With every passing day, it seems more and more like we've gone down the rabbit hole and slipped right into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
We are now living in a remarkable time when No. 45's supporters are totally cool with Russian state media being allowed access that any and all American media were denied in the White House for a meeting between the president and foreign diplomats of a state being investigated for potential electioneering. Barely hours after the chief of the body leading that investigative effort was fired, no less.
Dismissing the press before the closed-door meeting, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov snidely condescended to a reporter who asked about the FBI director's sacking, responding with feigned shock and a mocking head gesture, "Was he fired? You're kidding!" before sharply turning his back and walking off.
The fact of the matter is if Clinton had in some alternate reality been elected president of the U.S. and for whatever reason decided to pull a mere fraction of the stunts Trump has, the Open Carry movement, along with the bulk of Republicans, would have been mobilizing long ago.
But we're talking about an immovable base that was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the best person to watch their backs is a billionaire who, to name just a few examples: pays basically no taxes; has been successfully sued or settled for many tens of millions of dollars on many occasions over the years for fraudulent or shady business practices; and resorts to callous insults while being offended at even the slightest satire or criticism directed at him.
Not to mention the president's massive flip-flops in a few mere months in office, such as these golden nuggets: "Lock her up!" suddenly became, "She's great!" Then, "NATO's obsolete!" is now, "No, it's actually tremendous, believe me!" Also got to love, "I'd never golf as president, I'd be too busy!" which instantly became, "Hey, instead, let's blow millions of taxpayer dollars going every weekend to my resort so I get all the money back!" Also fresh in memory should be "Don't attack Syria or intervene in the Middle East anymore!" from just a few years ago that recently became, "Never mind ó attack Syria and continue to intervene!"
The most recent debacle with FBI director James Comey was also entertaining: "What a great, upstanding guy ó investigate Crooked Hillary!" a mere six or so months ago is now, "You were mean and unfair to Hillary, you're fired!"
And as for trade deals? His enlightened plan is to impose tariffs so countries the U.S. imports from just jack up the price of their products and the American consumers end up paying for the wall anyway, all while the 0.01 per cent laugh harder than they ever have on their way to the bank.
Sadly, attempting to reason with anyone who without second thought resorts to hurling out ad hominem is nothing more than an exercise in futility.
Just like Trump said while campaigning, he could shoot someone in the streets and still have unwavering support.
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters," he said during a January 2016 rally.
Even if that's a "joke," it's in rather poor taste. Yet more than ever, that statement apparently remains true, which speaks volumes about his base.
The 2018 midterm elections must seem like an eternity away for Americans who have finally decided a Twitter raging former reality TV star who's obsessed with having his name embedded in giant gold letters on everything he owns might not be the most altruistic individual to have sitting in the illustrious chair behind the desk in the White House's famed Oval Office.
If nothing else, the results of the midterms will offer some insight on the likelihood of the president being re-elected, and whether his supporters might actually yet prove to have a tolerance threshold No. 45 has not to date crossed.
But until then, the Republicans seem plenty content biding their time, and have shown little interest in pandering to anything more than partisan interests, no doubt hoping the public attention span will be captivated and distracted by something else sooner or later.
Perhaps Americans should consider doing what the French recently did, if the U.S. is serious about a government shakeup, that is. In 2020, voters should kick both of the old, tired and uninspired establishment parties to the curb and start fresh.
Even right here at home that might be worth consideration.
After all, living in the Twilight Zone ó where up is down and left is right ó anything is possible.
