Diary

Although, as I've said repeatedly, I don't like thinking about or discussing Donald Trump, I thought that I should pass along my impressions of what is happening now. While Trump has proven himself to be incompetent in multiple areas, he is actually fairly predictable, and, after being forced to pay attention to him for ten years, I just noticed how he is changing his strategy. There is a certain amount of speculation here, but this is what I think. Because of his interaction today with the newly-elected mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, and some of the comments that he made during the meeting, I think that Trump has recognized that he is about finished with the MAGA movement and is fully prepared to exit the Republican Party. This is evident in his harebrained continuation of his economic policies from his first term, which didn't work then and aren't working now. Despite his often-aggressive behavior, Trump is one of the most predictable public figures that I've ever observed. He never had much of an emotional connection with the Republican Party, because he grew up in New York City, and he now sees the writing on the wall regarding his future as the leader of MAGA, and he is preparing for a retirement from politics which will allow him to maintain connections with New York City. This can also be interpreted as an attempt to divert from the reality of a weakened economy and public disgust regarding his military assaults on American cities, but, to me, Trump seems to be exhausted from his entire effort and has reached the point where he is seriously thinking about exiting the situation – rather than continuing his attempt to transform the presidency into a dictatorship. It is also possible that new facts from the release of the Epstein documents may be affecting him, but, in any case, Trump seems to be giving up. In addition, it is quite possible that he is now getting negative feedback from the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court. The reason why I'm writing this is that the news media in general is not courageous enough to say it or even speculate at all.

Regarding the last comment, although I don't always enjoy The Contrarian, Jennifer Rubin and Norm Eisen have in fact created an effective antidote to the Trump phenomenon. I find that some of their interviews get right to the heart of the issues, and they don't pull punches. It can be really frustrating to watch the traditional news outlets waltzing around meaningful commentary. My only complaints about The Contrarian are that they are more confident about the democratic process than I am and perhaps have a religious faith that I am completely lacking. Still, their chutzpah can be inspiring. 

In any case, whether or not my evaluation is completely accurate, I now feel that Trump is on the way out. The job market is deteriorating, and if Trump decides to mail out checks to get a political boost, that will only increase inflation.

In other news, I am attempting to prepare for a long, slow winter. I currently have a lengthy biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson to read, which should last for several weeks. While I don't think that I will find Emerson's ideas particularly interesting, I have recently been reading about nineteenth century New England people, and this will help round out the picture for me. I've read enough biographies now to think that entire periods are generally more interesting than any particular individuals who were prominent during those times. This is also a safe way to avoid lionizing one or two people who don't necessarily deserve it. Many famous people have serious flaws that can be quite annoying when you take a close look. At this point I find it more interesting to look at different periods and locations and see the biographical participants within their particular ecosystems. This has worked fairly well for me recently for the French Enlightenment, nineteenth century British intellectuals and artists, and now nineteenth century American intellectuals and artists. However, I may be running out of material and may soon have to learn Mandarin or some other language – though, as I've said, I'm terrible at languages. For entertainment, I am currently watching Claire's Knee, by Éric Rohmer, for the third time. I enjoy seeing Lake Annecy, which I visited in 2000. Annecy is also where Rousseau met Mme. de Warens. While there, I took out a motor boat on the lake.