Donald Trump has been acting even more like a madman than ever since his drubbing at the polls by Democrat Joe Biden. It's gotten to the point where one wonders if the men in white coats might be sent to put him in a straight jacket, and haul him off to the looney bin.
There has been considerable speculation in the media about Trump's mental health, or lack thereof, with a variety of experts warning of his deteriorating mental health.
A year ago this month, 350 health professionals signed a letter to Congress warning that his mental health was deteriorating dangerously during the impeachment proceedings. Since then, it's only gotten worse.
Following his election defeat, Dr. Bandy X. Lee, president of the World Mental Health Coalition, wrote in the New York Daily News that Trump is "more dangerous than the typically dangerous leaders of the past." Dr. Lee is author of “Profile of a Nation: Trump’s Mind, America’s Soul.”
But since then Trump's mental state appears to have deteriorated even further as he continues to declare at every opportunity:
That he defeated Biden "by a lot,"
That the election was stolen from him because it was "rigged" by the Democrats,
That all of the judges and Supreme Court justices (many of whom he appointed) were all wrong when they ruled against his unfounded claims of voter fraud in court,
That the attorney general he appointed, William P. Barr, deserved to be fired because he refused to say there was sufficient fraud to overturn the election,
That the idea of declaring martial law and rerunning the election might be a good idea,
That Republican lawmakers who refused to go along with his effort to overturn the election should be kicked out of office...on and on.
All of this has taken place while millions of Americans are suffering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which Trump ignored, refused to deal with, and claimed was a hoax by the Democrats that would go away once the election was over. Now, the death toll has ballooned to 329,000 across the United States and continues to skyrocket at the rate of 3,000 per day.
Perhaps the worst example of Trump's irrational behavior is his threat to veto the massive coronavirus relief legislation hammered out by Congress with the participation of his own Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, unless the $600 per person direct payment for most Americans is changed to $2,000 per person and other provisions, including some foreign aid, are dropped.
While Democrats quickly endorsed the $2,000 per person idea and tried to move it forward, their move was blocked by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives. So now Trump is at loggerheads with his House GOP allies (and likely the Senate), in a move that simply appears either irrational at least, or vindictive and mean at worst.
What is Trump trying to accomplish? Does he really know?
The consequences of this action could be catastrophic for millions of Americans and put the broader U.S. economy at risk. Unemployment benefits for 14 million Americans, which the bill extends, expire on Saturday. An eviction moratorium protecting as many as 30 million Americans will expire by the end of December. The bill extends that protection. The federal government will shut down Monday at midnight if lawmakers do not approve an extension in funding.
Is this simply more of Trump's unhinged behavior? Is he trying to retaliate against Republicans who refused to support his attempt at what amounts to a coup? How much more of this man can our country take?
Tragically, his behavior is still being supported by millions of his base, and he's called for a huge protest in the streets of Washington, DC, on January 6, the day Congress will finalize the election. He promised his legions a "wild" rally. What will happen when the final vote is announced and his defeat is made official? Will there be violence as his storm trooper white supremacist supporters go crazy? If there is, Trump will be responsible, and all because he is a madman.
Editor's Note: I posted a note yesterday that Not Fake News is on a Christmas break until Monday. However, I could not stay silent regarding these developments. Coincidentally, an extremely talented friend, Brent Henderson, created the image above for me so I felt compelled to share it. There is some humor in the image -- if the situation was not so dire.