Tag: Trump

Voting. Taking the Initiative.

Just saw recent polls saying that the majority of Trump voters were more likely to vote in person whereas Democrats were more likely to do so by mail.

People ought to have the option to do one or the other as allowed by law and every effort should be made to prevent any interference.

Good.

However, given the many uncertainties clouding this next election, shouldn’t the Democratic party, which is ahead in the polls, take a clear stance on how best to get the votes in?

What does the fact that most Trump supporters want to vote in person tell us?

That they’re not afraid of the virus?

That they want to be absolutely sure that their vote is not lost or mangled or is subject to some other as yet unforeseen irregularity that might question its validity?

Check both of the above.

Question to Democrats – should we not learn from Trump voters?

Voting by mail is a great convenience and sometimes the only alternative. And if that is the only way you can vote, please do so. But vote early. Early early Early. Very early. Just to be sure your vote gets in.

But for those who have the option to vote in person, then make the commitment that come fire or flood or earthquake or flat tire or no public transportation or whatever else, you will be there at the ballot box on election day, no matter how many Trump supporters might be standing just outside the perimeter set by law preventing electioneering, waving their flags or machine guns or cannons or what not.

Do not be intimidated.

This election is too important to our future.

Trump supporters will be ready with whatever other forms of intimidation they can muster.

For instance, while in line to the ballot box, immediately ahead or behind us, they may just not wear a mask or keep the 6 ft of social distancing, or worse, deliberately cough or sneeze or speak loudly. Anything to take us off our game.

But all we have to do is wear our mask. Two if you wish. And turn away from them.

Carry your hand sanitizer for good measure, so you can wipe off the spittle that may land on your shirt or skin. Wear gloves if you’d like.

But stay in line. STAY IN LINE.

The coughers, sneezers, spitters and gun wavers are counting on you giving up.

Keep in mind that they are desperate people. Do not let them take you off your game.

You’re in line to defend our democracy under threat. Defend your right to free speech.

Give in now and you will give in later.

The more we can show up at the ballot box, the better. That way we leave less to uncertainty.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Helsinki Moment Redux. Trump’s Silence.

He can’t stop tweeting, giving us his opinions about when the virus will leave, and how well he managed the pandemic (The Chinese, meanwhile, are so far ahead of us that they have started vaccinating people in the Middle East and South America. Two doses, one month apart).

He will carry on about our racial protests and how his way to go about them is the way to do it (‘hit them hard, like animals’).

In his dreams, he sees himself being awarded the Nobel prize for facilitating diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. An honorable mention, of course, would have to go to his son in law and advisor. Or maybe they’ll share the prize.

The fires in the West coast have destroyed homes and lives but is there a connection to climate change? Not at all. The forest service has to do a better job of keeping the land clean, he says.

And then, news about Russia’s efforts to interfere in our upcoming election comes up and what has he said?

Nothing.

Microsoft has documented efforts by the GRU, a Russian military unit, attempting to hack into our internet services, but our president has stayed mum.

Zippo.

He cannot stand up to Putin and Putin knows it.

On 7/16/2018, at a press conference in Helsinki, right after he’d held a meeting in private with Putin, Trump is asked by a reporter in the audience if he would ask Putin, who’s standing next to him, to not interfere in our elections, in light of evidence provided by American intelligence services.

Trump’s reply, ‘I believe our intelligence services… but I also believe Putin (and his denial that he had nothing to do with it).’

Yep, he said it. In front of the whole world.

For such a verbose person to not find words to comment on Russia’s renewed interference in our election process, is quite a feat.

And he is getting away with it.

Is Biden Harris waiting for a sign from heaven to call Trump on it?

Are they saving it for the upcoming debate in Cleveland on 9/29 and then bring it up?

Or will they just let Trump get away with it?

I don’t get it.

That Trump’s silence is being greeted by silence in his supporters is understandable, given their absolute devotion to their leader. ‘Why, surely, it is part of the conspiracy against him.’  

But the silence on the part of Biden Harris?

I don’t get it.

Maybe they’re just waiting for the right time. What do you think?

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books. Available in Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Two Officers are Shot in Compton, California. 9/12/2020

Mr Biden and the State assemblyman for the area quickly condemned the act while calling for justice. Our President, on the other hand, upon seeing the video of the shooting and referring to the perpetrator, tweeted, ‘Animals that must be hit hard.’

Let us pause to think about the difference.

The two officers from the Sheriff’s department were shot in the face and head. Both had joined the force only 14 months ago. A woman, 31, a man, 24. They have undergone surgery at a nearby hospital and are reported to be in critical condition.

The officers were on duty patrolling a Metro station for the train that passes through Compton. They were helping passengers in the system feel safe. People like you and me.

The shooter chose to see the officers as easy targets.

‘All these cops are bad. I don’t care what they’ve done,’ the shooter must have thought. ‘If you put that uniform on, you’re bad. They share responsibility for what other officers have done. I could wait for the court system to look at the details, but how long will that take? Plus, the courts are run by the elites in power. I’m not going to wait for that. I’ll just go out and kill myself a couple. Never mind if they’ve never committed any abuses themselves. Never mind if they have brothers and sisters and parents and children. My need for revenge is greater than anything else.’

Animated by such anger, the person found a gun and readied for the act.

Before proceeding, he may have spoken to someone in his confidence and said, ‘I’ll be in the news, for sure. I hope I don’t get caught, but if I do, I’ll be in the news all over the world. I will be part of history, whereas right now I’m not part of anything, my life of little value.’

The other person may have tried to dissuade him (or her, we don’t know the sex yet) saying something like, ‘this eye for an eye way of settling things has been tried before and it doesn’t work,’ which may have given pause to the shooter and the officers would have been spared.

Or, the other person may have said, ‘wow, what guts you have! I didn’t know you had it in you. I mean, you haven’t done much with your life so far, and you have a low opinion of yourself, but now you’re wanting to turn it around. Well, yeah, I guess you’ll be a hero to some.’

Or, the other person could have said, ‘You’re a fool! Stop that thinking right away! You have to learn to value yourself. What’s the matter with you? You’re just starting out. Life is precious! Don’t waste it!’

Or, the would be shooter might have had no one to speak to, no one to say that he was filled with such hatred from all the recent incidents in our national life, and had not been able to process the anger and destructive choices that were festering in him.

In the end, there was no one around with the courage to say to the would be shooter, ‘pause my brother, there have been many injustices in our lives, yes, and there will be more, but we can’t just strike out in anger or we will perish together.’

And before the president said his famous words, that same person would have said to the shooter, ‘none of us, Blacks, Whites, Asian, Latinos, are “Animals that must be hit hard”’.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books, including Letter to A Shooter. Available in Amazon. Oscarvaldes.net

China’s Impact on US

Looking at China, we should be asking ourselves, ‘look how far they’ve got, how brazen they’ve been, how daring? And in such a short time. Why, just after WWII they didn’t amount to much, did they?’  

Theirs had been a land which had been dominated by foreign nations, then became ruled by a communist party. And look where they are now.

A world power.

We can also look at them and say, ‘sure, but they are not free. They are a censored country. Cameras everywhere.’

True, but their economy is strong and getting stronger. Which means that there’s more to spread around and their standard of living has been rising steadily.

China seems very clear about something.

They need the world. They want the world. And they will do what they must to get it. Even if it means stealing technology or spying on other countries.

They will do anything at all.

Ruthless.

But they are creative, too. Very talented. Gifted. Otherwise they would not have become the factory of the world during globalization.

The job was offered by the nations of the West and they jumped on it and did something with it. And they grew up.

And they will keep growing, even if they are barred from stealing or spying. That’s right. Stealing and spying accelerates the process of growth but the absence of it does not prevent it.

China, fellow Americans, has arrived.

And we have got to accept it.

The sooner we do, the sooner we will begin to learn from them.

Learn from them?

Absolutely. They have much to teach us, if we pay attention. If we are not too proud to look at the facts.

What stands out clearly about China? Their sense of purpose.

They are filled with it. They have agreed on the need to improve their material existence. For now, the leadership of the communist party will do. Later on, it will constrain them. But it works for now.

The Chinese have taking the long view. They say something like this to themselves, ‘These rules imposed on us are irritating but they are forcing a discipline on us that is helping our material growth.’

Did we, here in the USA, lose our sense of purpose as a nation?

I believe we did.

World War II was a great example of when we did have it. And the nation shined.

So there’s no doubt that the country has got what it takes.

Here’s another example. October 4th 1957. The Soviets launch the Sputnik satellite. It shot up over the earth’s atmosphere and began going around the planet every 90 minutes. Our nation was shocked. Russia had done it.

Did we lament our situation and cry about it? No, we got to work on it.

And soon enough we launched Explorer 1 on 1/31/1958. The Soviets would get another victory on 4/12/58 when Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel around the earth in outer space but then we followed with the historic landing on the moon on July 20th 1969.

Both in war time and peace time we answered the challenge.

That last challenge was only 50 years ago.

Now comes China.

They are saying to us, ‘We will soon become the largest economy in the world. Period. You will be the second. Second, as in number 2. Don’t like the sound of it? Get used to it. We are 1.4 billion people with a sense of purpose that you lack, so we will beat you.’

And they are saying it looking us straight in the eye, with complete confidence in their abilities. And we’re thinking, ‘no they can’t… or… can they? How did they get up there so fast?’

With hard work. Stealth. Cunning.

Don’t think they can do it? Then we’re in la la land. Deep into it.

What is amazing is how we’re handling their challenge. We’re using denial. Yes, Denial.

Denial as in, thinking that tariffs will deter the Chinese. Denial as in believing that leaving social injustice unaddressed in our land will not undermine our collective strength and resolve. Denial as in insisting that the cry Make America Great Again carries a true spark of creativity and determination.

In the process, China has become the biblical David to our Goliath.

Don’t like the comparison?

Then let us look at leadership.

Across the Pacific, whether you and I agree with him or not, a leader has risen that unites a country and marshals it into action.  

Here, in this vast land of ours, with an abundance of good people, of riches and inventiveness, we end up praising leaders that divide rather than unite.

There’s something very wrong.

Think about it.

Anyway, as you do, today, September 11th, our death count from the coronavirus has gone up to over 191,800 versus 4634 for China. And they’re much farther along reopening their economy than we are.

Hello?

Anyone out there?

Hello?

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Trump – On Election Night.

Late in the evening on election day, Tuesday November the 3rd, 2020, the major news organizations were frantically tallying up the numbers coming in and it wasn’t looking good for Trump. Though a prediction as to who would be the winner had yet to be made, the fact that the figures from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan were moving against him, carried an ominous feel.

In the Oval office, surrounded by his family, Trump was sitting at his desk. He was fighting a somber mood that was creeping in.

‘Fraud, fraud, fraud!’ cried Trump. ‘I can’t believe this, it’s the undocumented voting all over again, like in 2016. I should’ve kicked them all out, all of them, in droves.’

‘Florida will give us the boost,’ said Ivanka, trying to comfort her father.

Eric and Donald Jr both echoed her support. But the mood had no cheer.

Melania said nothing.

Then Trump’s secretary called.

“Yes?’ he said.

‘Governor DeSantis calling in from Florida… would you like to speak to him?’

‘Yes.’ Trump picks up the phone as he stands. ‘Ron, what is your sense?’

‘We will deliver Florida for you… no doubt in my mind,‘ said the Governor.

‘I’m a little anxious, you know… ‘

‘No need, Florida will come through… and the things is… even if you don’t win outright…’

‘What?’

‘I’m just saying… even if you don’t…’

‘What are you talking about, I will win decisively.’ And he hangs up.

He now looks at his children and Melania.

‘You heard him… “if you don’t win outright…” what kind of talk is that?’

No one replies.

The secretary calls again.

‘Yes?’

‘You just hung up on the governor of Florida, did you intend to do that?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay. I have another call for you, Greg Abbott from Texas.’

‘Put him through.’

‘Donald!’

‘What’s the word, Greg?’

‘Texas solidly for you. Hands down. The longhorn state coming through for the greatest president in my lifetime.’

‘Thank you, my friend.’

‘One thing, though… do you have a plan B?’

‘Plan B? What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Always good to have a plan B, just in case the numbers don’t add up…’

Trump hangs up again.

He looks at his children, one by one, then at Melania. ‘I am going to win, does everybody understand that?’

The children and Melania are silent.

‘I am going to win this election… and I will have my face carved on Mount Rushmore.’

On the large screen television, the anchor person announces that she will be making a projection for the winner of the presidential election in the next few minutes. Then the station goes to a commercial break.

Trump’s agitation is growing.

‘I have worked so hard for this… I have helped so many people… worked tirelessly for all those who have been forgotten… done so much for all the people left behind by globalization… all those fellow Americans displaced by immigrants, by China, by European nations who don’t pay their fair share of our mutual defense… and this is what I get?’

The anchor person comes back on, smiling broadly. ‘Though it is early, thanks to the advice of our capable staff, this station feels confident to be the first to predict… that the next president of the United States will be… Joe Biden!’

Trump snatches a cup he has on his desk and throws it at the screen. The cup glances off without even denting it.

‘Liar! Liar!’ cries out Trump in his fury.

His children are aghast, but they don’t say a word. Melania’s expression doesn’t change.

‘Say something! That is a lie, what you just heard! That woman on the screen is lying! I will not lose this election!’

And Ivanka. Erik and Donald Jr all stand up at once and cry out, ‘You will win this election! Long live Donald Trump!’

And they look at each other, in surprise that they had spoken in unison, and baffled at the fact that it was all unrehearsed.  

Melania, meanwhile, remains seated and unmoved.

Trump examines his children’s expressions for a moment, not even glancing at Melania, then turns and goes to the window where the curtains are wide open. He looks out into the city.

‘They will have to drag me out. I will not surrender. I will not,’ he says to himself, but loud enough that his children and Melania hear him.

On the television screen, the lady presenter, now shows an image of Shanghai, China, where fireworks are being shot into the sky in celebration of Biden’s victory.

‘As you can see, the mood is happy in Shanghai,’ says the anchor lady, ‘China, of course, has had to suffer from the tariffs that president Trump imposed.’

‘Rascals!’ cries out Trump in exasperation. Then he returns to his desk and calls his secretary in the next room. ‘Get me Xi on the phone, right away.’

‘Very well.’

A moment passes.   

‘Just spoke to his assistant… the Supreme Leader is not available at this time.’

‘What?’

‘That’s what she said.’

‘Okay, try Putin.’

‘Very well.’

A moment passes.

‘Spoke to his assistant… Mr Putin is indisposed.’

‘Indisposed, hunh, the hell with him! After all I’ve done for the guy. Indisposed. Right.

Try Macron. He’ll answer.’

‘Very well.’

Trump looks at his family. ‘Why are you so quiet? You think I lost the election, don’t you? Well, I haven’t. Those are just numbers. I am the president of this country and will not be removed from this office. Period.’

The secretary calls. ‘Mr Macron is vacationing in the Riviera.’

‘What? Get me Angela Merkel.’

‘Very well.’

A moment later.

‘Ms Merkel on the line, Mr President.’

‘Angela?’

‘Donald.’

‘Have you been following the news?’

‘I have.’

‘What do you think?’

‘Looks like you lost, Donald.’

Silence.

‘I have not. Those are just numbers. I’m sure there’s been many undocumented people voting against me and that’s what’s made the difference, same as four years ago.’

‘Do you have any proof?’ asks Merkel.

‘No. But I’ll get it.’

Silence.

‘Angela?’

‘Yes, Donald.’

‘I’ll get the proof. This is a conspiracy against me, a conspiracy against the good people of this country.’

‘Donald… let it go…’

‘Let it go?’

‘Yes. Look, you tried the best you could… but it didn’t work out…’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Donald… it’s over… you’ve been a very lucky man… you got in, barely… but you didn’t know how to govern… and you didn’t make an effort to learn. Your country has paid a high price for it.’

‘What the hell are you saying?’

‘Donald… you didn’t even try to bring your country together… it just wasn’t in you…’

‘What was I supposed to do, go to the other side and beg?’

‘No… but go to the other side and ask for them to sit down with you and have a good talk.’

‘I didn’t do that?’

‘You didn’t. It’s sad, because precious time was lost. Your people expected much more than you gave them… they wanted someone who could help them process their views and prepare them to move forward into our new world…. but you didn’t do it.’

Silence.

‘Why didn’t I do it, Angela?’

‘Because you spent most of your time reacting… tweeting… and didn’t take time to reflect.’

‘Blame it on the tweets, right?’

‘You know what I mean.’

Silence.

Trump looks at his children and at Melania, all of whom are keenly listening.

A great sadness comes over him.

‘I failed…?’ he says to Merkel, the tone tentative.

‘Yes,’ she replies softly. ‘But your great country can learn from it… so they don’t make the same mistake again. Great countries make grave mistakes. We chose Hitler as a leader, so we know what it is to make mistakes.’

‘The Italians chose Mussolini, the Russians chose Stalin…’ replies Trump.

‘And Putin,’ says Merkel.

‘I like Putin,’ says Trump.

‘You have to work on that one,’ replies Merkel.

Silence.

‘Angela… I… I regret that I didn’t work to have a better relationship with you. I really do.’

‘It’s good to finally hear that from you,’ says Merkel.

‘I suppose I was all caught up in my tweets…’

‘You were.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

Silence again.

‘Maybe Sleepy Joe did win…’ says Trump.

‘Yes… let it go,’ says Merkel. ‘Tell your people to work with him.’

‘Won’t be easy… I’ve called him so many things… ‘

‘Just try.’

“Angela… may I call you again sometime?’

‘Yes, you may.’

‘Thank you so much.’

‘Good night.’

They hang up.

Trump looks at his family, one by one, ending with Melania.

‘Believe it or not… what I did… all these past 4 years… was the best I knew how.’

The End

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Trump and Putin. Early September, 2020.

Trump is in the Oval Office, standing by his desk.

He gets a call from his secretary.

Secretary – Putin on the line. Would you like to take the call?

Trump – Sure.

The call goes through.

Putin – Donald!

Trump – Vlady! Great to hear your voice, as always.

Putin – Great to hear you too.

Trump – Just heard the news about the Germans saying that Alexey Navalny was poisoned by your people.

Putin – I didn’t do it.

Silence.

Putin – You don’t believe me?

Trump – I’ve always trusted you, Vlady… something about your persona that I find reassuring.

Putin – Thank you.

Trump – But the Germans did identify that nerve agent… Novichok.

Putin – I didn’t do it. But let me ask you, because I know you’ll understand, is there any way that we can control everybody that works for us?

Trump – Of course not.

Putin – Exactly. I don’t doubt that Navalny was poisoned, the Germans have doctors as good as yours and mine, but I assure you I didn’t give the order.

Trump – You’ve always inspired great confidence, so I believe you.

Putin – Donald… you bring tears to my eyes…  truly… that means so much to me. Thank you.

Trump – My pleasure. How’s everything?

Putin – The reason I called is… I’ve been feeling a little hurt.

Trump – Oh, no, something I did?

Putin – Something you didn’t do.

Trump – Please, tell me.

Putin – You know how, just last week, we announced that we had the first vaccine against the virus…

Trump – Tremendous breakthrough. Congratulations.

Putin – Why haven’t you asked for help from me?

Trump is silent.

Putin – You only have to ask and I’ll give you first priority. I’ll have my scientists make you 50 million doses so you can take care of your vulnerable populations. Why haven’t you asked?

Trump – Vlady… first of all… on behalf of the American people, thank you for that generous offer. It goes to show the quality of your government. I really mean it. The thing is… my scientific community has doubts that you could’ve arrived at the vaccine so fast.

Putin – I’ve had brilliant researchers working on it day and night. We have everybody on a strict schedule. 9 am to 9 pm for 6 days a week. Sundays off. Sorry, every other Sunday.

Trump – Amazing. But Vlady… it would not look good. Imagine… ‘America saved by Russia.’ That’s how the New York Times would title the article making the announcement. Just to hurt me. I’m in the final stage of this election… I thought the virus had beat me but now things are getting better and I think I’ll get reelected. I cannot take any chances.

Putin – Even if my vaccine would be saving thousands and thousands of American lives?

Trump – (hesitates at first) … even so.

Putin – Donald… Russia wouldn’t be doing it for the publicity… that’s secondary… we’d be doing it because of our love for all in need.

Trump – Of course. Yes. But… well… I’ve got very lucky lately… I thought I was sure to lose on account of the virus and now, suddenly, things have turned my way. So, like we say over here, I don’t want to push my luck.

Silence.

Putin – I thought that you did a masterful job handling the virus.

Trump – Thank you, Vlady. I appreciate it. But I think I was a little slow. Thankfully, though, unexpected events have come to assist me.

Putin – What is that?

Trump – The racial protests.

Putin – Ah, yes.

Trump – The looting, the burning of property, the chaos… I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Unbelievable. My numbers are rising steadily. I’m making up ground. The Democrats are catching on, though, I think they’re bribing the protesters to stop, but even so, we now have all that footage we can play over and over again. It’s going to be beautiful.  

Putin – I’m so glad for you.

Trump – You’re staying on, of course…

Putin – Russia needs me.

Trump – Of course, like America needs me.

Putin – Law and Order. Like Assad in Syria, El Sisi in Egypt, MBS in Saudi Arabia, Duterte in Manila… yes… law and order.

Trump – You forgot Xi…

Putin – I did, didn’t I? Well, he’s one of the best.

Trump – It’s as if Mother Nature, in its infinite wisdom, had decided to bring all of us together at the same time.

Putin – You forgot Netanyahu.

Trump – Oops, I did. Yes, my great friend Bibi. May he reign for another 50 years… so he can see the West Bank finally annexed by Israel. What a glorious day that will be.

Putin – Actually, I disagree with you on that one.

Trump – Okay, we’ll talk about it later.

Putin – How come you didn’t invite Romney to speak at the Republican convention?

Trump – (laughs) Funny. He’ll have to do a lot begging before he gets an invitation from me.

Putin – A great show the convention was. And you were superb. All your family was just beautiful. America is so lucky to have you. The world, in fact.

Trump – Thank you, Vlady.

Putin – Have you thought of making one of your children Secretary of State?

Trump – What a marvelous idea. No, I hadn’t.

Putin – I would be one way of spreading your brand.

Trump – Of course.

Putin – And grooming him or her for the succession.

Trump – Brilliant, Vlady, just brilliant.

Putin – I’ve been following the events in your country… and I think Biden wouldn’t have selected the lady as Vice President if it hadn’t been for the racial protests.

Trump – You’re probably right. But, in his defense, he’s been in bed with African Americans for a long time. Plus, he’s a closet socialist. I’ll bury him in the debates. They’ll have to call the paramedics.

Putin – Now that we’re on that subject, something popped up in our screens here at the Kremlin the other day.

Trump – (very curious) What are you talking about?

Putin – A video clip…

Trump – What about?

Putin – Biden’s VP…

Trump – That woman…?

Putin – Right… in the middle of the night… in Minneapolis… with just her security detail around her… all very secretive… at George Floyd’s memorial… saying to George… ‘Thank you, George… if it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t have been selected… thank you, from the bottom of my heart.’

Silence.

Trump – Probably fake news… but interesting.

Putin – I thought so too.

Trump – (thinking about it) Interesting. Don’t know the author, do you?

Putin – No. Just popped up on our screens. Haven’t been able to trace it. Anyway… I’m always here for you, like a good friend.

Trump – Thank you, Vlady, thank you.

Putin – So onwards, my friend, another 4 years in office for a brilliant tactician! There’s never been a President like you.

Trump – Thank you, and may you reign in your land for the rest of your life.

Putin – Spasibo (thank you), spasibo.

They hang up.

Trump strolls toward the window, looks out into the city beyond.

Trump – Putin is like a great friend… just keeps giving and giving. Spasibo… spasibo, indeed. One day, after my second term is over, I’ll build that Trump Tower in Moscow.

The End

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books. Available on Amazon

Oscarvaldes.net

Of Human Folly

Warning. This may be shocking.

I watched the documentary Greatest Events of WWII, on Netflix, with commentary by British, German and American historians.

In early May 1940, the German army quietly amassed ground forces just north of the border with France, in secret preparation for an attack. They had just gone into Belgium and the Netherlands.

Due to the perceived superiority of the French forces, no one expected such an attack.

French reconnaissance spotted the forces being gathered and immediately notified their High Command. But High Command didn’t believe the information.

That’s right. Did not believe the information.

The Germans couldn’t have moved so fast, not after what they had been through – they had to be exhausted. But they had moved fast.

Aside from the supreme daring, the Germans had used another secret weapon. Meth.

That’s right. Labelled Pervitin, Methamphetamine was available over the counter in Germany as a picker upper. And the military gave it to its soldiers to enhance their endurance. They could stay up all night and again the next day.

Thanks to Meth, then, the soldiers who had invaded Belgium and the Netherlands, still had it in them to push on to France, defying the French commanders’ calculations.

The historians commenting on these facts point out that if the information provided to the French command by their reconnaissance had been believed or double checked, then they would have been able to use their air force to bomb the German troops as they sat waiting to reach critical force. But they did not.

Who knows what was distracting the French High Command.

I had always wondered, how come the French, having witnessed their neighbor’s aggressiveness and territorial grabs (Poland, Austria), had not prepared for an eventual invasion. Well, they had.

At the time, France’s combined forces were seen as superior to the Germans. But the French lacked the imagination. And the Meth.

One of the historian commentators goes on to add that had the French believed the information presented to them and attacked the Germans first, the war’s course would have been seriously altered.

But the High command was in denial.

Of Human Folly.

Here’s another one for you.

I read in The Economist, issue of August 8th, an article on CoVid testing. Pool sampling.

A means to accelerate testing by pooling samples. Take the combined samples of 5 people who are not symptomatic and if the test is negative, they are all negative. You move on. If it’s positive, then you test individually to isolate the case. The technique saves time and resources, so we can test more people and better trace and get a handle on the virus.

Is the technique new?

No. In the 1940’s, says the article, Robert Dorfman, an American economist, came up with the idea to test American soldiers for syphilis.

On July 18th 2020, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency declaration to start using pool sampling nationally.

Did I say that the technique had been around since the 1940’s?

Yes.

Eighty years after the invasion of France by the Germans, a virus crossed the oceans to come to our shores.

The American High Command had been told by their reconnaissance that the virus was gathering force.

The High Command didn’t believe it.

The Commander in Chief himself was worried with an impeachment process stemming from the Ukraine affair, and deeply concerned about his chances at reelection.

He didn’t have time to pay attention.

Of Human Folly.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Long Exit. Trump and Ivanka in the Oval Office.

Trump is standing by his desk as he reads a magazine lying on it. The window behind him has the curtains drawn wide and the afternoon’s light fills the room.

Now he hears the music cue from his cellphone. It’s a text from Ivanka. He replies, then returns to the magazine.

A moment passes.

A knock at the door.

‘C’mon in,’ he cries out.

Ivanka steps in. She goes straight up to her father and they embrace and kiss on the cheek.

‘How are you?’ she says.

‘All right.’

But Ivanka notices he sounds a bit dejected.

‘What are you reading?’

‘An article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Birx got it for me (Dr Deborah Birx). They did a controlled study on the effects of Hydroxycloroquine on people who’d been exposed to the virus. The two groups took the medication for four days after exposure but there was no difference between those who took it and those who didn’t’.

‘The drug didn’t protect them?’ she says.

‘That’s right. But the study is not definitive so the drug may yet have preventive benefits.’

‘You stopped taking it, didn’t you?’

‘Yes, a while back.’

‘I’m glad you did.’

They look at each other.

‘Have to let it go, don’t we?’ she says.

‘I suppose’.

She puts her hand on his shoulder, ‘Let’s sit, I want to talk to you about something.’

They walk over to the space in front of the desk and sit across each other.

‘What’s this about?’

She smiles. ‘I’m worried about you.’

‘Why?’

‘The polls are not looking good.’

It’s clear he’s feeling the pressure.

‘It’s not over yet,’ he says.

‘Of course not. What do you think about Biden’s choice of running mate?’

‘Have to see how it plays out.’

‘You think she’ll take votes from you?’

‘Don’t know, but I’m glad Karen Bass was not the one… and better, that Klobuchar dropped out earlier.’

‘George Floyd?’

‘Right.’

‘Speaking of… I saw a new video, from the officers’ body cameras… they botched that one, didn’t they?’

‘They did.’

‘You think you botched it?’

He looks at her for a moment… then, ‘I think I did.’

‘What would you have done differently?’

‘Not identified so much with law enforcement.’

Ivanka nods… looks down at her hands on her lap.

‘Dad… you’re okay talking to me about all this?’

‘Sure.’

But Ivanka thinks his expression says otherwise.

‘Dad… we don’t have to talk…’

‘I know we don’t.’

‘I just wanted to see how you were doing.’

‘I’m glad you did.’

She looks down at her dress and smooths it out.

‘How are the children?’ he asks.

‘Doing very well.’

‘I would’ve liked to have given them another four years.’

‘Oh, dad. It’s been a great run. I’ve taken so many videos of them, they’ll never forget this.’

‘Some consolation, at least,’ he says.

‘If the virus hadn’t happened you’d be cruising to reelection.’

‘That’s true. The economy would have cinched it for me.’

‘But the virus did happen and there’s nothing we can do about it,’ she says.

‘They had it in for me,’ says Trump. ‘They sent it to me… express delivery, from Wuhan, Hubei province.’

‘No, they didn’t.’

‘They were so angry because of the tariffs I slapped on them.’

‘It got away from you,’ she says, gently.

He looks at her, uncertain he wants to continue the conversation.

‘Can I offer you anything? A soda?’

‘No, thanks.’

He sits back and folds his hands.

‘You think we could’ve done better?’ he asks.

‘Yes. It would’ve been difficult but yes, we could have.’

‘I stopped travel from China at the end of January…’

‘We minimized the danger,’ she says.

‘I don’t think so.’

‘It’s easier to see now, but we should’ve done what they did,’ continues Ivanka.

‘No. Our people wouldn’t have allowed it… absolutely not,’ returns Trump firmly.

‘They would have… if you had trained them.’

‘Trained them?’

‘Yes. You had been mollycoddling your supporters all along.’

He laughs. ‘Mollycoddling?’

‘They wanted a Wall, you said I’ll give you the Wall. Let’s have immigrants out, you said out they go. Want tariffs on China? I’ll give you that. Out of the Paris accord? Done. Roll back regulations, bring back coal? Deal.’

He shakes his head slowly.

‘I suppose I did overdo it, but I did promise them that.’

‘Sure, you had to get in. But once in, you had to go back and renegotiate.’

‘And say what to them?’

‘You can’t have everything you want. Let’s face it, we’re only half of America. Actually, less, since we lost the popular vote by 3 million.’

Trump chuckles… but she’s clearly getting to him.  

‘You had to negotiate… and you didn’t,’ presses Ivanka.

‘Half of a Wall? Half of the immigrants…?’

‘You know what I mean.’

He gets up, walks off a few steps, then turns to look back at her.

‘You’ve said these things before…’

‘We don’t know if it would’ve worked… so there’s that,’ returns Ivanka.

“The beauty of hindsight.’

‘But it’s been a good run… we’ll never forget this,’ she says.

He nods, a little sad, then sits down again, resting his hands on his knees.  

‘I’ll miss the activity… all the attention… having the final say… it’s addictive… the spotlight… never had so much fun in my life. What’s sad is that nothing else I do afterwards will be able to match this. How do I recreate this? Once I leave it’s gone forever. No more.’

There’s an ache in his voice.  

‘Now, if I had done two terms, then it would be easier to let go, but one term?’

‘Think of it this way… only the very few get to land a job like this,’ she says. ‘And you’re one of them.’

‘I wonder if Jimmy Carter went through a depression. I’ll have to ask him… he probably did. The Iran hostage crisis got him. He was indecisive.’

‘You were indecisive on the virus.’

‘Yes, I was!’ he says abruptly, angrily, as he stands, waving his arms. ‘Yes, I was, and not a day goes by that I don’t regret it. I screwed up!’

Ivanka is surprised by his sudden rage.

‘Goddammit! I had the economy going for me, the markets flying high, and I go and screw it up! I regret it deeply.’

He stops, crosses to his desk, then turns around to face Ivanka.

‘I signed those executive orders to protect the workers, didn’t I… so they’ll have money in their pockets while we still deal with the pandemic and wait for Congress to make up its mind. I did that.’

‘That was good,’ says Ivanka.

‘I care about the workers, that’s why I did it… still I get criticized.’

She nods thoughtfully.

‘So that’s it, then?’ he says.

‘What?’

‘I didn’t go back to my people and said to them, “we’ve got to negotiate with the other side, we’re only half of this nation?”’

Ivanka nods her assent.

‘And the thing is… I could’ve done it… I could’ve.’

Trump sits down again, looks directly at Ivanka.

‘I have trouble with the truth.’

Ivanka’s never heard him say this to her.

‘I am terrific at hiding it… I find all kinds of ways to do it.’

Ivanka’s instinct is to soothe her father but manages to hold back.

‘Do you mind if I tell you this?’

‘No, dad.’

He looks down at the ground for a moment, then up at her again.

‘I’m great at putting on a show… and I know it’s a show… but after a while I start believing it myself.’

Ivanka nods.

‘You remember that moment in Helsinki, in July 2018, after the press conference with Putin… well… I did not stand up to him… and I could have… but I didn’t.’

‘I remember that…. I was watching that day… why didn’t you, dad?’

‘What if he would’ve challenged me… right there in front of the whole world?’

‘What if…?’ returns Ivanka, ‘it’s not like you would’ve had to fight the guy if he did.’

Trump lowers his eyes.

‘All I needed to do was tell him to not interfere with our elections… but to do that would’ve been to admit that he had… and to admit that meant to acknowledge his meddling might have made a difference. See… even though I had won the election…. it didn’t feel like I really had… and so it felt like I owed Putin something… and I feared that if I challenged him, he would’ve come back with all kinds of details about his interfering… and the idea of that happening was something I could not accept. So I chose not to confront him.’

They pause.

‘All this time, you’ve lived with the belief that you really didn’t win the election?’

Trump hangs his head.

‘Sometimes I believe it… sometimes I don’t.’

Ivanka ponders his words. He has never spoken to her this way.

‘I very much wanted to become president and saw the opportunity… it was right there… I knew Hillary was weak and could be pushed… and it worked.’

Quiet falls.

‘Dad… the things you said to get elected… you believe in any of them?’

He closes his eyes for a moment…

‘I will say what I must to get the votes… I have no real conviction… instead there’s this void in me… which I mostly ignore…  yet it seems like it wants to be filled… but I’m afraid that if I try to… I would have to be honest… and I fear that if I do… the laughter will stop.’

‘And then what?’ she asks softly.

‘Then I discover that I’m all about nothing.’

‘That’s scary.’

‘If my supporters want me to believe in conspiracy theories, why then, I believe in those too. Except that I don’t. I pretend to, mostly.’

Ivanka looks off.

‘Am I making you uncomfortable?’ he asks.

‘No. I want to hear you out. I’m your daughter. Maybe there’s something I can do.’

He nods thoughtfully. Then he rises and walks about a few paces.

‘I am a gifted man, gifted with energy, gifted with charm, with intelligence… but I’ve made a mess of things. And I have because I didn’t reflect on who I was and didn’t do something about it.’

‘Who are you?’ she asks, mustering the courage.

Trump looks at her.

‘Does it seem strange to you that you are asking that question of me?’ says Trump.

‘It does.’

‘The good news… is that failure… failure… yes, that word that I abhor… failure… is finally catching up with me. Who am I you ask? I am a man without a center… comfortable only when trying to persuade others to not find their own center.’

He’s said those words before, to himself, but never to another person.

‘Acknowledging failure would give me a sense of my real limitations… and open the door to developing empathy. That would be the start of the road to my center, to my self… and I say that now and have said it before but don’t do it!’

He stands up again, this time walking toward the open window. He stands there for a moment, looking out, then returns to sit across Ivanka.

‘I’ve known that I have to look at my flaws… again and again until I process them… and that’s how I’ll develop my center… but I don’t do it. I let them sit, unexamined, till they fly again in my face.’

He slides up to the edge of his seat, the expression anguished.

‘I suppose there’s still time…’

He drops his face in his hands and stays like that for a moment, as if in penitence.

‘You’re right… there’s no reason I couldn’t have gone back to my people right after the election and said, ‘we have got to mend fences… we’re all in this together… I’ve got your back, I will be your champion, but we’ve got to talk to the other side.’

She nods approvingly.

‘And if I had… if I’d have had the resolve to do that… the courage to do it… well then, when the virus was looming, when it was approaching, when it was crossing the ocean… I would’ve stepped up.’

‘Yes, dad.’

‘But I didn’t… and all these people have died as a result.’

She nods.

‘Don’t think that hasn’t weighed on me… the loss of so many people… and me just blaming China instead of owning up to my flaws.’

‘It’s very sad,’ she says.

Trump stares down at the ground for a moment, then up at her again.

‘Did the virus kick me out of the White House? No. I did it myself. I blew it.’

Quiet falls.

‘Dad… I know you’ll get on with confronting your flaws… I know you will.’

He shrugs.

‘You have to, dad. Like you said, it’s not over… but if you lose this election… then there’s still 2024. You’ll be a fit 78 by then.’

He looks up at her, the trace of a smile, hope now sparkling in his eyes.

‘Politics is in your blood. I know you’re not going into retirement,’ continues Ivanka.

‘You’re right about that.’

She smiles at him. Then looks in the direction of the window, as she runs her fingers through her hair.

‘I’m going to miss this place, too,’ she says, longing coloring her words.  

‘Would you like to run for office one day?’ he asks.

‘Maybe… it’s a cutthroat business.’

‘Cutthroat yes… but a hell of a lot of fun.’

‘Would you like Barron to run for office one day?’ she asks.

‘Yes,’ he says. ‘I would like that, very much.’

He leans forward, joining his hands in front of him.

‘Next time I’ll be better prepared. I’m a good campaigner. I can work a crowd, give them what they want… so no…  I’m not through, even if I have to leave this place for 4 years.’

‘It’ll keep you active, wheeling and dealing,’ she says.

‘You know me well,’ he replies. ‘I’ve got too much left in me… and if I make it back I’ll get my face carved on Mount Rushmore.’

‘Dad! You’re not really serious, are you?’ she says with a note of alarm.

‘Why not? I get that I’m not on the same level with Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln, but what does Teddy Roosevelt have on me? He rode horses? Went to Cuba on a publicity stunt?’

‘No! Don’t do that! It’s just way too grandiose!’ She slides up to the edge of her seat, the tone urgent. ‘If you really want to stay in politics and run again, you’ve got to deal with the grandiosity.’

But he’s on a roll.

‘You’re not getting it… people love me because I’m brash, unpredictable… and yes, sometimes grandiose. But I don’t believe half of it, so I’m okay.’

‘Dad… listen to yourself, please… you were just talking about confronting your flaws…’

‘Even if I lose this election, it won’t be because of Biden but because of the virus, and the proof of it will be that I’ll trounce him in the debates. I’ll beat him silly. Those debates will be memorable, real gems of political theatre, to be studied for generations!’

‘Dad, stop! Did you already forget what you were talking about?’

He stops, brings his palms together in front of his face as he catches his breath… nods thoughtfully in the pause. Then begins again, slowly.

‘You’re right… it just gets away from me… it’s my personality… I can think about all these things to do to become a better person… then it gets away from me, just slips away.’

‘You need to keep reminding yourself,’ insists Ivanka.

‘Absolutely. Yes. You’re right. Now, tell me, who do you think will run against me for the nomination, in 4 years?’

‘That’s a good one. I think… Romney, for sure. Pompeo too…’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, he’s aching for the chance. And he’ll hire Bolton as an advisor and he’ll quote from his book.’

‘Bolton, sure, he’s nuts, always dreaming of going to war. Oh, the scoundrels,’ says Trump. ‘Who else?’

‘Hmm… Pence.’

‘Pence?’

‘Yes.’

‘He’d run against me? After all I’ve done for him, lifting him out of obscurity in godforsaken Indiana?’

‘Yes. He’d run against you.’

‘You know… I’ve asked him to pardon me.’

‘What?’

‘Yes. I’d resign a couple of weeks before leaving office, just so he could become president and then turn around and pardon me.’

‘That’s crazy,’ she says.

‘Not really.’

‘But what about if you resign and he changes his mind and doesn’t pardon you?’

Trump reflects on it. ‘He wouldn’t do that… that would be treason. That’s not Mike. Anyone else you think would run against me?’

She thinks. ‘Can’t come up with anyone else, but there will be others. Maybe Nikki Hailey.’

‘Could be. Well… let me know. I need to get back to work. One last thing… you think Bolsonaro in Brazil really got the virus he says he got and recovered from?’

‘Why… you think it was a hoax?’

‘Not sure.’

Intrigued by his question, she asks, ‘You’re not… thinking of intentionally getting the virus yourself, are you?’

He smiles mischievously.

‘Dad!’

‘It would be a modified version of it, an attenuated form, enough to make me test positive but not enough to get that godawful lung infection that comes with it. And it would get me a lot of sympathy and a boost in the polls.’

‘Dad, it’s not just the lungs, it can affect the heart too! Don’t you dare do that. I won’t let you. I will not!’

He smiles affectionately. ‘You know… I’d like for you to stay political… and four years from now, when I run again, I’ll put you in as my running mate. A Trump Trump ticket.’

She laughs, stands and goes to him. He rises and they hug.

‘Just remember,’ he says as they pull apart. ‘One way or another, Donald Trump is not through. I’ll be back in 2024.’

To be continued.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net.

US China Relations. The Big Picture. The Challenge.

Are we better than them? No, we’re not.

Are they better than us? Not either.

Are they dynamic, hard charging, smart, ambitious? Yes.

And so are we.

It would take doing the ostrich number, burying our heads in the sand, to not allow for the possibility they may surpass us in the near future.

They are moving up in the world, not by committing to security issues but by doing business. In Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, the rest of Asia, Australia.

While we’re battling racial issues, they’re pushing ahead with their plans to rise as fast as they can in every dimension. Space exploration? They’re already there and moving confidently.

Liabilities? Yes. Their autocratic regime. The intrusive governmental vigilance.

It has to be suffocating. But at this point, their fast rise in world standing allows the Chinese people to say to themselves, ‘we’re getting something for our sacrifices.’

Have the Chinese stolen intellectual property? They have and probably will continue to do so. But to think their rise is owed to their theft of knowledge from the West is to miss the fact that they have enormous scientific, technological and industrial capacity of their own.

It’s there in plain sight.

To deny it is to do the ostrich number.

We have not had an adversary of such stature since the Soviet Union in the Cold War. We went on to win that war because of our stronger economy. But China is clearly different.

The Chinese are not tying up their economy building nuclear weapons like the Soviets did. No, they’re making things, and selling what they make to a world eager for their products.

We pride ourselves with our ability to compete. Now the Chinese are saying to us, ‘let’s compete.’

They are saying to us, ‘you brag about your ability to compete. Well, we say to you, we will out compete you, and move past you.’

They are daring us and the whole world is watching.

Do we take them on?

Sure, they took advantage of preferred status in the World Trade Organization and even tried to rig the rules. But there they are. Strong and ambitious. Not willing to bow to anyone. Period.

It has to be exhilarating for their citizens. A nation that has been ruled by western nations and Japan, now standing tall and saying, ‘we have arrived!’ “We’re here on earth and we’re out there in space, too!’

So what are we going to do?

We can complain that they’re ungrateful, as if American companies didn’t make and keep making plenty of money from the vast Chinese markets.

We can and should decry their human rights abuses, their treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, and the violation of their accord with the British in Hong Kong. 

But that doesn’t address the main issue, the fact that their star is rising faster than ours.

And we either confront it or let them move past us.

Our pride is too strong to go with the second option. But to confront China’s rise we have to do some major work in our nation. Long overdue work we thought we could ignore and it would go away by itself.

Let us first consider leadership.

We don’t have any at present. A person who divides is a tribal leader. America has no use for that now. Never did.

The fact that we elected one is a sad chapter in our political history.

But a leader, man or woman, who is able to sit down and talk to us, will have a powerful healing effect. In our hearts and minds, right now, today, we’re all hoping for such a person to step up.

It could well be Joe Biden.

If he has it in him, then he would have to address every sector of this country, address it and say, ‘we can’t do this alone. We’re all part of the solution, we have to come together. Everyone has something to contribute, no one is better than the other. If we don’t pull together, we’ll fall behind. The task for the nation is clear. We must act now.’

To do that we have to forgive. Yes. Forgive that in the matter of race we’ve made blunder after blunder. And so, too, in the matter of growing inequality.

Of course, every group will have complaints and grievances, and every group will feel they should be first in line.

Our leader, will need to hear all of it, to understand and then use it to start down the road to compromise. We’ll have to go down that road because without compromise we won’t get ahead.

We can look at China and say they’re not free. But neither are we. There’s no freedom in disrespect of others, no freedom in systemic racism, no freedom in institutionalized unfairness, no freedom in not having access to proper education and health care, no freedom in living in a dangerous neighborhood without clean and safe water and proper lighting and housing.  

The Chinese are saying to us, ‘we’ll move past you because you can’t get your house together.’

They’re saying to us, ‘you can’t manage your differences.’

And they have a point. That is the Chinese challenge to us. They are telling us, to our faces, ‘dare to be more productive than we are’.

Can we do it?

I think we can. And as we learn to do so we’ll discover great riches. Human and creative riches. Riches that lie trapped in differences not understood.

For instance, how we address immigration will be key. Immigration has contributed enormously to who we are. We should be open to it.

The genetic pool from which China draws talent is enormous, nearly three times ours.

But we have always been a magnet for people from all over the world wanting to improve their lot. There are riches in staying open to the world.

A strong, compassionate leader will help us work with our differences to come together.

Renewal is essential to survival. China is challenging us. We are more than capable of taking them on. And also capable of botching the opportunity.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for a Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Trump and the Power of Pardons

Trump is in the Oval Office at the White House. He’s sitting alone behind his desk… feeling sad and lonely.

He clasps his hands and pushes back in his chair. This is not a good spot he is in. Joe Biden is ahead in the polls. The number of Coronavirus infections has kept going up. The death toll is mounting.

True, the economy’s charge back is a bright spot… but will people forget the death count? Will they forget the pain?

China had not been fully transparent at the outset of the epidemic but still there had been time to take better precautions, and if he had acted promptly the numbers would not be so horrible.

He rubbed his face, looked down at the ground.

He had made a note to himself to call up Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, to thank him for the extraordinary foresight and energy he and his team had shown injecting massive funds into the economy to ensure liquidity, but he hadn’t got around to it. Would he?

It was hard for Trump to acknowledge Powell’s grand moment.

Hard for him to acknowledge that it had not been his press conferences or his refusal to wear a mask that had boosted the spirits of the nation. No. It had been the feisty governors, mostly democratic, and yes, through it all, Jerome Powel and the Federal Reserve. The bankers, with their commitment to their work, had seized the spotlight and taken it from him.  

Congress had acted, too, and passed very important relief bills – but the spotlight was Powell’s.

Trump crossed his legs, brought his palms together beneath his chin and looked up at the ceiling. He felt his eyes grow misty… he felt so alone.

A lump of emotion formed in his throat and he took a deep breath.

If he had been a songwriter… he would have started to write the words for a song… ‘Don’t cry for me, USA, don’t cry for me…’

He shook his head disconsolately.

There were still three and a half months to election day but he already felt defeated.

Beaten down.

Then, abruptly, he clenched his fists. ‘What am I doing?’

He sat up and sprang to his feet, crossing to the window where he threw open the curtains.

Ah, yes… there was the city in its full splendor. Yes. And he felt a rush of relief. All was not lost. Not at all.

It wasn’t Biden that was defeating him, it was the Corona virus. All the mistakes he’d made, the talk of Russian interference, the bruising of long held alliances, the Ukrainian imbroglio, nothing of that had stopped the economy from rising steadily… until the virus hit.

Yes, Biden and the democrats had the virus to thank. If it weren’t for it, Biden and his lot of socialists would be well behind in the polls.

But the virus had happened.

Maybe it was divine intervention. No. Not that. God was on his side. It was more like a test.

Trump looked out and smiled. He loved the sight of the city from his window. And he loathed the idea that he might have to surrender it to a democrat.

He would’ve been glad to surrender it to Pence, instead, after serving a second term.

But no, he would not go down easily. If he had to sign bill after bill of relief funds, he would. And he would because his supporters were counting on him and he would not disappoint them.

He was an embattled president, wasn’t he? Yes, he was. He loved a good fight. And yes, he was going to do everything he could to beat back the socialists and fascists who wanted to tear up the very heart of America.

He would not let down the great nation, like he would not let down his friends.

Just the day before he had signed a pardon for his old time ally, Roger Stone, as he was about to start serving a three year sentence. No, he would not allow Roger to suffer that indignity.  

Trump kept looking out the window and crossed his arms. He was feeling better now. A little better. He had friends, yes, people who counted on him. But he knew, too, that he was running out of time. So he needed to face the facts. He had dealt with many painful situations in his life, having had to declare bankruptcy many times, and if he hadn’t acted decisively then the Trump brand would not have existed and he would not be standing in the Oval office.

He smiled to himself.

So, no, he was not going down without a fight… and even if he went down, bloodied and bruised, there would still be life after the White House. ‘Let’s face it,’ he said aloud, ‘I’m a historical figure, a turning point in the history of America. From here on out there will be two eras, the B.T., Before Trump, and the A.T., After Trump. Now, that was power. Great power.’

And yes, he would have to live with the regret that there would be no Nobel Prize for him, like there had been for his predecessor, the African born president passing himself as Hawaiian.

He chuckled. It was not deserved anyway, he consoled himself. The Swedes and Norwegians gave the prize to Obama at the start of his presidency before he had done anything, which was just as well because he didn’t do anything. In effect, Obama had got a Nobel Prize for being Black.

‘But don’t cry for me, USA!’ Trump exclaimed defiantly, surprised that he had shouted the words.

He nodded thoughtfully, closed his eyes and rubbed his chin.

Yes, he was a businessman at the core… and he had to protect the downside. He must, because there was the possibility that this time the polls were right, and Biden would beat him.

Never mind the debates, where he was sure to trounce Biden (surely Biden had something to say about that). He would have no mercy for Joe, Trump continued, because he didn’t deserve any.

Trump checked his watch. It was 4:58 pm. He had asked Pence to meet him at the office at 5.

He stayed looking out the window and two minutes later, exactly on time, there was a knock at the door.

‘Come on in!’ he cried.

And Pence stepped in. He went over to where Trump stood and they shook hands. Trump signaled for Pence to take a seat opposite him at his desk.

Quiet followed.

Then Trump began. ‘Mike… there is the possibility that, this time, the polls are right.’

‘What?’ Pence shook his head vigorously. ‘I don’t believe them. Not one of them. It’s all fake news.’

‘Thank you, Mike, you have been so loyal. To the point that you chose not to wear a mask when you visited Mayo Clinic. You went into the hospital wards where all the doctors were wearing them and you, alone, stood out for not having one on. That took guts.’

‘Thank you,’ said Pence, though it occurred to him that he had acted like an idiot, ‘I’d do it again, too,’ he added.

‘That’s precisely the kind of spirit we need when the chips are down. Now Mike… the reason I’ve asked you in… is that I need your help.’

‘Anything… you know that,’ said Pence.

They paused for an instant.

‘I had a dream last night,’ resumed Trump, ‘where I was standing on top of the staircase to Air Force One, ready to board, and I waved back. I had lost the election.’

‘No way,’ said Pence emphatically. ‘It won’t happen, the economy is bouncing back, before long it will be reaching record highs, and there will be major breakthroughs in getting the vaccine. People will be back to work and the unemployment rate will be close to where it was before Corona.’

Trump smiled wistfully. And he wanted to believe his loyal friend but he needed to cover his downside. He was, after all, a practical man.

‘Mike… if I lose…’

‘Don’t think that way,’ interrupted Pence, leaning forward, ‘You’re a winner, you’re what America needs.’

Trump nodded slowly, then, ‘Mike… if I lose… I need you to pardon me.’

Pence stared back at Trump, startled, then sat back in his chair and looked down at the desk in front of him.

‘Pardon you for what? You haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘I know, but you don’t know what these democrats will come up with, anything to drive me down into the muck… when all my work has been to elevate America.’

Pence nodded thoughtfully.

‘But how could I do that, I’d have to be president to pardon you?’

‘True… so I would make you president.’

‘What?’

‘If I lose… which I don’t think I will, but if I lose… I’d resign before the end of my term so you would become president… and then, after a week or so in office, you would turn around and pardon me.’

Pence raised his eyebrows. ‘You would be willing to do that?’

‘Yes.’

‘When would you resign?’

‘Right after New Year’s Day… which would leave you about 3 weeks in office. Enough time to handle one crisis or another, and then you would become former president Pence, and that would make you the leading candidate against Biden in 2024.’

Pence nodded approvingly, the possibilities dawning on him. ‘I would be the leader of the Republican party, with plenty of time to raise money to beat Biden or whoever became the democratic candidate.’

‘That’s the idea. Of course, if you want, I’d be glad to campaign for you,’ said Trump, ‘if you want.’

There was quiet again.

Then Pence smiled a big smile, his eyes sparkling, and extended his hand to Trump.

‘Deal,’ Pence said, gushing. And Trump’s sagging spirits were suddenly lifted.

‘You made my day, Mike,’ said Trump.

‘Now let’s get on with it and win this next election,’ said Pence, effusively.

And the two men rose, walked toward each other and embraced.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net