Commentary: Can You Trump This?
Being President is serious business, as are the affairs of a Great Nation. At least they are supposed to be. But reading the news these days you might begin to wonder if things going on in and around the Nation’s Capital was more like a game show.
And before someone says it, we do have a former game show celebrity sitting in a great seat of power. And others are around him who hold sway over a great many things in our lives who rose to their positions by giving the right answers along their way and choosing the right door out of what was hiding behind doors Number One, Two, and Three. Some of these people have done very well with generous parting-gifts and other benefits like successful game show contestants as they moved up their ranks. Sort of their version of The Price Is Right?
There are multiple high-level legal inquiries going against prominent individuals. There are trouble spots around the world. There is a worsening budget deficit that doesn’t seem to bother either political party in Washington. There are skyrocketing costs of health care and a total loss of coverage for many. There is the endless intrusion of artificial intelligence, robotics, and social media eating away at traditional ways of being human. And on and on. So many serious things going on. So why can things seem so much like a game show right now? That’s the $64,000 Question, isn’t it?
One of the President’s former top advisors is featured in a new book that’s creating a lot of waves. The President has taken verbal jabs at him. Call this a clear case of a Family Feud. The President has disputed unflattering reports of how he and his inner circle functions. This sounds like Who Do You Trust?
The President has still not revealed his personal finances as he promised he would. This would be a case of I’ve Got A Secret.
Various activities of the President, his family, and others around him are being probed. Sounds like Twenty Questions. The investigators hope to elicit successful renditions of To Tell The Truth. At some point, these investigations into the various activities of the President and his family and others close to him will be coming to a conclusion. This will be a case of Beat The Clock. And Truth or Consequences. And all this may end up as Let’s Make A Deal. For the President himself, will this be Stop The Music? He and others certainly find themselves spinning in a Wheel of Fortune.
Democrats, who still mourn their loss because they didn’t pick the right person behind their door to run in the last presidential election, hope to Strike It Rich or reap a big future election bounty in a case of Winner Take All. But they have plenty of their own problems with serious revelations and bad behaviors resulting from their very tight Hollywood Connection. And some of the folks in both major political parties are due for a career change and future appearance on What’s My Line.
You need a score card today to keep track of everyone now who’s playing a personal and professional game of Jeopardy. This certainly requires one to bring a heavy dose of daily Concentration to keep up with all the latest developments.
Maybe it’s not hard at all to wonder why things today seem so much like a game show. We are all watching this version of Can You Top This. Or Can You Trump This? Will there be more game show-style madness ahead? There can be only one answer. You Bet Your Life!