Michael A. Cohen is a regular columnist for the Boston Globe.
He has determined that the current era will henceforth be called “the Era of Stupid.”
President Trump’s moronic behavior is the defining feature of American life.
Americans have long divided our nearly 244-year history into eras. There was the Era of Good Feelings in the 1810s and 1820s; the Gilded Age in the late 19th century; the New Deal Era in the 1930s; the Reagan Era in the 1980s; and, more recently, the era of the War on Terror.
I have a suggestion for how we should define the Trump Years: The Era of Stupid.
Granted, “stupid” is not a highbrow word, and I’m dubious that it will catch on in the same way as the “Jazz Age.” But in its simplicity and crudeness, it vividly captures the absurdity of our times.
There are so many “stupid” examples one can choose from: Sharpie-gate; the president’s talk of buying Greenland; his musing on whether it’s possible to nuke a hurricane or inject people with disinfectants; his refusal, aped by many of his followers, to wear a mask in the midst of a global pandemic. The list goes on and on.
But the president’s latest fixation is perhaps Peak Stupid — “Obamagate.”
I should say from the outset that writing about Obamagate raises a tricky question: How does one pass judgment on something that doesn’t actually exist?
As best I can tell, Obamagate refers to a charge that former president Barack Obama and former vice president Joe Biden knew in advance about, or perhaps conspired in plotting, the FBI interview of former national security adviser Michael Flynn that led to his prosecution. It also appears to refer to efforts in late 2016 to “unmask” Flynn, which describes a routine national security process to reveal the identity of Americans mentioned in National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence reports.
The problem with these accusations is that they elide some rather pertinent facts.
For example, the FBI interview of Flynn happened after Trump took office in January 2017. And how exactly was the Obama Administration targeting Flynn for unmasking when they could not have known Flynn’s identity before the unmasking? (I feel stupid even writing this question.)
All of this is somehow connected to the Russia investigation, Trump suggests. But many of the unmasking requests from Obama administration officials appeared to revolve around Flynn’s shady dealings with the Turkish government, for whom he was lobbying. And the vast majority came before he got entangled in the Russia affair with his controversial call to Sergei Kisylak, the Russian ambassador to the United States — a call he lied about to the FBI. That lie was a crime, to which he later pleaded guilty.
Far be it from me to inject facts into the Obamagate fever swamp, but there does seem to be a simple reason Flynn was regularly being unmasked by Obama administration officials — he was engaging in behavior that merited unmasking requests.
Of course, facts don’t really matter here because trying to untangle the web of inanity at the core of Obamagate is like trying to debate molecular biology with a 2-year-old. Indeed, when pushed at a White House press conference to identify what crime former President Obama allegedly committed, Trump answered, “You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody, all you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.”
These are words. Any connection to reality is purely coincidental.
Diane,
Cohen claims he is “stupid” – I see him in a different light – of course. If he is stupid, as he continues winning – he let the Governors deal with the issue of the virus and you can readily see by comparison which states are controlled by the Dems and which by the the Republicans…
While Democrats have revealed to us “who they are” in this coronavirus crisis, its governors absurd and counterproductive ‘lockdown’ rules and seeding the nursing homes with COVID-19, and its legislators holding stimulus checks hostage to their greenie pet projects, it’s worth noting that President Trump hasn’t been idle either. He’s also showing us ‘who he is.’
Item one – he’s deregulating. according to Forbes .- –
“address this economic emergency by rescinding, modifying, waiving, or providing exemptions from regulations and other requirements that may inhibit economic recovery. … They should also give businesses, especially small businesses, the confidence they need to re-open by providing guidance on what the law requires; by recognizing the efforts of businesses to comply with often-complex regulations in complicated and swiftly changing circumstances; and by committing to fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication.”
That’s right, ramping up domestic production, Good economy = Trump economy. Trump is moving at breakneck speed to get it back. Imagine a Democrat doing such a thing!
Here’s item three:
President Trump’s administration is readying a public health regulation to more permanently stem the flow of illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border, Breitbart News has learned.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have credited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Title 42 with helping to plummet southern border crossings by 84 percent in April and giving Border Patrol agents the authority to return border crossers to their native home lands
Catch-and-release is finally over.
Rather than use the crisis to expand government, as Democrats do in a crisis, he’s moving with fierce force to end the crisis itself, so no Democrat can take advantage of it. That’s Trump’s idea of not letting a crisis go to waste. Permanently checkmating Democrats.In Trumpworld it’s called ‘winning.’
After 3 plus years you still wait for the Russia Russia Russia collusion
J Scheidell,
Please emulate your leader. Dont wear a face mask. Mingle with your friends. Don’t social distance. Liberate yourself from all restrictions.
Good one for J Scheider who should try ingesting some disinfectant per the recommendation of J’s dear leader.
Another reader suggested that you might want to follow Dear Leader and ingest Clorox.
Absolutely! I’m in full agreement. The more these shining examples of the ‘Era of Stupid ‘refuse to wear masks & moronically attend super-spreader rallies just to feel the glee at flicking the finger to the man the better as they’ll rapidly find their numbers dwindling due to covid death rates. It’s Darwinian Natural Selection in its most obvious kind – nature culling the stupid & dum. Long may it continue.
I’m not sure why you think closing off the southern boarder has any relevance to the nature of a virus and how it spreads. According to your theory CORONA only infects brown people. I’d be cautious about getting your medical advice from Brietbart because, Trump acolytes catch COVID-19, too.
For more of the latest Republican misinformation masquerading as science, Fox news is lining up doctors to prescribe reopening to aid Trump’s re-election:
https://q13fox.com/2020/05/20/trump-allies-lining-up-doctors-to-prescribe-rapid-reopening/
It is an astounding phenomenon. There is more information available to us proles, we are able to access it more readily, illiteracy rates are at their lowest levels, and learn about different places and things than at any time in history. Yet more people stick their heads up their collective wazoos than ever. As the commentator above did and continues to do. It is indeed the Age of Stupid. And many are proud of it!
We need to teach courses on scams and junk science in middle and high school. We can start with Trump’s quack remedies as he pretends that COVID is like the flu. The Age of Stupid, indeed.
How about The Age of Denial?
Or The Age of Make Believe?
Or The Age of Distraction?
Or The Age of Self Absorption?
Or The Age of State Corruption?
Or The Age of Billionaires?
Or The Age of Anti Science?
Or The Age of America’s Decline?
Or The Age of Constitutional Failure?
Or The Age of Abuse by the Few?
Or The Age of Fake Leaders?
Or The Age of Never Again
I think the Age of Denial was sometime around the 15th to 10th centuries BC. Otherwise, no argument.
Mike Judge’s acerbic and prescient satire “Idiocracy” is slowly but surely becoming a documentary.
a surreal reality