Onumba.com —– President Donald Trump has about three more years left to serve out his second term. When his time is up, which would be January 20, 2029, the 79 year old MAGA Chief would have to hand over power to his successor, move out of the White House and join the small pantheon of Americans privileged to serve.
The constitution is pretty straight on that.
But what’s not so clear —— at least for some folks —— is whether or not the president will leave.
“No way,” said Robert De Niro, who is 82 and a fierce critic of the president. “He will never leave. We have to make him leave.”
He added: “Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s up to us to get rid of him.”
De Niro —— a frontline Trump smellfungus —— has had a longstanding loathe for the president as conveyed in these cynical and antagonistic sentiments. The duo trade barbs and insults all the time. Recently, De Niro fired off a barrage of verbal lashing, accusing Trump of eyeing another term in office and igniting speculation for why the president hinted at federalizing elections.
As president, this is the kind of stuff to wave off, but Trump, known for his short fuse and truculent pugilism, doesn’t rock like that. True to form, he hit back quicker than you can say ‘don’t mess with me’ —— calling De Niro a “wacko,” who “suffers from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
The dustup between the two came to a head in a recent interview with Nicolle Wallace on MS Now show ‘The Best People’ podcast. There, the acting maestro warned that Trump was not kidding when he floated the idea of nationalizing elections several weeks ago ——– one of a string of unhinged ideas he has floated since taking office.
But the United States constitution is monumentally clear on elections —– they are to be conducted locally by the states.
To a casual observer, it might appear as though De Niro was picking a fight by dropping partisan hand grenades on Trump, but a closer look unveils a potentially glib connection between the president’s desire to put the federal government in charge of elections and his Orwellian phantasm for another term in office. De Niro believes that the president is consumed with elongating his time in office.
At a recent rally in Corpus Christi , Texas, Trump, again, dropped sharp hints here and there at the possibility of running for a third term as president, this time, claiming he’s “entitled” to do so.
“What?”
So, what precisely does Trump mean by “entitled?” This for sure is striking ——– and needs more unpacking than a loaded U-Haul moving truck on a Saturday morning. Better yet, why is the president harping on this to a cusp where it is beginning to morph into an obsession?
Well, let’s unpack it. It appears the president is still stewing over the shellacking he took in the 2020 election against Democrat Joe Biden. He continues to kvetch that it was “stolen” from him and therefore deserves a shot at another term to correct the wrong he believes was meted out to him.
Poor thing!
But that’s not true and has been soundly debunked. Trump lost the election and seeking a third term in office is sure to fizzle into oblivion. The reason for the 22nd Amendment of the constitution was precisely that ——— to ensure that no president is allowed a third term in office. True, the constitution can be altered, but that would be a long shot not likely to draw bipartisan support.
For what it is worth, Steve Bannon, his erstwhile advisor, has suggested for Trump to join the GOP ticket as Vice-President ——— figure out the rest.
Then there’s Trump’s hoary age. Heck ——– that’s enough to hit the pause button quicker than you can say ‘go home and rest grand pa’. The New York native became president at age 78, qualifying him as the oldest person to be sworn into office —– and making all of this even more puzzling.
Piecing all of this together, it becomes a bit tricky deciphering if Trump is only teasing and testing the water to gauge people’s feeling concerning a possible third term bid or whether the drip, drip, drip trickling out of his feelings reflects a slow, tactical strategy to prepare the citizens for a formal announcement. But either way, it is profoundly implausible that a third term for Trump or anyone else for that matter will fly. Sure, Democrats would be first to push it back, but Republicans are sure to lend a helping hand.
As for punting the role of organizing elections to the federal government, that too will collapse faster than a toxic marriage. It was no surprise that a bevy of Democratic and Republican lawmakers quickly poured cold water on it, emphatically smacking it down ——- expressing the view that the age-old decentralized election system has served the country well ——- thank you very much.
Still, it is profoundly imperative not to forget that Trump has defied a rash of jaw-dropping odds in the past. He is a Teflon president with a potent mix of ‘I don’t give AF’ hauteur and a bellicose swagger. Not only that, the president’s staying power fighting tough conundrums is quite frankly rare and inspiring. Because Trump has nicely contoured the GOP in his image, imposing his gut-driven, unorthodox brand of conservatism, Republicans now find themselves trapped in thralldom, forced to work in lockstep with a president who has largely wrestled control over legislative work from cowering congressional MAGA milquetoasts.
But, is De Niro sounding a false alarm?
Trump and his MAGA apostles would of course say yes, but it seems a wait and see posture might be more pragmatic. Why would anyone refuse to believe De Niro’s concerns given that Trump gets his way with congressional Republicans plus the country has weathered this kind of storm in the past.?
Recall that the country dangled precariously while holding its collective breath after the 2020 elections as constitutional apocalypse loomed, unsure if Trump would even vacate the White House for incoming President Biden. It was a nerve-racking cliffhanger with the country guardedly navigating uncharted waters. The president repeatedly accused Biden of election euchre with absolutely no evidence to substantiate his claim.
But as the fog of constitutional hubbub frighteningly hovered over the country with millions of eyeballs, literally, staring at the White House, a bodacious and petered-out Trump would eventually stand down —— hopped on a waiting military chopper and departed as a reluctant iconoclast —— trashing all conventions of power handover on his way out —— some of the most cherished hallmarks of the American democracy.
Now that I got your attention: I have noticed that an increasing number of Igbo people are changing their surnames to European names? Why? Why is this nonsense happening? It is very sad and profoundly shameful. Heck — idiotic might a better characterization. My message: Be proud of your race, your skin color and your African name. I am.
