It's All Related

"Wait, which Trump scandal are we talking about now?"

Welcome to 2022, when this question becomes part of our nightly news.

Because as we all know, Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in our history. It's not even close. He makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout. His first foray into public life was being sued for housing discrimination. He made national news by demanding the death penalty for 5 innocent young Black men. He's had multiple affairs and paid hush money to a porn star. He was close friends with Jeffrey
Epstein who would allegedly funnel underage girls to Trump on demand. He used his army of lawyers to stiff contractors and would tie them up in court so that they would never be able to afford following through on their claims. And, after briefly flirting with politics multiple times simply to get his name in the news, he finally found his niche with a racist conspiracy theory attempting to undermine the integrity and success of our nation's first Black president.

But ever since he descended that tacky escalator, Donald Trump's world has been flipped upside down. He could no longer hide behind the Michael Cohens of his world to quietly dispose of any of his indiscretions. He could no longer rip off college students with a fraudulent university. He could speak his mind; sure, but in doing so he ruined any chance of salvaging his reputation. The whole world saw his racist mind in action. He felt sheltered by the power of the Oval Office, which was effectively a safe haven for 4 years. He could steal money intended for a presidential inauguration. He could divert the U.S. Military to his property in Scotland. He could help Ivanka get 600 Chinese trademarks and Jared get $2 billion from Saudi Arabia. The White House was his own personal cash cow.

But the American presidency is not a lifetime appointment. There is a formal job review every 4 years conducted by the American people. And the American people saw Trump for what he was: an unfit slob unworthy of another four years. So they voted, in record numbers. They went out in public in a pandemic with no available vaccine. They stood in line for 5, 6, 7, 8 hours to vote him out. Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan all saw the error of the ways in 2016 and voted correctly this time around. Over 81 million Americans saw fit to end the biggest disaster we'd ever had. For the first time in his life, Donald Trump was a publicly recognized loser who would face accountability for a lifetime of crime. He knew this and knew the only thing preventing that from happening would be for him to remain in power behind this vague notion that the President of the United States is somehow above the law.

So he staged a coup. He's too dense to understand the meaning of the word, but that's what he did: he attempted to overthrow a democratically-elected government because once out of power, Trump no longer would be protected by the power of the Oval Office. His Russian debtors would be knocking on his door. His army of White House sycophants would no longer be by his side. He could no longer promise people great things as he was no longer the most powerful man on the planet. Once you fall from grace, you fall hard and Donald Trump's fall would expose him for the very first time. 

Over the course of two months of his election loss becoming official, we saw the lengths Donald Trump was willing to go to remain in power. His illegal pressuring of the Georgia Secretary of State. His meeting with the rogue Michigan electors. His actions on January 6th. And now his purported stealing of other country's nuclear secrets to undoubtedly be used for blackmail and/or personal gain. All of these desperate attempts to somehow not only stay relevant but to stay a player in the game. A game that would keep Trump as useful idiot to both friends and foe alike.

For as much confidence as he likes to project, the truth is that Donald Trump is scared. For the first time in his life, there are consequences for his actions. His temper tantrum on the Mar-a-Lago raid shows that a hit dog will certainly holler and Trump has been a dog his entire life. He cannot pay off the Department of Justice. He cannot have Michael Cohen give a "pep talk" to Fani Willis at the Fulton County DA's office. His Truth Social rantings and raving show a man who knows the walls are caving in. Every "Hillary did X" is, in fact, a confession based on a projection. He is desperate and as we've come to see, desperate men often do desperate things to get themselves out of trouble.

Power. Wealth. Sex. Donald Trump had it all. But like those throughout history, hubris will lead to his downfall. Hoarding nuclear secrets is simply the latest revelation of a man who has never not been the center of attention. World leaders don't talk to an ex-American president to kill time on a Sunday afternoon. They do talk to one if he can provide them with top secret intel on the nuclear capabilities of their closest enemies. Trump's stealing of classified documents wasn't a mistake, it was intentional and was simply the latest act of a man who would rather sell out his country than slide into obscurity. 

A man who remains the unquestioned leader of the modern Republican Party.