Empty shoebox, you say? What's wrong with that, you ask. A shoebox that has been emptied of its shoes has become far more utilitarian than it was when it held the shoes, you say. It is now a cosmopolitan participant in the world of storage.
Shoeboxes sometimes do have usefulness. They can hold many small items that might otherwise be lost or easily misplaced. But they also tend to lay around, awaiting the duty that surely will come to them, some day. They wait. And they wait. And two or three more shoeboxes are stacked on top of them, all waiting for that wonderful fulfillment that is to come. Until one day the realization hits their owner that they are taking up some valuable storage space that could be put to better use. They are, after all, still empty. What you really have is a collection of empty shoeboxes. And they are all so similar in size that you can't even nest them together. The stack just gets taller.
Donald J. Trump is about as useful as an empty shoebox, waiting around for its usefulness to become apparent. His adoring fans love him for all that they have been told to believe he has accomplished. They believe that he stands for an America First attitude that has been missing in prior politicians. He is their Messiah. In fact, he has alluded to this by referring to himself In August 2019 as The Chosen One. Rick Perry became a disciple shortly thereafter, vowing that it was true. Unfortunately for his fans (and disciples), Trump's list of positive accomplishments is brief. And a far more abundant list of damaging, hurtful, negative accomplishments will go down in history as the unmitigated disaster this administration has become.
Just as Little Bush's Hurricane Katrina put on full display the lack of that administration's competence, the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has revealed this administration's complete lack of preparedness and foresight. They even deliberately disbanded the preparedness team that was in place for emergencies such as that presented by this new virus.
When he speaks, Trump's lack of intelligence is on full display, but his adoring sycophants all beam with joy and admiration at his every word. Just watch Vice President Pence at Trump's side as he speaks. And make no mistake, it is an act when Pence does it. But for many dupes, it is a genuine misguided belief that they are viewing their Messiah. He is their Chosen One. This pathetic display has become one of the hallmarks of this president's personal influence on the world. And the world has taken note of it in disgust.
This shoebox is waiting around for its actual use to materialize. But the wait stretches on, and the utility seems as distant as it did in 2016, when this waiting nightmare was enacted. But now, in the face of an actual emergency, not only his ineptitude but also his lack of ability to grasp the importance of the situation has become apparent. The danger presented by a fool being elevated to the presidency has become painfully obvious. He is interested only in what benefits himself, and couldn't care less about the scientific and medical emergency that has developed. His interest is in what it is doing to the stock market instead of what it is doing to the lives of its victims. Who could have believed that the simple act of walking down an escalator would develop into such an anxiety-driven bad dream?
Relatively soon, now, the country will go to the polls to rectify this nightmare. The shoebox will be thrown out with the rest of the trash. It will meet its fate as the trash collector's truck compresses it to the flatness that it deserves. Then and only then will this empty shoebox realize the fulfillment it deserves as the trash that it is.
Donald Trump is as empty as most other saved shoeboxes. He is empty of compassion. He is empty of even concern. He has no Messianic mission in mind. He has no loyalty to anyone or anything except himself. There is no grasp of issues, large or small. As Rex Tillerson is alleged to have said, he is a (bleeping) moron. But Tillerson is far from the only person to describe the president unfavorably based on his performance in the job.
As Peter Wehner writing for The Atlantic put it, Trump is "disdainful of knowledge [and] indifferent to facts." Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post said he is "incompetent, narcissistic, impulsive, and amoral." David French of Time summed him up somewhat similarly, as displaying "his petty corruption, his temperamental unfitness, and his rank incompetence." His coronavirus response has been confused, unstable, and ineffective, and his statements about the nation's response to this pandemic are perhaps best characterized by a prior rebuke from October of last year by the L.A.Times' editorial board. "He has transformed the White House, which should promote policies based on reality, into the world capital of ignorance, dishonesty, and misinformation by reciting verifiable falsehoods."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
