Editor’s note: This commentary is by John Bossange, a retired middle school principal who now volunteers on a number of nonprofit boards in the Burlington area.
Someone, or some group must now step in and convince President Donald Trump to leave office before Jan. 20. We can’t have any more time pass to let this man find more ways to punish our nation for not reelecting him. Immersed in grief and overwhelmed by his narcissistic personality disorder, he has descended far down a rabbit hole of bizarre conspiracy theories, isolating himself further and further from his advisers and family. Depression and anger now govern his thoughts and actions and the nation cannot survive much more.
Even those who have supported Trump’s judicial appointments, his deregulation policies, his tax cuts for the 1%, his racist attitudes, his denial of the pandemic, his streetwise personality, his bogus election claims, and his most recent pardons, must now realize something is drastically wrong with President Trump. His last-minute threat to refuse to sign the relief package and the Defense Authorization Act to punish Republicans who have acknowledged the election results and the rest of us are truly the sign of an unhinged man.
It does not take much speculation to realize more retribution is coming our way. Furious with those who have begun to place the health of their party and the country ahead of the president’s personal needs, Mr. Trump is relying on far-fetched conspiracies to punish Americans. Worse yet, the cyberattack uncovered in December and ignored by the president threatens the national security of America and the lives of all Americans. This is the clearest example of a man solely focused on his self-preservation, and not on the oath he took when he swore to protect and defend the nation. Every proud, patriotic American citizen should be up in arms over this treasonous inaction by this unstable president, including those in his committed base of supporters. By not protecting us, he’s shredded the oath of office.
The first choice of a group to confront the president should be Republican Party leaders. Given the history of that group, it does not seem likely they would summon the courage to take a stand for their party and the country. In addition, too much of the party has dissolved into a cult, so that approach might not be as influential as it was in 1974 when Republican leaders met with President Nixon and convinced him to resign.
There is nothing the president can do to rid himself of the “loser” label. Sadly, he has been a loser most of his life but been able to save face by using his inherited fortune, filing endless lawsuits, and casting blame on others. But that was in his private, personal, and professional life. The office of the presidency of America is the most visible, powerful and public position in the world where accountability comes at you from every angle. There is no escape from the truth. Just ask the families and friends of the 350,000 Americans who have perished from Covid-19 under his watch. The president’s continued silence has been criminally negligent and has cemented his reputation as a “loser.” There is no amount of money, lawsuits or blame for him to use as cover now.
The task to convince President Trump to leave the office must now inevitably fall on his family. One would think it would be painful and embarrassing for his wife and children to see their father so depressed, up all night in a rage, isolated more and more from friends and key party leaders, and surrounding himself only with fringe conspirators. To save his mental health and his overall well-being, family members now need to step in to save the president from himself. Watching this man lash out at others and continue to sink into more denial, anger and blame should be frightening to those who love him.
The president needs to be rescued. America needs to be rescued. Only Trump’s family can do that now. That would be the ultimate, courageous patriotic act, a legacy they could live with for the remainder of their lives. Will they do it? If they truly loved their dad, they would. If they truly cared for their country, they would. Failure to intervene now will give the president his last weeks in office to find more ways to create chaos and danger, and punish America. Failure to talk with their father would only confirm the depth of the narcissism in the Trump family — how they stole a piece of America and cared more for their personal, financial gain, and less for their ailing father and the health of our nation.
