Toppling Trump

There is a way to cut Trump down to size and halt the slide to autocracy. But first let us count the ways he behaved like a drunk.

He cares zilch for checks and balances. He rides roughshod over minorities. He despises opposition. He has shell-shocked the vast majority of congressional Republicans. He is racing to pack the judiciary with like-minded lawyers. He demonizes the media.

He has lost credibility internationally and sideswiped the premiers of Macedonia, Australia, and New Zealand. Dictators pander to his craving for adulation.

Trump’s blatant lies have ceased to shock. Each day brings more of the same. Remember his absurd claim to have had larger inaugural crowds than President Obama? And his denials of mocking a disabled journalist even though TV caught him in the act?

The list of fibs grows daily with the rising of the sun. So do Trump’s cockamamie Tweets.

Never has a president been so fraudulent. Never has the chief executive abused so many Americans of all colors, faiths, origins, and genders.

Now he uses the bully pulpit to swing out wildly at critics.

He legitimizes neo-Nazis, storming through Charlottesville with guns and swastika flags, by praising the “very fine” goons among them.

He taunted a tortured POW for having the temerity to be captured.

He slithered out of the gutter to bad-mouth Muslim and African-American Gold Star families, grieving for loved ones killed in action fighting for the USA.

All this from a president who dodged the draft for Vietnam.

Enough is enough. Trump is a danger to sane Americans and a dire threat to the constitution. Ignorant of the American spirit of decency, tolerance, and respect, this perilous aberration must be blocked in his evolving tyranny.

Those of us who witnessed the humbling of a president during the Vietnam War have much to learn from his victorious opponents.

I interviewed scores of leading cabinet members and proponents of the war in the political and military spheres, and also the activist who leaked the massive Pentagon Papers exposing the lies and cover-ups of the president and his top advisors.

The lesson learned is that sustained activism and fearless whistleblowers can win out – even against a president.

Massive nationwide rallies and peaceful civil disobedience sent a clear message to fence sitters and members of Congress. When the pressure finally told, he skulked out of Washington for good.

There is nothing like learning from the past to topple a president.

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Former journalist in America, England, Israel, and Africa, and author of non-fiction history books, with 17 appearances on national TV