My Kingdom for a Leader

*This post was written two days ago and had been scheduled for publication Sunday morning.  In light of the escalating Tweet War between President Trump and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey the staff here at The Platz determined it should be published earlier than planned.

You all likely remember the Donald Trump ‘Birther Conspiracy’ – the tall tale that Obama was not born in the US and was thus ineligible for office.  

For five years Trump led the birther movement to delegitimize a sitting president.  This lie eventually became the foundation of his own campaign.  Then, with 53 days remaining until  the presidential election, Trump had this to say:  President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Period.   

The entire vast conspiracy ended with ten words. 

What is interesting – to me at least – is that people believed the lie.  They embraced it as they would an article of faith.  Some still do.  A couple of employers ago I was acquainted with a person that did then and continues to believe today that Obama was not born on American soil, that his birth certificate is an elaborate hoax and he therefore remains an illegitimate president.  Guess what - this individual is not alone in that belief. 

Let that notion sink-in for a bit.  People believed the lie with all their heart.  

Are you a birther?

I share this walk down memory lane because Donald Trump has hitched his wagon to another baseless conspiracy theory about the 2001 death of Lori Klausutis.             

In case you didn't know or haven't been paying attention - Lori Klausutis worked as a staffer for Joe Scarborough when he represented Florida’s First District in Congress.  Klausutis passed-away while at work.  Klausutis, age 28, fainted as a consequence of a heart defect and struck her head on a desk.  She was found dead the following day.  Her boss, Scarborough, was in Washington at the time.   

A subsequent police investigation found no evidence of wrong doing and the coroner reported that the cause of death was a hard fall against a hard object precipitated by a  floppy mitral valve disease.   End of story, right?           

Not so with Donald Trump.    

That Scarborough - nowadays a popular MSNBC news host and occasional Trump critic - who also happens to be married to Mika Brzezinski probably has something to do with it.  Brzezinski also happens to be co-host to the same MSNBC program as Scarborough and the both of them have gotten under Trump’s skin.         

Alas, even though local law enforcement concluded no foul play was involved in Klausutis’ death - as with the birther nonsense - Trump has trolled Scarborough periodically over the years.

That Trump tweets outrageous lies and inflammatory rhetoric to his followers should come as no surprise.  There was this several weeks ago...

I consider this exploitation and mockery of someone's death particularly ghoulish.  And it is a heinous thing to inflict-upon the survivors.  

Having had enough of Trump's unsavory behavior the decedent’s spouse, Timothy Klausutis, requested that Twitter take the content down.  Twitter didn't delete the tweet but has begun adding a Fact Check disclaimer to certain of Trump's lies.  The president has responded to this action with his typical outrage and an executive order that is a lame attempt at negating settled law.

And there is this - I've been wondering what percentage of Trump’s 8 million Twitter followers take some measure of amusement and joy in witnessing a family forced to relive the death of loved one. 

Do you take delight in this twisted business?

And how many of those followers now embrace the lie with all their heart? 

This is a sad reflection upon individual character and values.  A new American low.  

That our President routinely traffics in lies and would exploit a family tragedy is stunning.  I am a flawed individual as we all are - yet this repugnance is obscene.            

So consider this – Trump is being out-polled by a guy hiding in his basement and with the COVID-19 death toll now over 100,000 (and rising) voters are beginning to question his unhurried and tardy response to the crisis and subsequent mismanagement of the ongoing response and economic carnage.           

Predictably, Trump’s embrace of another crazy conspiracy theory has shifted attention from the shit show health crisis and broken economy.  As I said before he is a master of managing the narrative – even if it requires mocking and exploited the dead.          

*Edit to add - You might consider reading Joe Scarborough's piece published in the Washington Post yesterday..