U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly and consistently beaten the odds. Yet despite his seeming imperviousness, I predict Trump's eventual downfall.
The reason is that he is, at heart, a bad person, a mean person and, most importantly, a horrible boss. It's one thing to play games with the truth, flagrantly lie and continually demean and belittle his political opponents. Trump's supporters don't mind any of that and are willing to overlook all manner of deceit, trickery and petty vindictiveness in the cause of defeating the Democratic enemy.
The problem for Trump is that his nastiness is not restricted to his public pronouncements and actions. The mean-spirited, unethical narcissist you see in public is the same person his employees deal with on a daily basis in the White House. In short, he is a horrible boss.
He demeans, debases and belittles his subordinates like Sean Spicer, the press secretary who valiantly tries to defend the president's contradictory positions only to have Trump undermine him at every turn. The poor man persists in spinning and lying but to no avail since his boss will not hesitate to throw him under the bus whenever it's convenient.
The pivoting queen, Kellyanne Conway, has also suffered greatly at the hands of Trump. With her lies, evasions and spin, she has done everything, ethical and otherwise, to defend her boss.
Notwithstanding that she long ago sold her soul to the tangerine devil, Trump continues to demote her to the minors if he's not satisfied with the result.
So Trump is a mean, nasty boss. So what? Why should his supporters and fans care?
They will see that he is the boss man who they've always wanted to punch in the face.
They will care because they will eventually recognize him for what he is. We've all had a horrible boss at one time or another: that person who does nothing to support you, constantly criticizes your work, takes credit for your accomplishments and lies over and over. Trump is the ultimate embodiment of that archetype -- i.e., the boss from hell.
The vast majority of citizens, particularly those enamored of Trump, have had to deal with difficult bosses, bosses who treat their employees like dirt. And because of those workplace experiences, they have little patience for those who treat their employees with disdain.
Once Trump's despicable private behaviour becomes widely known, his supporters will not tolerate it and will no longer defend him. They will see that he is the boss man who they've always wanted to punch in the face, the supervisor they'd love to have an unfortunate accident. Once they recognize him as the workplace bully he is, his days are numbered.
Initially, Republican members of Congress who never much cared for Trump in the first place will cut him loose. Then those who voted for him will be disgusted with how he treats his employees. It's one thing to defend a nasty, lying, "pussy-grabbing," egocentic narcissist. It's quite another to defend a horrible boss who treats those under him with contempt.
Over the coming weeks and months, as the details of Trump's Russian connections, his unethical business dealings and his blatant conflicts of interest become public, he will lose support among Republican legislators. But more importantly, as Trump unravels and his Apprentice-like personality increasingly comes to the fore, even his grassroots supporters will turn against him.
At some point, Trump will do himself in and will have to face his final days in the White House. It's clear that his giant ego will not allow him to resign. So it will be up to the people, including the Trump faithful, to push for impeachment, conviction and the ultimate public Trumpian pronouncement: "You're fired!"
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