Fecteau: Trump’s House of Cards: Season One

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Matt Fecteau, GoLocalWorcester Guest MINDSETTER™

Donald Trump

With the grace of Mr. Magoo, President Donald J. Trump has, yet again, proven he is unfit for the office he holds. In this week’s wacky, bizarre episode of House of Cards: Trump edition, the latest dysfunctional idiocy in the White House involves Mr. Trump handing over highly sensitive intelligence to the ambassador of our geopolitical foe, Russia.

Yes, Russia; the same Russia that meddled in the U.S. presidential election to help Mr. Trump win. No conflict of interest here (sarcasm). And the same Russian ambassador who former national security advisor Michael Flynn talked in-depth with about sanctions before he was appointed to the White House, lied about the interaction afterward and resigned as a result. In a new twist, a memo leaked to The New York Times shows Mr. Trump tried to squash the FBI probe into Mr. Flynn’s ties to Russia – the plot thickens as they say.

The ratings-obsessed Mr. Trump should be getting royalties for all the subject matter he is producing for television and streaming media services. The Netflix television show the House of Cards for one is receiving some very original plot material. Frank Underwood wouldn’t be this sloppy though; he might have killed someone by now, but at least he wouldn’t deliberately put his country at risk giving away intelligence because someone said something nice to him – flattery only goes so far with Underwood.

I am not sure if this is partisanship, sexism, or just outright stupidity, but Mr. Trump has since been given not just a pass, but a get out of jail-free card. He is able to awkwardly outmaneuver his critics with his audacious use of demagoguery, and playing the victim. When a government employee leak information, Mr. Trump declares it is a criminal act that warrants investigation (a Frank Underwood style tactic).

However, when Mr. Trump deliberately gives highly sensitive information to one of our geopolitical foes that he hasn’t even shared with the U.S. Senate, it is a right. Russia is not just an adversary of the United States, but also an adversary to key allies who will be reluctant to share intelligence with the United States in the future out. If President Barack Obama or Mrs. Hillary Clinton behaved like Trump, either one would appropriately be facing a serious investigation, impeachment proceedings, and maybe jail time.

I look forward to next week’s plot twist – almost as good as watching a satirical version Homeland. I mean, Mr. Trump is great for ratings, just ask the producers of Saturday Night Live. I am getting the popcorn out and watching with anticipation. If this was Netflix, at least I could skip ahead and see, but alas, it isn’t. This is reality, and sometimes, reality is much, much stranger than fiction, but much scarier too. Perhaps we shouldn’t renew this show for another season.

Matt Fecteau ([email protected]) of Pawtucket, Rhode Island was a Democratic candidate for office in 2014 and 2016. He is a former White House national security intern and Iraq War veteran. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewFecteau