Poor Donald Trump, overwhelmed by the pressures of doing something that no one has ever had to do before: show leadership and solve a problem.
The buck stops with Trump when everything is good, like the stock market going up! Here, let’s have him sign a stock chart for his supporters. But when something goes bad? Never his fault. Ever. And when it undoubtedly is? Well, it’s still not his fault because how could it be? This is all so brand-new! It isn’t, of course. Heck, he lost his shit over Ebola, even as President Barack Obama was ably handling it. There was a reason we had a pandemic response task force before Trump happily axed it.
But even if true, could you imagine other presidents whining about having to face an unprecedented challenge?
George Washington: Well, we gave that “new nation” thing a try, but it’s not my fault. It has never been done before.
Abraham Lincoln: Yeah, it sucks to see the South go, but it’s not my fault. A civil war wasn’t something ever done before.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Damn, there goes Europe. Hope the Nazis aren’t too bad! But it’s not my fault. An evil marauding invading army wasn’t something that had ever been done before.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Oof, I know, driving those small roads from city to city is brutal. Wish I could’ve pulled off that “interstate highway” thing. But not my fault! A road system has never been done before.
John F. Kennedy: Sorry about the whole nuclear holocaust thing. But it’s not my fault we botched the Cuban missile crisis. It had never been done before.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Darn it, black people still can’t vote. But hey, what could I do? Not my fault. This had never been done before.
Barack Obama: Sorry to see the whole economy collapse, ushering the “Great Depression of the 2000s,” but not my fault. This had never been done before! Sure would’ve been nice to have more people insured, huh? Not my fault. Yup. It had never been done before.
As for the former dumbest president ever?
George W. Bush: Sorry about ignoring that intelligence briefing titled “Bin Laden determined to strike the U.S.,” then attacking the wrong country in response, costing millions of lives, trillions of dollars, and giving rise to ISIS.
Well … they don’t always rise to the challenge.
And as if that wasn’t horrific enough, Republicans decided to go even dumber with Trump. Worst part? You know Trump isn’t their rock bottom. Get ready for them to nominate Ted Nugent someday. Or QAnon.
Real leaders rise to the challenges before them, even if they’re not of their own doing. Republicans have completely forgotten what a “real leader” even looks like. For starters, they don’t pass the buck to someone else, or refuse to take responsibility for their actions. It’s not that high a bar.