Trump, the Consummate Blamer-in-Chief Gets His Due
I’m publishing this series of articles to share and discuss my ruminations on coping with a troubled and messy world. You can “follow” me to never miss an article.
With its typical insightful analysis and acumen, The New York Times does it usual exemplary job in pinpointing the enumerable character defects and flaws of Donald Trump[i]. His inability to accept responsibility for his actions and to blame others are one of his prime hallmarks. He wastes no time in branding others with his favorite epithet, Loser! Thanks to his father, it’s the worst insult that can be leveled at him.
As The Times notes, “Mr. Trump’s unwillingness to take responsibility for six years has been met with willing partners in the Republican party.” Thus, he’s not alone in his avoidance of taking responsibility.
Nonetheless, given this year’s disastrous Midterm elections, influential Republicans are looking to back others who they believe can win. It’s not because Trump has done anything particularly unethical, but because he’s been doing it for years. Instead, in their judgement, he’s “no longer the path to power”. For this reason, former allies are withholding their endorsement for 2024.[ii]
In an Op-Ed, Michael Wolff says it all:
“Chaos suits [Trump], allowing him again and again to turn what ought to be humiliating and defeating disorder into potent conflict: If he can’t find a solution to a problem, he can almost always identify an enemy to blame it on. Trouble is, the problem remains.”[iii]
While Trump is thereby incapable of learning from his mistakes — indeed, he sees them as virtues — we are doomed if enough of us do not learn and move on to better candidates.
[i] Jonathon Weisman, “Trump’s Choice to Run Is the Ultimate In Avoiding Responsibility,” The New York Times, Thursday, November 17, 2022, P A20.
[ii] Reid J. Epstein, Lisa Lerer, and Jonathon Weisman, “Former Allies Holding Back On Trump ’24,” The New York Times, Thursday, November, 17, 2022, PP A1 and A20.
[iii] Michael Wolff, “The Chaos Inside Donald Trump’s Mind,” The New York Times, Thursday, November, 17, 2022, PP A26.
Ian I. Mitroff is credited as being one of the principal founders of the modern field of Crisis Management. He has a BS, MS, and a PhD in Engineering and the Philosophy of Social Systems Science from UC Berkeley. He Is Professor Emeritus from the Marshall School of Business and the Annenberg School of Communication at USC. Currently, he is a Senior Research Affiliate in the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, UC Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Management. He has published 41 books. His latest is: The Socially Responsible Organization: Lessons from Covid, Springer, New York, 2022.
Photo by Sean Ferigan on Unsplash
