Op-ed: Are Trump’s accusers ‘mad’?

  • By Cal Thomas
  • Tuesday, January 9, 2018 11:23am
  • Opinion

“Everybody’s got to believe in something. I believe I’ll have another beer.” — W.C. Fields

Having lost an election they thought they would win and unable to get over it; having been staggeringly wrong about their predictions that a Trump presidency would be the end of global economies; now putting faith in a special counsel to bring down the president with evidence that looks increasingly dubious, the left has taken refuge in the only shelter available to them: the president is off his rocker, mad, crazy, unstable and therefore the 25th Amendment must be invoked and Trump removed from office.

Is that the best they’ve got? Let’s see them run on that platform this November and in 2020.

The latest entry to the “wild and crazy guy” Olympics is Michael Wolff, author of the instant best seller “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” Wolff claims to have interviewed 200 current and former White House insiders who all believe — every one of them — that the president is a lunatic and in need of a straightjacket. Wolff claims to have recordings of his “off the record” interviews. Let’s hear them.

A number of current and former White House insiders, including the president, have stated publicly they were never interviewed. Some who may have been interviewed say the quotes attributed to them are wrong. Again, Wolff should roll the tape.

If what’s written in “Fire and Fury” is accurately transcribed, what motivated those Wolff allegedly interviewed to undermine, even betray, the president? What did they hope to gain? Democratic administrations are not known for behaving this way. What prompted such Republican disloyalty?

In the book’s prologue, as noted by Business Insider, Wolff writes: “Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are boldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book.”

“Sometimes,” he writes, “I have let the players offer their versions, in turn allowing the reader to judge them. In other instances I have, through a consistency in the accounts and through sources I have come to trust, settled on a version of events I believe to be true.”

As noted by The Washington Times: “Of course, that belief may be misplaced — and voila, a little untruth is born. But it’s up to the reader to decide. Or, the anti-Trump media and Democratic Party ‘Impeach Trump’ crowd, as the case may be.”

People tend to pay attention only to those views and accusations that reinforce their own beliefs. Most conservatives read conservative newspapers, listen to talk radio and watch Fox News. Most liberals read liberal newspapers and watch MSNBC where programs like “Morning Joe” are mouthpieces for their liberal agenda.

The champion of conservative talk radio is Rush Limbaugh. On his program last Friday, Limbaugh got to the heart of the anti-Trump movement, which he said is establishment and therefore bipartisan.

“This is the reaction of people not in charge,” he said. “These are people that have lost touch. They’ve lost their grip. Because Trump is threatening the little fiefdom they’ve created. They’ve set it up so that they’re the experts and nobody else can possibly understand what they’re doing. … And in less than a year, Trump has come in and run rings around them, and that poses such a big threat, he’s got to go.”

Limbaugh noted that some of the same things being said about Trump were said about George W. Bush, i.e. that he’s stupid, a cowboy and doesn’t read books (Bush did, lots of them).

With so many things going well for the administration, especially on the economy, jobs, unemployment and the defeat of ISIS in Syria, it’s the left that may be in need of a straightjacket. Perhaps they should just chill out and have another beer.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.

More in Opinion

Screenshot. (https://dps.alaska.gov/ast/vpso/home)
Opinion: Strengthening Alaska’s public safety: Recent growth in the VPSO program

The number of VPSOs working in our remote communities has grown to 79

Soldotna City Council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL candidate forum series, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: I’m a Soldotna Republican and will vote No on 2

Open primaries and ranked choice voting offer a way to put power back into the hands of voters, where it belongs

Nick Begich III campaign materials sit on tables ahead of a May 16, 2022, GOP debate held in Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: North to a Brighter Future

The policies championed by the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress have made it harder for us to live the Alaskan way of life

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Vote yes to retain Judge Zeman and all judges on your ballot

Alaska’s state judges should never be chosen or rejected based on partisan political agendas

A vintage Underwood typewriter sits on a table on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Point of View: District 6 needs to return to representation before Vance

Since Vance’s election she has closely aligned herself with the far-right representatives from Mat-Su and Gov. Mike Dunleavy

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Help ensure Alaskans have rights to use, enjoy and care for rivers

It is discouraging to see the Department of Natural Resources seemingly on track to erode the public’s ability to protect vital water interests.

A sign directing voters to the Alaska Division of Elections polling place is seen in Kenai, Alaska, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Vote no on Ballot Measure 2

A yes vote would return Alaska to party controlled closed primaries and general elections in which the candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected.

Derrick Green (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Ballot Measure 1 will help businesses and communities thrive

It would not be good for the health and safety of my staff, my customers, or my family if workers are too worried about missing pay to stay home when they are sick.

A sign warns of the presence of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, July 10, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Could an unnecessary gold mine drive Cook Inlet belugas extinct?

An industrial port for the proposed Johnson Tract gold mine could decimate the bay

Cassie Lawver. Photo provided by Cassie Lawver
Point of View: A clear choice

Sarah Vance has consistently stood up for policies that reflect the needs of our district