The Damning of Donald Trump, Part 1

Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, unexpectedly entered the job on a rocky road. There are many ways to look at that statement. Supporters may see it as others treating President Trump “unfairly” before and after the election. His opponents may see it as the “impossible” happening right before their eyes. Either way, it has been a roller coaster ride.

One can liken President Trump to a boxer. The first three rounds, or years of his administration saw him playing rope-a-dope with his opponents, or so it seemed. They might say he had a couple of knock-downs, but he did his own fair share of knocking down. But by the beginning of the fourth round things began to look more dire.

Evidently he entered the fourth round punch drunk when he got caught by a left hand punch that seems to be setting him up for a climactic ending to the fourth round. Just like any other boxer he should be evaluating his opponent and calculating his next move if his thinking is still in order. The video is in slow motion, the left just bounced off his cheek, and we are waiting for the right uppercut that could change the fight.

The surprise jab came from the coronavirus. We’ve all heard more than enough news and we all have varying opinions. But I think it has been exceptionally challenging for an embattled president that wasn’t looking in the right direction. We can easily debate why he wasn’t looking, but the results would be the same.

Finally submitting to the pleas from scientists and doctors to almost totally shut down the economy was the left punch on the cheek. The rope-a-dope move of denying the seriousness of the virus evidently was a bad move. Attempting to deflect that failure and throw it on the World Health Organization made the blow solid.

The expected uppercut can come from several places and the only way to avoid a knockout is knowing how to avoid or at least lessen the blow. Will the Americans accept the decisions made? Did shutting down the economy provide the proper relief from death, and can you prove it? Was passing a world record emergency spending bill enough of a cushion, or was it too much debt?

I’m not a boxing expert so I will hear plenty about my description of boxing techniques. More likely I will hear the loud protests of Trump supporters. But the analysis of the questions before this administration is apolitical until the results are available. The fight can be debated, but the results are observed. Nobody would trade places with President Trump right now, if they are in their right mind.