Trump’s Purge

This is funny, but remember that, until he left office, Trump was conducting a purge alarmingly close to this.

We all saw this coming early in his term when he asked then-FBI Director James Comey, “Do I have your loyalty?” to which Comey replied,”You have my honesty.” He was fired shortly thereafter, when it became clear that he would be investigating the role Russia played in the 2016 election.

Of course, this only got hotter and faster as time went by, culminating in this headline: Administration will “take appropriate action” when officials find workers not sufficiently loyal to Trump, spokesman says.

From GovExec.com: The White House this week confirmed it is combing through federal agencies to identify employees not sufficiently loyal to President Trump to facilitate their ouster, sparking concerns the administration could run afoul of long-established civil service laws.

Since it’s hard for me to resist the temptation of making yet another prediction about American politics and extending my streak of consecutive misses, I’ll say this:

The GOP is in the process of shedding Trump, just as a landlord boots out delinquent tenants.  Yet this will be done as quietly as possible.  The appearance cannot be “We supported a racist, criminal conman, but we eventually realized our mistake.”  It will look like: “The American people are better served by a Republican like — who, with his/her piercing intelligence and devotion to the nation, represents the country’s highest values: strong leadership on matters of health, jobs and the economy, limited government, fewer regulations, and USA first in international matters.”

Will this transition be completely seamless and tranquil?  No.  Fortunately for our country and the rest of the world, but unfortunately for the GOP, Trump’s infamy will be in the news for many years to come, if only for his role (along with the congresspeople who conspired with him) in the January 6th insurrection.  But the media attention of Trump will not be limited to that, unless, by some miracle, he’s not indicted on one or more of the following: tax evasion, fraud, extortion, election tampering, conspiracy against the United States, or witness intimidation.  It will be shocking if Trump is able to deflect all the criminal charges that are currently in the works.

We’ll see.  I’ve been wrong before, putting it kindly.