Why Don’t They Get It?
I am constantly amazed at the tone deafness of the talking heads when it comes to Trump. It doesn’t matter which network – they all seem to studiously get it wrong. The most current news cycle is a fine example of that tone deafness.
On the same day that MTG announces she is resigning from Congress, the Marmalade Messiah has a lovefest with the Mayor Elect of New York City, And the interpretation of all the wise men and women is that Trump and MAGA have cut ties with someone who was once Trump’s biggest supporter. It’s hard to imagine how supposedly well-educated people on both sides of the political spectrum, who take home fat seven figure salaries, could get it so consistently wrong. It’s even harder to imagine when Trump has told them exactly what he is doing.
Trump is a consistently transactional politician. He values people and movements based on the value that they can bring to him and his family. If any person or movement opposes him, they are immediately tagged as the enemy and either attacked or discarded. Period, paragraph. Given his actions since 2015, there can be no other interpretation. So, what has happened in the last few weeks?
First, Trumps primary agenda is to increase his wealth and that of his businesses and family as much as possible and as quickly as possible. Nothing else is nearly as important to him. Second, he realizes that his ability to accomplish that objective is probably going to be severely curtailed by the results of the mid-term elections. The release of the Epstein foles could drastically shorten that period. Third, if that should happen, Trump, who has more than doubled his net worth during the first year of his second term, will have little use for the Presidency.
Within that context, the base of the MAGA movement has little continuing value to Trump. And they opposed him on an issue that threatens to drastically shorten his runway – the release of the Epstein files. The only group that is of interest to Trump these days is the mega-rich, who can help him further increase his wealth.
First lesson, MTG has not been distanced from MAGA – Trump had decided that the masses that comprises the movement are of little further value. The populists who drive the movement are now outsiders – unwelcome at the White House. Tump is leaving MAGA.
Second lesson, Trump is also done with the Republican Party. It has served its purpose. “If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They are the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.” The grifter knew his mark well. But now, the party is going down hard in 2026, and Trump hates a loser, even when he greased the skids.
Lindsey Graham had it right when he said, during the 2016 primaries, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed... and we will deserve it.” His only error was in the timing. Trump used the Republican Party, with the gleeful support of elected Republicans in the House and Senate, to accomplish his transactional goals. Now that it has served its purpose, he doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to it. He will simply hand it off to his Vice President – like tossing a bowling ball to a drowning man – and go his merry way.
Third lesson, Trump will always go with a winner. Putin, Orban, Kim Jong-Un and now Zohran Mamdani. When you add in the large real estate holding that Trump has in NYC, the choice is a no brainer. The communist is now magically transformed in the man Trump is prepared to help in any way possible.
Everybody is talking about MAGA preparing for a time when Trump is not around and totally ignoring Trump’s planning for a time when MAGA is a liability.
Fourth lesson, a transactional grifter will leave no winners but himself. Those who are currently riding the Trump Train are only future casualties. As Gandalf told Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, “There is only one Lord of the Ring... and he does not share power.” For Trump, the ring is wealth, and his avarice is unlimited. As the last man standing, he wants it all. That is the only way he will achieve his life long ambition, to be accepted in the halls of the uber-wealthy as an equal.
None of this is news. It’s all been out there in the open for years. So, why aren’t they getting it? It reminds me of a story.
It’s the fourth quarter. The game is on the line. The home team is losing, but have a chance to win. They have the ball on the five-yard line. The crowd is yelling, give it to Joe – the best running back in the league. First down, hand off to Joe. He loses a yard. Second down. The crowd yells, “Give it to Joe”. Another yard lost. Third down, “Give it to Joe.” He’s thrown for a big loss. Its now one play to win or lose. The crown goes wild, “Give it to Joe.” The quarterback stands up and shouts, “Joe says he doesn’t want it!”
That’s why. The so-called fourth estate has been rolled so many times that they don’t want to get it – they can’t afford to get it. The “fearless” men and women who stood by while Trump told one of their own “shut up piggy”, have been completely domesticated by their corporate masters. They get it, but they don’t want to admit they got it. And that makes them merely stains on used toilet paper.
© Earl Smith