Perspective 119. Trump: An Astounding Absence of Outrage?

Former President Donald J. Trump has committed numerous transgressions that in the past would have forced the perpetrator to retire from public life. Yet he continues to be the presumptive 2024 Presidential nominee of the Republican Party. Has outrage gone out of style?

Yes, apparently. Political, financial, or sexual misdeeds of a similar sort have torpedoed any number of public servants in the past. Yet Trump marches on.

In perspective, there was once a time, not so long ago, when inciting insurrection, falsifying business records, mishandling classified material, unjustly defaming others, assaulting women, conducting extra-marital affairs, and obvious mental instability were off bounds. Even charges of such, before indictment or conviction, were often enough to end a career. That time is past.

Richard Nixon was forced from the Presidency over a cover-up of the White House role in a break-in at Democratic Party offices. Donald Trump openly incited a break-in at the U.S. Capitol. Yet he remains the presumptive Republican nominee.

Spiro Agnew was forced to resign as Vice President after being indicted for tax evasion and bribery. Donald Trump has been indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records – incidentally, for the purpose of paying hush money to cover up an extramarital affair. Yet he remains the presumptive Republican nominee.

David Petraeus was forced out as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for sharing classified materials with his biographer. Donald Trump has been indicted for Illegally appropriating massive numbers of classified documents and refusing to return them. Yet he remains the presumptive Republican nominee.

Gary Hart, the leading candidate for the 1988 Democratic Presidential nomination, was forced out of the race following revelation of a weekend tryst. Donald Trump’s extramarital escapades during three marriages have been widely reported, sometimes together with Trump’s boasts. Yet he remains the presumptive Republican nominee.

Bill Clinton’s Presidency was severely damaged, and he was impeached, when his intimacy with Monica Lewinsky became known. Donald Trump was convicted by a jury of battery and defamation for his sexual assault on author E. Jean Carroll, and he has been accused of sexual harassment by at least 19 other women. Yet he remains the presumptive Republican nominee.

Thomas Eagleton was forced to withdraw as Democratic nominee for Vice President, in 1972, after revelation that he had once been hospitalized for depression. Donald Trump has repeatedly been diagnosed, by competent analysts, as a malignant narcissist. Yet he remains the presumptive Republican nominee.

The conclusion is inescapable: the ethical and moral standards to which we hold our public servants have rotted away. And many if not most of our fellow countrymen don’t give a damn.

Where is the outrage?