Trump蘑菇视频 tell-tale heartlessness
聽Last Wednesday, President Trump went on a tirade unlike any in the recorded history of Twitter. (If there is such a thing)
He unleashed a chorus of 140 tweets and retweets that some observers may interpret as a man with a guilt-ridden conscience.
Who am I kidding?
I’m that observer.
Anybody, especially a head-of-state, who feels compelled to spend that much time trying to prove a point (in this case his innocence) could be trying to convince himself that he hasn’t done anything wrong.
I’m no psychiatrist. But I have read Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
That’s all of the convincing I’ll ever need.
Poe’s examination of a man who murders, and whose own loudly beating heart haunts him until he admits his guilt, would be just like 140 tweets in 1843 – the year Poe published that story.
Trump, though, had reason last Wednesday to tweet.
Just not 140 times.
The House managers officially commenced their impeachment case against him on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
It had been a long uphill slog to get to that point for Democrats.
It was on September 24th of last year that the impeachment inquiry was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Nearly a month later, on November 21st, testimony began in the impeachment inquiry.
And the full House voted to impeach the president on December 18th.
But none of those events ignited an onslaught of 140 tweets.
What’s curious about Trump’s single-day, tweet-load, is that he’s not convincing anybody who believes he’s guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, that he’s really not guilty of them.
Republicans hearing the impeachment case against Trump in the U.S. Senate, are scared of him and his wrath.
They remember how viciously he attacked his own Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, who did what was right, by recusing himself from the Russia investigation in March of 2017.
Trump publicly ridiculed Sessions until he forced him to resign in November of 2018.
Ridiculed might be an understatement.
He seemed to want to rob him of his humanity.
Most of these same Republican Senators were there the night their late colleague, John McCain, voted no (with his down-turned thumb) as the deciding vote against repealing Obamacare in late July of 2017.
Trump took every opportunity after that to remind everybody that he thought McCain had betrayed him, when in reality, McCain was doing what he thought was right.
Loyalty to Trump, he seems to think, is more important than adherence to the tenets of the U.S. Constitution.
After all, a few days before McCain’s no vote, Trump was made aware that he was returning to Washington after having a recent brain surgery.
He sent out a tweet that was designed to assuage McCain. “So great that John McCain is coming back to vote. Brave – American here!” Trump wrote.
Despite the fact that two other Republicans (Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine) joined 48 Democrats to block the Obamacare repeal bill, it was McCain who became the source of Trump’s continuing nastiness.
That’s why it will be quite difficult for Democrats to pry away Republican Senators to join them in convicting Trump.
They know Trump would gladly play “Pin the Tail on the Republican” if they happen to vote their conscience on either article of impeachment.
That allows Democrats to reflect on the lack of courage Republicans are showing, while Democrats are presenting a mighty strong case for conviction.
Well, let’s not call it “reflect.”
Let’s just call them cowards.
They’re tough on crime – supposedly.
They’re tough on illegal immigration – supposedly.
They’re tough on gay marriage – supposedly.
They’re tough on lots of things – supposedly.
But they sure do stick their heads in the sand when it comes to Trump.
They stomp their feet and bare their teeth to protect him.
But they step aside while he continues to talk about engaging in a “perfect” call last July when it’s clear that during that call he committed serious crimes.
They’re tough on lots of things – but certainly not that.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight and 20 year TV news veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.