I don't believe in suspense. There are tons of Problems Donald Trump faces that are bigger than who will be the next frightened occupants of the West Wing. That is the big news today. He is effortlessly commanding the MSM and its curatorial online echo chamber with binary tales of replacing this or that functionary. Do we care? Does it make a difference? No.
Predictable challenges
So let's shelve staffing, Russia, and impeachment and cut to the chase.
The biggest challenge Trump faces is himself, He knows where that leads. There is an equally big challenge, and it is the Swamp -- the one he said he would drain.
Trump is caught in a Swamp with some very bad dudes -- the GOP leadership and its one percent sponsors. The chemistry is toxic. It robs Trump of wiggle room, and thus we meet the biggest challenge of all.
The big kahuna is the base
If you read the media, you would think Trump's base is nothing but white supremacist yahoos ready t do violence to anyone with a progressive thought. Think again. With all of the instant sociology about coastal versus heartland, we forget that most Trump voters, his true base, is made up of people who are simply inclined to conservative yearnings.
To them, Trump was a hope. I say "was" because that base has been consistent about Trump's need to be presidential. He is not presidential when he shoves to the front and makes disparaging and hurtful remarks or tweets about things that are beneath the dignity of the leader of America.
Trump's non-Bannon base is what hangs in the balance as Trump deals with life.
The Kathy Griffin factor
As I write, I note the media is engaged in another kerfluffle which basically serves as a sort of a national umbrage meter. Who can express the most righteous indignation when Griffin displays a severed presidential head and Trump pleads that she is traumatizing his son Barron" Trump spends about as much time with Barron as with his ex-wives.
It is this absurdity that preempts the actual history that is unfolding. It is why Trump is his (and thus our) own worst enemy.
History is about values playing out
We are witnessing the eternal distraction that gobbles up headlines. At the same time, the GOP rolls on with its one percent chores. Killing the environment, privatizing the nation, militarizing the police. These will be recorded when history is written. Likewise, as the media chirps about gossip and celebrities, Trump's trading militarism for nonviolence sickens those who know where this path leads.
