Post Modern Political Honesty: Part V--The Rest of the Hacking Denial Story

In my last post, I detailed one of the central reasons why Donald Trump is denying that the Russians hacked the DNC's network during the election. Specifically, he appears to have adopted a neo-post World War II foreign relations approach. However, as is usually the case in seeking to understand the Donald, the explanation is multi-factorial. The other factors are that the President is:

• Apathetic about the potential implications of such a declaration, and 
• Subject to dramatically narcissistic perceptions about the 2016 election and Vladimir Putin

Mr. Trump appears to both believe that no Russian hack of the DNC occurred, and not care about the possible consequences of saying so. Of course he should care, considering what those consequences could be. For instance, in Part IV of this series, I argued that the combination of Putin reading this sort of conciliatory gesture by POTUS-and there have been several-as a green light to expansionism, and Trump's disengagement from NATO, is a recipe for a third world war. But, even taking off the table the calamity of an unbridled Russia starting a global conflagration, we are left with unacceptable sequelae like the spread of communism, the restoration of the Soviet Union, and a bilateral nuclear war. 

The final piece of the explanation of Trump's denial that the DNC hacking was done by the Russians is that he is subject to dramatically narcissistic perceptions about the 2016 election and Vladimir Putin. [For a more general discussion of his public narcissism, see my post on 02/20/16: To be, or not to be (surprised by Trump): Part II--On the Couch.] 

Vis a' vis the elections, were the President to admit that his campaign was helped by the dissemination of the information that came from the hack, he would also be implicitly admitting that his win was not gained by his effort alone. The Donald is just not capable of this; examples are ubiquitous. To him, success is an imperative as well as a zero-sum achievement. He can not share the spotlight with anyone but a subordinate; and even Trump doesn't see Putin as a subordinate. 

Mr. Putin is, however, serving another vital function for POTUS. That is, the Russian President is flattering him. Given that there is nothing more important to Mr. Trump than being successful and admired (see Nine Consistent Things About Donald Trump for more), positive commentary from one of the world's most important heads of state surely carries great weight in this regard. Otherwise put, President Putin's flattery is providing the perpetual adulation that the Donald's requires in order to maintain consistency in his ever-fragmenting self concept. As such, it would be inconceivable to him that Putin's praise was disingenuous. 


It'll be a cold day in hell before Trump ponies up this one.

Post-Modern Political Honesty: Part IV--Trump's Surreal Denial of Russian Hacking

As I said in Part III of this series, Donald Trump has raised Post Modern Political Honesty to new heights, or depths if you like. That is, to the level of surreal denial. 

Take, for instance, his continued refusal to admit that the Russian government hacked into the Democratic National Committee's computer network.

We have before us what has become a ubiquitous question. Why is Trump maintaining this position in the face of fairly convincing evidence to the contrary? Discarding the knee-jerk, albeit accurate, answer--because he's Donald Trump--we are left with the following answers. (None is exclusive of the others.) The POTUS-Elect is maintaining this position on Russian hacking because he is:

1. Espousing a neo-post World War II foreign relations approach
2. Apathetic about the potential implications of such a declaration
3. Subject to dramatically narcissistic perceptions about the 2016 election and Vladimir Putin

I'll talk about each of these in this, and my next, post.

A Neo-Post World War II Foreign Relations Approach

Mr. Trump is consistent (enough), in his infidelity to history in the name of opportunity, that his style can be categorized as a foreign policy approach. To begin defining what his neo-post World War II international relations approach is, let's consider what it is not. First, an approach is not a policy. Foreign policies are specific strategies to protect national interests and reach goals in the international space. Second, an approach is not a philosophy. Philosophy concerns itself with the fundamental nature of knowledge, truth, reality, and existence. This may seem impressionistic to some and a gratuitous shot to others--and both would be right--but the Donald just doesn't come across like someone who would be interested in this sort of thing.

So, what IS the POTUS-Elect's neo-post World War II international relations approach? Otherwise asked, which of the structures set in place at the end of WWII does Trump want to change? These are not difficult questions to answer. Germany has been reunited and the Iron Curtain was drawn. It is but the contest between the West's North-Atlantic-Treaty vision and the Soviet's post-Yalta expansionist vision that remains. The current iteration of this is the US and NATO versus Russia and its client states.

NATO Secretary General congratulates President Donald J. Trump on his inauguration

Trump's approach has revealed itself through his public commentary, on several occasions, in which he questioned whether the US should continue to honor its obligations under the Treaty. Specifically, he suggested that the US might not respond to the invocation of Article 5 by countries whose organizational dues are in arrears. Alternately phrased, the POTUS-Elect may not honor its promise to respond to an attack on any NATO country as if it was an attack on all member states. 

Non-participation by the US would neuter the last post-WWII boundary still in place.

At other points, the POTUS-to-be has wondered aloud about whether NATO's interminable mediocre performance, and unyielding biases, should result in its dissolution. Both non-participation by the US, and the dissolution of the Treaty, would allow Russian imperialism to continue-and exponentiate-unchecked. While NATO is, admittedly, flawed and has not prevented Putin's recent land grabs in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, it's the ONLY buffer we have at the moment. 

Dissolving the last post-WWII structure standing also virtually guarantees another world war.

In my next post, I'll explain the other reasons why Trump is denying the Russian DNC hacking. They are, that he is:

• Apathetic about the potential implications of such a declaration
• Subject to dramatically narcissistic perceptions about the 2016 election and Vladimir Putin

Musings on 3/8/16: Trump's Curious Pattern of Admiring Evil People

Marrying his charisma and authoritarian style to his nationalistic, populist politicking makes for a surprisingly easy comparison of GOP front runner Donald Trump to Germany's fetid former fuhrer, Adolph Hitler. Indeed, Trump kept a copy of Hitler's book My New Order-a compendium of his speeches-at his bedside. (A Henry Ford reprise?) His recent practice of having audiences swear to vote for him is tantamount to the compulsory oaths during the Third Reich.

The Donald also recently tweeted this Mussolini quotation. 

“It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.”

Before that, he seemed genuinely flattered that Russian President Vladimir Putin knows who he is.

This stands in comedic contrast to his daylong denial, last week, of knowing who former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke is. (He walked this back within 24 hours. Apparently, something exists that doesn't meet the Trump truth threshold.)

Hitler, Mussolini, and Putin are all examples of heads of state whose malignant intentions manifested in indisputably inhuman and immoral acts. So why would Trump be reading, tweeting and flushing about such people? The answer is his admiration of the type of power they exercised. Simply, it was raw. The SS, Blackshirts, and KGB wielded calculated, unpredictable, terrifying and complete power. It is this sort of power, unbridled and naked, that is surely the theme of Trump's sweetest fantasies. It is this sort of power that (in its non-violent form) has always been Trump's central pursuit. 

It is this sort of power that makes Trump admire evil people.