Eighteen months ago, just before Trump’s inauguration, in a blog ‘Predicting What Trump Will Do Next’, I described how bullies work indicating “They are masters of manipulation, deflection, deceit and denial and no one is better at bullying than Donald Trump. Bullies are particularly dangerous when their back is against the wall and the growing agitation about Trump’s connection with Russia is going to have his back against the bricks very soon. My prediction is he will do everything he can to maintain his power and control. He will abuse the power of the presidency up to and including drastic things like martial law.”
Many mocked me by indicating this could never happen in the United States, given the checks and balances in place to prevent such an ominous scenario.
Well we know how impotent the checks and balances are.
In today’s New York Times an opinion piece, Roger Cohen quotes Norman Ornstein, a political scientist at the American Institute - “Trump fires Mueller, pardons himself and everyone else, sends his followers into the street, and, after the inevitable bloodshed, declares martial law.”
Too far-fetched? Well I didn’t think so eighteen months ago, and I certainly don’t think so today.