THE LAME DUCK QUACKS!

‘Lame duck’ originally referred to an investor who could not back up his loans. Today an incumbent president who is halfway through their term of office and not eligible for re-election is considered a lame duck.

A lame duck president’s promises, threats, influence, and authority with Congress are weakened since he will only be around for a relatively short time. The lame duck’s limited ability to enact his preferred policies and decisions indicates that a leadership transition will begin.

President Trump is rapidly becoming irrelevant. His opposition and supporters alike are focusing on his foreign policy and economic promises not kept. He seems to be focused instead on personal and family grift opportunities. In addition Trump is showing his age.

The Immediate Challenge

In the words of Dylan Thomas, Trump will not go gentle into that good night. He will rage, rage against the dying of the light. Unfortunately that means that Trump will continue his lying, gaslighting, trolling, and temper tantrums. Opponents would be wise not to take his bait and instead ignore Trump’s theatrics. Rather than addressing every goofy distraction, the opposition should speak to how we will recover from and repair the damage Trump has done to foreign affairs, the economy, health care issues, and the climate challenge. The focus should be on how values shared by the majority of Americans must inform policy positions.

The Long Term Challenge

The heir to the Trump MAGA authoritarian movement is out there, observing from the shadows. The next authoritarian leader is watching President Trump self destruct. Learning from Trump’s mistakes. Calculating a path to power. That person will inherit Trump’s small group of submissive followers. Not much, but an unwavering base upon which he will attempt build a governing coalition. The next authoritarian leader will be more disciplined, less reckless, more competent, less belligerent… and far more dangerous.

In the meantime, it is lame duck Trump’s nature to continue to quack, but in the words of Shakespeare, it will be sound and fury… signifying nothing.

Sources
https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/government-politics/lame-duck-definition-and-origin
https://legal-resources.uslegalforms.com/l/lame-duck-president
https://thesexypolitico.com/2020/07/02/the-next-reactionary-authoritarian-leader/

Thanks and a tip of the hat to DonkeyHotey at Flickr for the image.