Donald Trump spent almost the entire Obama administration leading the “birther” movement that was the “white nationalists” way to express their dismay that “we the people” chose a person who isn’t “white” to live in the “White House.”  President Obama won the 2008 and 2012 elections because a MAJORITY of Americans saw him as INTELLIGENT, level headed, and someone who would stand up for the values of the middle class.  I’m not going to get into a comparison of Obama’s successes versus Trump’s FAILURES during the first 6 months of each administration other than to say I see a “mountain” of ironies regarding Trump’s boastful claims during the campaign and the reality of the “legacy” he’s leaving during his term as president – which, I might add, could be one of the shortest terms in history.

During the campaign Trump repeatedly BOASTED as to how “smart” he is and how EASY it was going to be to “make our country great again.”  (I’ll try to do this quickly, but I have to add, from my perspective, out country was MUCH greater before Trump took office than it is now, 6 months into his first – and likely ONLY – term in office)  So, the first irony – which could be looked at from many angles – is how President Obama’s signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act – has exposed Trump’s bloviating in a way that was unimaginable a few months ago.  The reality the ACA shows us is how much SMARTER Obama is than Trump.  (Do you think that reality makes Trump angry – or, is he even capable of “getting it?”)  Not only is Trump unable to “replace” the ACA (AKA “Obamacare”), it appears he will be unable to repeal it (although, there are mean spirited ways he could undermine it – and, I certainly don’t put that idea past him).  There are portions of the ACA that even republicans, at this point, are unwilling to get rid of – for the sake of keeping their jobs.  Kicking 32 MILLION Americans off of health insurance doesn’t even appeal to the most selfish of the republicans – at least enough of them to get the votes to actually repeal the ACA while they have a president who’d sign the bill.  (They were very “courageous” when they knew President Obama was sitting in the Oval Office with his veto pen in hand during their previous 60 attempts to repeal “Obamacare”)

Not only has Trump proven himself IGNORANT of how health care legislation would work, he’s seemed disinterested in the process and has been expecting republican “leaders” to “handle” the problem of “repeal and replace” – and, they appear no more qualified or willing to do the “job.”  In fact, the legislation republicans have come up with they call a “health care bill” is actually their specialty – a TAX CUT for the wealthiest Americans.  (The people who continue funding their “mean” – in the words of Trump himself – policies)  As I watch this all play out I keep wondering how Trump and those in his administration like Steve Bannon and Steven Miller – “white nationalists” – feel as they come to grips with the reality that the “black guy” is MUCH smarter than them?!

It appears as if President Obama’s “signature” piece of legislation, the ACA, is much more complicated to replace than the republicans, and Trump specifically, understood.  Their efforts to hide a HUGE tax cut in their attempts at “repeal and replace” have made the ACA much more popular than it was while republicans were continually bashing it.  (They’ve still bashing it, but, we the people “get” that if it’s repealed we want something better – which is proving to be a major challenge)  Even Trump’s supporters want to be able to afford health insurance and I find it extremely ironic that Trump’s effort to repeal Obama’s legacy is causing his own to head in a downward direction.  What’s the saying? “Be careful what you wish for!”

Of course, then there’s the “Russia thing” as Trump, himself, put it to Lester Holt while he was incriminating himself in an interview shortly after firing James Comey, the head of the FBI.  (giving that interview was extremely STUPID from my perspective)  Trump is probably still spending hours each day searching for the “bugs” he’s certain President Obama left behind so that everything he says “gets out.”  Trump’s “tweets” are beyond bizarre, but the one where he accused Obama of “wiretapping” him in Trump Tower was the warning sign to anyone who’s been paying attention that our president is deranged.  And, keep in mind, the longer he’s allowed to hold that office the greater the chance he’ll do something REALLY stupid in regards to the military, the “nuclear codes,” or who knows what.  It seems virtually every day he puts stupid on top of stupid.

The other day I saw a snipit of a Trump interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network – and, here’s the irony that makes me the sickest (as a “liberal” Christian); Trump’s “base” is seemingly contracting to the “Christian right.”  Come on people, wake up!)  The interviewer – who I don’t know his name – appeared to be “throwing softballs” Trump’s way when he asked for Trump’s view of God.  Trump’s response made my stomach queezy – and, I have to add that I didn’t hear the interviewer’s followup question so I can’t characterize him, but – Trump waved his arms toward the land they were standing on and claimed what a beautiful piece of land it was (on that, I could agree) and then went off on what a good deal he got when he purchased it and he actually said something like – “and, I don’t even have a mortgage on this – you can check the public records” – then he motioned with his arm toward the boundary of the land (I believe it was coastal property) and said, “this is God.”

I’ve pointed out Trump is a classic narcissist many times – the definition: Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s own attributes – and Trump’s answer to the question of his view of God just “nails” (pun not intended) it.  Not only does the words coming from Trump’s mouth confirm this OVER and OVER, but, when he sends his surrogates out (now, it’s always off camera) they CONFIRM it with their pre-planned “talking points.”  I could go on and on with examples, but a couple that stick in my mind come from Sean Spicer – who’s apparently been moved to the background in favor of Sarah Sanders – when he defiantly, on the first day of Trump’s administration, pointed out that the crowd as Trump took the oath of office was the “largest in history, PERIOD!” (emphasis – his).  That was stupid!  The other one that comes to mind was after Trump’s first overseas trip (Saudi Arabia, Israel, etc.) that Spicer characterized as “Historic.”  He added, “It truly was an extraordinary week for America and our people,” and then, if that wasn’t enough, said, it “was a historic turning point that people will be talking about for years to come” and “was met with nearly universal praise.” Yikes!

In reality, MOST observers considered it in a range from a moderate success (few gaffes – for Trump, the “bar” is really low) to a DISASTER – on the trip, Trump further damaged relations with the countries that are (or should be) the most important allies of America.  Shortly after he returned home we started to hear comments coming from European leaders that they need to prepare to “go it alone” going forward with their foreign policy.  Keep in mind that while Trump is seemingly in continual admiration and “kissing up” mode with Vladimir Putin, the leaders of Europe view Putin without the “rose colored glasses.”  Which brings me to another of the ironies I mentioned with Trump v Obama.  Trump’s “approval rating” in countries around the world (except Israel and Russia and a couple others) stands around 20% while Obama’s is around 80%.  Listening to Trump’s words, you would think it would be the opposite.

Trump has been busy signing executive orders designed to repeal as much of what President Obama accomplished as he can.  He’s approved the oil pipelines that will bring the dirtiest oil in the world (Tar sands from Canada) to refineries in Texas – creating significant environmental harm for oil that will be shipped to other nations leaving the residue in America.  And, the number of jobs created (if this actually happens) will be a small fraction of Trump’s claim (of course, by now, you know he LIES about virtually everything).  He’s working to repeal as much of the regulation Obama and the democrats passed after the “Great Recession” Bush/Cheney left for President Obama to “fix” in 2008 – and, maybe he’ll succeed.  I’m not “smart” enough to know how effective these “executive orders” actually are when attempting to overturn actual legislation.  The fear (at least for me) is that Trump could care less the damage to our country as he tries to undo President Obama’s “legacy.”  (Of course, republicans had the same attitude as they worked to make sure Obama “failed” during his two terms in office)

Here’s another interesting (and, somewhat depressing) irony when it comes to Trump and President Obama – and the democrats in Congress.  As the Senate republicans came to the conclusion they couldn’t pass a “repeal and replace” health care bill Trump, of course, BLAMED the “obstructionist democrats.”  When I heard him say that I just had to shake my head.  Are the American people actually STUPID enough to believe that?  Let’s break that one down here:  During Obama’s two terms in office, republicans gave the word OBSTRUCTION new meaning.  I believe the number of FILIBUSTERS put forth by Mitch McConnell, in their open attempt to make sure our president FAILED, was around 700.  The republican mantra was “If Obama’s for it, we’re against it.”  All you had to do was look at the signs that showed up at “Tea party” rallies to understand what is was about President Obama that motivated them to ensure he “failed.”  (Think “birther” movement)

And, of course, President Obama didn’t fail.  He led the United States (gradually) out of the “Great Recession,” he restored our standing on the world stage – Bush and Cheney were viewed as war criminals around the world (which, sadly, is accurate), the economy produced MILLIONS of jobs during his term – I believe there was over 70 straight months of significant job growth, and there were many other areas where positive gains were made under President Obama’s “watch” – despite HISTORIC OBSTRUCTION from the republicans.

So, now we have Trump in the “White House” with a Congress controlled by republicans and they can’t get their “repeal and replace” legislation passed.  Republican leaders put the bill together behind closed doors and they openly blocked any input from democrats in the process as it was (and, of course, then blamed them for obstruction???).  The bill was so BAD that the republicans couldn’t get their own members – at least enough of them – to vote for it to even bring it before the Senate for an up or down vote.  The first thing Trump did after the reality sank in that “repeal and replace” was going nowhere was to make the above mentioned claim that the problem was the “obstructionist democrats.” The democrats didn’t obstruct (other than to encourage people to make their views about health care known to their representatives in Congress)  they simply allowed the republicans to self-destruct – republicans needed no help from democrats in messing this up.

Again, there are occasions when I listen to this man (Trump) and want to puke.  And, unfortunately, there’s outlets like Fox “news,” Breitbart.com, right wing radio “talkers,” and corporate cronies who will tell their audiences Trump is correct as they continue the BRAINWASHING which has been their MO since the days of Ronald Reagan.  Yesterday, I heard Newt Gingrich (yes, he’s still spewing his stuff) on Fox, I believe, setting the groundwork for Trump’s next big blunder – and, that will be attempting to fire Robert Mueller – Gingrich is attacking Mueller, a republican – who has almost universal respect and support on Capital hill, as having “conflicts of interest” in his investigation of Trump.  (Just so you know – that’s one reason a special counsel could be “fired”)

Here’s the final irony for me today – if you remember the campaign, Trump’s main claim against Hillary Clinton was calling her “Crooked Hillary.”  He led chants of “lock her up, lock her up” (along with the likes of Michael Flynn and presumably others).  Well, his soon to be public attacks on Mueller will be because Trump’s son, his son in law, Flynn, and others may be soon facing that same “chant.”  I’m not here to defend the Clintons, but when Mueller gets hold of Trump’s taxes (reportedly, that’s happening), Trump could be hearing chants of “lock him up, lock him up”  I can’t bring myself to believe even Trump’s supporters want a puppet of Putin occupying the White House!