TRUMP’S IN TROUBLE

We’ve had three years of non‑stop Trumpian outrages and three years of non‑stop Democrat desperate calling for impeachment action.

The over publicised and sometimes shrill Alexandra Ocasio‑Cortez, the youngest ever member of Congress, has been in the vanguard of impeachment trumpeting but a month back, the sagacious top Democrat and House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, effectively told her to put a sock in it. Basically, Nancy’s wise advice was that a failed impeachment action would strengthen Trump’s re‑election prospects and further deepen the already huge rift in American society today.

Now Pelosi has announced a formal impeachment enquiry into the Ukraine affair. She’s too damn smart to do that unless she’s certain of her grounds and for the first time ever Trump is looking decidedly worried.

What seems clear is that Pelosi has played Trump like a trout and knows a lot more than she’s letting on.

First came the news of a whistle‑blowing claim about the phone conversation and the Biden son assertion. Trump treated this with his stock fake news assertion. Then, a further titbit release and an unusually subdued Trump had no choice but to do a U‑turn and admit he’d lied and the Biden son matter was discussed. That was an appalling lack of judgement, moreso as despite the polls, I can’t see Biden gaining the nomination.

Trump’s in big trouble on this one and he knows it. I suspect his half‑hearted delivery of his ludicrous United Nations address was an ill‑considered attempt to prepare a defence for what’s coming.

Preaching a preposterous nationalistic line that it’s every country’s duty to abandon internationalism and solely look after itself, stunned his audience and was utterly inappropriate for that forum.

My suspicion is this was to lay the ground work for a defence that rules don’t count when dealing with other nations, thus anything he said to the Ukrainian President is of no matter. It won’t wash, moreso given the implicit bribery in a few days before his phone call, he having cut aid to the Ukraine, for no meaningful reason. A number of Republicans have publicly expressed their horror at this expose, plus some Fox News commentators have quietly stated their alarm.

All of that said, at this stage it’s important to note it’s an investigation whether an impeachment action is justified and not yet an actual impeachment process. Pelosi will look silly if it comes to nothing and knows it, which is why I think she must be very confident she’s on solid ground. Time will tell.

We can wring our hands over the Brexit chaos and Trump’s outrageous Presidency but that’s futile. Life goes on in Britain, which as an aside, like America, is booming. Far better to treat it all as a highly entertaining spectacle and sit back and enjoy it.