Radical Left Lunatics and the Three Principles that Guide Trump.
Donald Trump doesn't like "The Apprentice" movie, but I do.
This editorial appeared in my Dean’s List blog on Medium.com on October 14, 2024.
After listening to Trump talk about the enemy from within, suggesting he will use the military to eliminate them and identifying them as “radical left lunatics,” I looked at myself in the mirror.
I have warned readers about Trump since I started writing editorials for The Spy community newspapers three years ago. I have also read numerous books about Trump, including some written by the self-identified billionaire, and concluded that he is not only unfit to be president but also to hold any other position of responsibility.
When I looked at my image in the mirror, I concluded I was not a “radical left lunatic” but instead, to steal a term from Trump, “a patriot.” (Try not to laugh, please).
After thinking about “radical left lunatics,” I realized that I have never met one. I disagree with some of the things AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have proposed, but can any of them be called lunatics? No. Only a lunatic could call them lunatics.
I also thought about whether Trump is calling people “radical left lunatics” because he is a “radical right lunatic.” Maybe. And what is a “radical right lunatic?” Good question. A valid one.
That question took me to a piece I had read about Trump’s lawyer, Roy Cohn, and the three principles he taught Trump. Those three rules were:
Number one: attack, attack, attack.
Number two: admit nothing and deny everything.
Number three: no matter what happens, you claim victory and never admit defeat.
Those three principles, if you want to call them that, have guided Trump’s business and political careers and have made Trump one of the world’s most prolific liars.
Rule two explicitly embraces lying. Admitting nothing and denying everything means lying whenever you do anything, leading to you being held accountable. Let’s say you fomented an insurrection at the Capitol, hoping to overturn the 2020 election. Just say you didn’t. Describe the insurrection as a peaceful protest. And call the fools that followed your call to action “patriots.”
Rule three is even more straightforward. If you lose anything, lie and say you won. An example is the 2020 election.
Rule number one doesn’t explicitly call for lying but doesn’t preclude it either. When you determine that someone is your enemy, attack them in any way you can, even with falsehoods. Thus, if you think that Barack Obama was not born in the US and, therefore, was ineligible to run for president, say that.
Roy Cohn’s three rules are the key to understanding Trump. Vote for him if these rules make sense to you.
I can’t imagine adopting these three rules because all three require or permit lying.
I wondered whether I could identify a Trump statement that was inconsistent with the three principles. I couldn’t. Does that make Trump a “radical right lunatic?” It makes sense, at least to me.
The controversial film The Apprentice was not well-received by the ex-president, in part because the film suggested he raped his first wife, Ivana Trump. Court documents evidence that Ivana (not to be confused with Trump’s daughter, Ivanka) accused him of rape, but she later recanted her accusation. Does that mean the alleged rape never took place?
But the film The Apprentice is not about Trump’s sexual history. It is about how Roy Cohn taught Trump his three principles. That is why you should watch it. It explains how Trump became the radical right lunatic that he is.
Dare I say that the filmmakers deserve our thanks? Trump is furious with the film and, of course, more than capable of threatening violence against them or throwing them into an insane asylum along with other radical left lunatics. I admire the courage of the filmmakers.
© 2024 John Dean, all rights reserved.