White House Race- April 21, 2024

I will attempt to shift my focus from American Idol to Presidential politics. This was quite a complex news week and with everything that has been going on in my life, I really have not gotten much of a chance to step back and try to absorb it all.

There were definitely some surprises though, the most pleasant of which seems to be that House Speaker Mike Johnson seems to have found some cajones. I really do not know what to fully make of it, since Johnson has pretty much been a puppet of Donald Trump for years now. Just over a week ago, he appeared subservient at a Mar-A-Lago press conference, although did succeed in getting to Trump to endorse his staying in the role as Speaker, despite the threat of Marjorie Taylor Green to call for his ouster.

This past week though, Johnson has had to rely on Democrats to get some major legislation passed and that has put his status as Speaker in greater jeopardy. I am quite glad though that yesterday, the U.S. House passed aid to Ukraine and Israel. Democrats are somewhat divided over Israel aid and Republicans are even more divided over Ukraine, but they are clearly the right thing to do. Other aspects involving Taiwan, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and potentially banning TikTok also advanced.

It is pretty rare these days to see a politician take action that might put their power at risk, but Johnson seemed to do that, and it should not be overlooked. Whether it was his consulting his religious convictions or seeing the actual intelligence for the first time as it relates to Russia and Ukraine, he committed to doing the right thing, at long last. Some thought the office of the Presidency could cause Trump to "grow in office", and that clearly never happened, but perhaps actually becoming House Speaker has had that positive effect on Johnson. It will be an interesting week ahead to see if Moscow Marjorie and her small group of Freedom Caucus cohorts actually make a move on Johnson. If so, the Speaker will have to rely on Democrats saving his job. Both sides seem to agree that Republicans will probably lose their House majority this November.

To me, the most curious aspect of this is that Donald Trump did not forcefully intervene to prevent aid to Ukraine. I am a bit surprised, but I am glad he did not, despite the fact he had a pretty perfunctory online complaint about how Europe needs to do more than we are.to help Ukraine. Is Trump simply thinking about the general election and trying to avoid looking too pro-Russia even if that might be his true preference in regards to the conflict? Or has he just been distracted by the beginning of his New York City trial to really focus on anything else? Despite the relative silence of Trump, MAGA forces online are extremely angry at Speaker Johnson and the other Republicans who supported Ukraine.

So much media attention was glued to a courthouse in Manhattan this past week and that will only intensify as opening statements start tomorrow in the hush money case. One day, while eating lunch, I saw CNN cover a man set himself on fire. Laura Coates did a pretty good job of giving the play by play as it happened, but it sort of sounded like she was calling a major horse race. The man who set himself on fire ultimately died. Mental illness is a terrible thing. The biggest surprise was that whatever he was trying to protest or counterprotest did not involve Trump nor the Middle East at all.

After much drama, a jury has been seated in this case, in a time frame far faster than many expected. There is much speculation as to if this is actually a good jury for Trump or if the political lean of Manhattan will make it tough for him to avoid conviction. All it takes is one juror though to hold out. It does look like there might be an actual verdict given within the next couple of months in this first criminal case. Frankly, I will be a bit surprised if Trump gets convicted in this case. If he wins acquittal, it will be seen as a huge political victory for him. Despite my intense negative feelings about Trump. I just hope justice is served in this case and the others, whatever it may be. The Constitution and rule of law, must always come before politics.

Will Trump be able to stay awake? There were several reports this past week about his dozing off in the courtroom during the jury selection process. So-called experts were called to speak to what might be going on in his pysche to cause Drowsy Don to nod off during such an important period in his life. Clearly, he is frustrated by not having control in this courtroom. He cannot speak when he wants and cannot order a Diet Coke when he feels he needs one. Trump is complaining about the thermostat as well, not to mention the gag order imposed on him as it relates to speaking about relatives of the Judge or other officers of the Court.

One thing is for certain. If Biden were falling asleep at any sort of public venue, Trump folks would never stop talking about it. They seem far less willing to even entertain the notion that their hero might be "sleepy." For now, while Trump is on trial, Biden is out a bit on the trail, and is certain to make his usual gaffes and completely bonkers statements, especially as he tries to work in stories about his life and family that may not exactly be true. That has been a Biden staple going back to at least 1987.

There are lots of other topics I could touch on, but will end by noting that tomorrow at sunset begins the observation of Passover. This Jewish holiday has been a part of my life since childhood but definitely feels more important after the events of last October. This past week, despite being publicly warned against doing so by the Biden Administration, Israel retaliated against Iran, for the largely failed attack Iran launched against Israel the previous weekend. Israel did not destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, but seemed to make it clear that they could if they wanted. Experts seem to be saying that Israel sent an effective message to Iran (and also in a way to Russia) that an escalated conflict would not be in their best interest. For now, Iran seems to have gotten the message and is going to let Israel have the last word. That is good news for all involved. Israel seems to have had a successful week and while that might please the Biden Administration privately, it would be embarrassing for them to acknowledge it publicly.

Still, despite Israel perhaps turning the international narrative around a bit in their favor, it cannot be forgotten that its hostages, as well as those of America, are continuing to be held by Islamic terrorists without much hope of a happy conclusion. Closer to home, anti-Semitism is scarily on the rise and pro-Palestinian activists seem to be openly hunting out Jewish students for intimidation and harm on major college campuses, such as Columbia University in New York City. There needs to be major pressure brought to bear on college administrators to now allow unlawful protests to target Jews. There is no doubt that if political extremists were targeting African-Americans or the LGBTQ community, that these Administrators, as well as others in the media, would be far more vocal.

The story of Passover tells about the ancient survival of the Jewish people and how they were led out of bondage. This continues to be a very real scenario for Jewish people in Israel, Ukraine, the United States, and everywhere else they exist on Earth.

Am Yisrael Chai. The Jewish People Live. 

 

As the Book of Exodus teaches, with words that appear on a Bell in Philadelphia, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All The Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof."