Getting to enough

Americans elected Donald Trump president and he will be inaugurated tomorrow. I’m with John Lewis. Trump will be legal, but not legitimate.

Congressman Lewis cited Russia’s interference in the November election to justify his view. That is certainly one good reason for doubting that the Electoral College outcome reflected the will of the American people. Trump now denies the cyber hacking had an impact, but at the time he appealed for it and mentioned the leaked material frequently in support of his candidacy. Consistency is not one of the man’s few virtues.

Just as important is Trump’s behavior after the election. He first tried to deny the Russian interference, then grudgingly admitted it while maintaining his commitment to improved relations with Moscow and lifting sanctions, so long as Russia joins with the US in fighting international terrorism (or reaches an agreement to reduce nuclear weapons he said later). The Russians already claim to be doing the former (and have their own reasons to do so), so this essentially would give away the store without getting anything in return. Lifting sanctions without any Russian concessions on Ukraine would give Moscow Crimea and possibly Donbas for free,. This guy is a tough negotiator?

It now really is difficult to see an argument against viewing Trump as a Russian pasty. Despite a clear record of war crimes in Syria, aggression in Ukraine, and destabilization in the Baltics, the Balkans, Georgia and Moldova, Trump has issued not a peep of criticism of Putin and his little green men. Despite Republican sentiment in Congress, the new administration seems determined to give Putin whatever he wants while asking little or nothing in return.

I might like to think this is all due to the much-rumored Russian dossier on Trump’s personal behavior. But if it exists, it would likely have become public by now. Russian finance for Trump’s real estate deals is another possibility, but that too would likely have leaked in detail by now.

I’m afraid the explanation is all too obvious and even less salubrious: Trump likes Putin’s autocratic ethnic nationalism and thinks it is a winning ticket. Criticizing John Lewis, who is a tireless advocate of equal rights and integration, is not an aberration or a random one-off. It is consistent with Trump’s white supremacist and blatantly racist views. That is the heart of his (admittedly meager) political philosophy as well as his (declining) popular appeal.

Racism is inherently self-limiting. It is not going to appeal to those you regard as inferior. It is also inconsistent with America’s founding creed, at least as interpreted in the 21st century by our public, our courts, and our Congress. Trump does not understand “all men are created equal.” For the first time since the 1940s, we are now faced with the prospect of an executive branch that has no commitment to equality before the law. To regard such a government as illegitimate is not going too far. Trump regarded President Obama as illegitimate for more than seven years on much flimsier grounds.

The first step in denying Trump the legitimacy he so obviously craves is boycotting the inauguration. I know Michelle Obama wants to take the high road, but I was delighted to hear that scalpers are losing money on the tickets. I wish Hillary Clinton would stay away. Unfortunately America’s companies are said to have anted up record amounts, and foreign diplomats Lining up to offer toasts.

Not wise, as this new Administration is bound to suffer serious problems before spring, when the stupidity of denigrating NATO, wishing ill to the European Union, pledging to prevent China from reaching facilities it has built in the South China Sea, and abandoning Ukraine and Syria to please Russia will be all too glaring.

We are in for a rough ride. It will end the day Republicans decide they have had enough. Getting them there will require a tough and smart opposition, starting with denying legitimacy.