When I was in grade school and the teacher wanted to motivate the class, we were told, “that someday you could grow up to be President of the United States.” At other times we were told that we lived in a country where, “anyone could become President of the United States.”
This first declaration was meant to inspire us to work hard because we might be able to achieve the highest honor this country could bestow. The second declaration was said to exemplify that the opportunity to achieve this highest honor was open to everyone. This promise was personified in Franklin D Roosevelt who was chosen by the electorate four times, twice during the Great Depression and twice in World War II. It was again fulfilled when John F. Kennedy broke the religious barrier that had existed for Roman Catholics that had existed throughout American history. It was again kept in 2008 when Barack Obama became the first African American to achieve that office.
In 1960 the American political journalist and historian, Theodore White, wrote a series of books titled The Making of the President which chronicled the trials and sacrifices candidates for President of the United States made in their quest for the presidency of the United States.
The duties of the president have been conducted by occupants whose administrations have been largely free from corruption. To be sure, there have been administrations such as those of Ulysses Grant and Warren Harding in which scandals occurred. Only one president has demonstrably committed crime while in office and in the public outcry resulted in his resignation during his second term. Richard Nixon never held public office again and his crimes and resignation became his enduring legacy.
In 2016 Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States. He had never held public office before. He brought with him a history of bankruptcies, lawsuits, and sexual predation. Congress impeached him twice and sought his removal from office. The first time for corruptly conditioning military assistance to Ukraine on their opening an investigation into his successor Pres. Joseph R Biden Junior. The second impeachment was due to his fomenting an insurrection following his defeat in 2020 and attempting to remain in office by nullifying the results of his electoral defeat.
In 2016 Trump achieved a victory in the electoral college but failed to win the popular vote. Much of the scandal that was part of his history had not been revealed in the fullest detail.
During the election campaign of 2024 the American people knew fully who Donald Trump was. They knew of his sexually predatory history with women. They knew about the multimillion-dollar verdict awarded by a civil jury to a writer who had been the victim of one of his sexual assaults. They knew about the judgment entered by a judge in a civil trial for fraud committed against the state of New York. They knew about the thirty-four felony guilty verdicts found by a jury for fraudulently disguising payments to a porn star to prevent the payments being revealed during the 2016 election. They knew he was under indictment for criminally fomenting an insurrection to avoid leaving office on January 6, 2021. They knew he had been indicted for endangering national security by taking and refusing to return classified information after he left the office. Any one of the scandals would have prevented any of his predecessors from being elected to the highest office in the land. Despite the overwhelming stench of corruption and a campaign marked by hateful, vile, and vicious attacks on immigrants, migrants, women, and his opponent Vice President, Harris, a majority of voters returned Trump to the Oval Office.
By returning Donald Trump to the Oval Office, the American electorate has tarnished and cheapened the highest honor that citizens have bestowed on American Presidents for over two-hundred years.
The 19th Century philosopher, Joseph De Maistre, once said, “In a democracy the people end up with the leaders and government they deserve. “
The worst is yet to come.When I was in grade school and the teacher wanted to motivate the class, we were told, “that someday you could grow up to be President of the United States.” At other times we were told that we lived in a country where, “anyone could become President of the United States.”
This first declaration was meant to inspire us to work hard because we might be able to achieve the highest honor this country could bestow. The second declaration was said to exemplify that the opportunity to achieve this highest honor was open to everyone. This promise was personified in Franklin D Roosevelt who was chosen by the electorate four times, twice during the Great Depression and twice in World War II. It was again fulfilled when John F. Kennedy broke the religious barrier that had existed for Roman Catholics that had existed throughout American history. It was again kept in 2008 when Barack Obama became the first African American to achieve that office.
In 1960 the American political journalist and historian, Theodore White, wrote a series of books titled The Making of the President which chronicled the trials and sacrifices candidates for President of the United States made in their quest for the presidency of the United States.
The duties of the president have been conducted by occupants whose administrations have been largely free from corruption. To be sure, there have been administrations such as those of Ulysses Grant and Warren Harding in which scandals occurred. Only one president has demonstrably committed crime while in office and in the public outcry resulted in his resignation during his second term. Richard Nixon never held public office again and his crimes and resignation became his enduring legacy.
In 2016 Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States. He had never held public office before. He brought with him a history of bankruptcies, lawsuits, and sexual predation. Congress impeached him twice and sought his removal from office. The first time for corruptly conditioning military assistance to Ukraine on their opening an investigation into his successor Pres. Joseph R Biden Junior. The second impeachment was due to his fomenting an insurrection following his defeat in 2020 and attempting to remain in office by nullifying the results of his electoral defeat.
In 2016 Trump achieved a victory in the electoral college but failed to win the popular vote. Much of the scandal that was part of his history had not been revealed in the fullest detail.
During the election campaign of 2024 the American people knew fully who Donald Trump was. They knew of his sexually predatory history with women. They knew about the multimillion-dollar verdict awarded by a civil jury to a writer who had been the victim of one of his sexual assaults. They knew about the judgment entered by a judge in a civil trial for fraud committed against the state of New York. They knew about the thirty-four felony guilty verdicts found by a jury for fraudulently disguising payments to a porn star to prevent the payments being revealed during the 2016 election. They knew he was under indictment for criminally fomenting an insurrection to avoid leaving office on January 6, 2021. They knew he had been indicted for endangering national security by taking and refusing to return classified information after he left the office. Any one of the scandals would have prevented any of his predecessors from being elected to the highest office in the land. Despite the overwhelming stench of corruption and a campaign marked by hateful, vile, and vicious attacks on immigrants, migrants, women, and his opponent Vice President, Harris, a majority of voters returned Trump to the Oval Office.
By returning Donald Trump to the Oval Office, the American electorate has tarnished and cheapened the highest honor that citizens have bestowed on American Presidents for over two-hundred years.
The 19th Century philosopher, Joseph De Maistre, once said, “In a democracy the people end up with the leaders and government they deserve. “
The worst is yet to come.