney is preparing more indictments before the end of the year.

The latest blockbuster book on Trump’s final year in office, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa of the Washington Post, paint a picture of a president obsessed and deranged by his election defeat, in complete denial of the truth, and relentlessly pressuring Vice President Pence to directly overturn the election result on the day Congress met to declare Biden the winner. No president has ever acted in this manner.

But Trump does not go into reverse – ever.    

Trump wants all the states he sees as key to him to change their laws to make it harder for citizens to vote and easier for state legislatures – especially if controlled by Republicans – to unilaterally overturn the voting results in their states.  Trump won Texas handily last year.  But that is not good enough.  Taking a cue from Arizona, her wrote Texas governor:

And guess what?  The governor immediately agreed, and an audit and legislation are in the works.

Yesterday, Trump took his attack to Georgia– another key state he lost to Biden, a defeat he profoundly despises. He hates all the Republican officials who followed the law, conducted the recounts, and certified Biden as the winner.  He hates them so much, he wants them ousted in elections next year.  And he hates the governor so much that he told the rally he would rather see a Georgia Democratic leader, Stacy Abrams, serve as governor:

The authors of the leading books on Trump have all concluded that Trump intends to run for the presidency again in 2024.  He wants to win.  He wants to get back his power.  And he wants something else: Vengeance. This is how Woodward and Costa conclude their new book, PERIL, with the words of Brad Parscale, a Trump campaign manager from 2020:

Trump’s base is intact. He has plenty of campaign money.  He has the power to sink the pre-selection of Republicans who are insufficiently loyal to Trump. His allies are changing voting laws in key states to keep Democratic voters away from the polls, and to enable Republican officials to change the outcome of the voting.  

Recounts that show Biden won, congressional investigations, possible indictments.

Trump has only one gear.  Forward.

By Bruce Wolpe, US Political Contributor