Control as a Buffer against Insecurity
Maybe it’s time to stand up against this madness?
On Friday, Donald held a meeting with oil executives for the ostensible purpose to discuss how to pillage Venezuela’s oil supply after Donald invaded the country in order to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The proceedings quickly devolved into a showcase for Donald’s cognitive decline. After greeting his guests, Donald said:
If we had a ballroom, we’d have over 1,000 people. Everybody wanted [to come]. I never knew your industry was that big. I never knew you had that many people in your industry, but here we are. In fact, if you look, come to think of it… I’ve gotta look at this myself.
He then wandered to the door overlooking the construction of his obscene ballroom, stared for a while in silence and then said:
Wow! What a view. We’re ahead of schedule on the ballroom and under budget. I don’t think there will be anything like it in the world, actually.
In the middle of the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio discreetly slid a note to Donald, which most people would understand was meant to be a private communication. Donald, much to Rubio’s horror, read the note out loud: “Go back to Chevron.”
Later in the meeting, Exxon CEO Darren Woods weighed in on the Trump regime’s Venezuela strategy and he threw Donald a curveball:
We first got into Venezuela back in [the] 1940s. We’ve had our assets seized there twice. And so you can imagine, to reenter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here and what is currently this state. If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestible. Significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system. There has to be durable investment protections, and there has to be a change to the hydrocarbon laws in the country.
Woods attempted to stay in Donald’s good graces saying he was “confident” the Trump regime could assist Venezuela in making those changes, but his capacity for independent thought and lack of blind loyalty did not sit well with Donald, who had this to say later on Air Force One:
REPORTER: How many oil companies made commitments to the United States after your meeting on Friday, sir? Have Exxon?
DONALD: No, I didn’t like Exxon’s response. We have so many that want in and I’d probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response.
Venezuela has not been an easy place for oil companies to do business. Woods simply made it clear that he wants to ensure the safety and the profitability of any action his company takes in the currently unstable and “uninvestable” country. But Donald can’t handle push back, no matter how mild.
His default is to try to gain total control in order to stave off any challenges to his authority. When it comes to Venezuela, it’s clear Donald wants to control Venezuela. On Sunday, he posted an image of a fake Wikipedia page on his failing social media site with a picture of him and the caption, “Acting President of Venezuela.” In a recent interview with Tyler Page for The New York Times, Donald expressed interest in maintaining an extended U.S. military presence which contradicted the statements of several other Trump regime officials.
Page asked how long Donald thought he’d be “running” Venezuela: “three months, six months, a year, longer?”
DONALD: I would say much longer than that. And we have to rebuild. You have to rebuild the country and we will rebuild it in a very profitable way. We’re going to be using oil and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need.
Translation: “We are going to be occupying another country, taking it over, and stealing from it. All at the expense of the American taxpayer.” He is thirsting to take over the Americas, to encroach on the sovereignty of other territories like Greenland. He is desperate to increase his power, because no amount of power can assuage his sense of inadequacy. The fact that there has been no effective pushback against his illegal strikes on boats in the Caribbean or his illegal military action against Venezuela has only empowered him further and added fuel to the fire of his boundless ambition. Every elected official in this country, from both parties, has to pledge to put a stop to the madness that is Donald Trump. I’m not sure how much more evidence they need that it is time.
Unfortunately, the people who could push back on him do not. All the rest of us can do is show our anger which he does not care about. What kind of power do we have that will make any difference? It’s like the Mafia is controlling the country.
We will continue to witness “spectacle.” The next event will be orchestrated, as always, to satisfy Trump’s addiction to and appetite for the visual effect of power. His decisions exact a human, as well as significant financial cost; neither of which register or surface as important.
Once the event is in his rear view, as has been demonstrated by his waning discussion about and interest in Venezuela, he’ll create another spectacle, another distraction.
Distraction, whether he’s in the state of it or causing it, is Trump’s fundamental condition as a human being. His minions respond in kind.
When he decides to launch a retribution campaign, he’s unable to sequester his emotions or investment in the outcome. This behavior parallels his actions as a young boy when he was sent away to boarding school by his father after bashing a neighbor’s son with a rock.
Trump is absent any self-regulating skills. The ability to adjust or manage his emotions, maintain a stable level of self-esteem or tolerate disappointment leads to poor impulse control, an inability to accept consequences he generally masks with grandiosity laden with an air of entitlement
Trump’s chronic need to belittle and devalue others to protect his fragile ego will plague him until he dies. There won’t ever be a moment when he questions if he’s right. In Trump’s mind, it’s a foregone conclusion.