Mack Sennett, creator of the early 1900s Keystone Cops, apparently has taken up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. If you thought Donald Trump lived there, you’re not entirely wrong, but it’s Mr. Sennett who runs the place. Trump is simply one of the actors, an important one, to be sure, in the lead role, who’s living up to, one could say, expectations–if the Keystone Cops are your idea of presidential expectations.
You’ll remember the Keystone Cops, comic heroes of the silent-film era, depicted by Mr. Sennett as the bumbling incompetents of many slapstick scenes. Perhaps you’re thinking that the comparison between Trump and his lawyers seems backwards, since it’s the cops (i.e., the Mueller investigation and the Southern District of New York) who in this case are the competent ones. The bumblers? Trump, his lawyers, and others in his administration supposedly running the show. For this movie, Sennett has reversed the roles.
A recent scene: the May 2nd interview of Rudy Giuliani (interview begins at about 11 minutes in) conducted by Sean Hannity. In the interview, Giuliani, newly hired as another of Trump’s attorneys, revealed (about 40 minutes in) that Trump had reimbursed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, the $130,000 that Cohen paid Stephanie Clifford (Stormy Daniels). Trump had previously denied knowing anything about the $130,000. Giuliani indicated otherwise, and further stated that, since Trump had Cohen on a $35,000 per month retainer, the reimbursement had nothing to do with any campaign finance violation. It beggars belief, however, that Trump knew nothing about the payment to Clifford, which occurred a couple of weeks before the November 8 election. When something doesn’t smell right, there’s likely a stink in the air.
The president followed up Giuliani’s interview with a series of tweets that confirmed the payment. But on Friday (5/4) the New York Times reported that the president, on his way to Dallas for the NRA convention, undercut his new hire, saying of Mr. Giuliani, “He’ll get his facts straight”; and then, in response to a question about when he found out what the retainer was being spent on, the president added, “Well, you’re going to find out, because we’re going to give a full list. And people know. And virtually everything said has been said incorrectly, and it’s been said wrong, or it’s been covered wrong by the press. . . .”
President 180 performs yet another about-face. Who said this man was incapable of making a pivot? His underlings know otherwise. That’s why the West Wing seems inhabited by the Keystone Cops, trying to follow their leader’s twists and turns, whose swift changes make Taylor Swift envious.
Giuliani? On Friday he walked back his remarks from Hannity’s show.
This instance of continuing chaos actually commenced on Thursday (April 26), when the president was interviewed–that’s being kind–on Fox and Friends, his favorite TV show. If you like listening to thirty-minute, incoherent tirades, this one is for you. Watch the faces of the three hosts as the rant goes on; they become progressively dumbstruck. Finally, they have to end the “conversation” by telling the president they’re sure he has a multitude of important things to do. High theater, that. It makes one wish for the return of silent movies.
Because President Trump thrives on chaos, we should not be surprised that he and his allies attack valued institutions without remorse or reprieve. The Great Disrupter has
disrupted. His pummeling of the Mueller investigation, the Justice Department, the intelligence agencies, the press, anyone that opposes him, will not end soon, but only increase and intensify. Hang on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen, the Keystone Cops are driving the vehicle. Here’s hoping the nation survives the ride.
(Top photo not under copyright per https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KeystoneKops.jpg; bottom photo copyright unknown)
A slightly different version of this article appears in the May 5, 2018 Appleton Post Crescent.
–Sobering News
Sobering News 