Metaphors are always a good mechanism for thinking about the “why” behind the “what.” For me, the métaphore du jour  seems to be taking a test drive prior to purchasing an automobile.  According to Wikipedia, the purpose of test driving a car is…

to assess its drivability, or roadworthiness, and general operating state. 

Which helps us understand what has happened or may happen in the national body politic as a result of Trump’s relocation of the family business from New York to Washington, DC.  To make this point, let’s look at two examples.

The June 9, 2016 Trump Tower Meeting

• The Car/Disrupting American Democracy
• The Buyer/Vladimir Putin
• The Dealer/Donald Trump and the Trump Campaign

If the premise of recent books such as Russian Roulette by Michael Isikoff and David Korn or Malcolm Nance’s The Plot to Destroy Democracy are correct, the Russian government under the leadership of Putin had tried to identify and nurture a highly placed American asset as early as 1983.  And they believed their best chance was with Donald Trump going back to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow.  However, kicking the tires versus writing the check are two different things.  Before you sign on the dotted line you want a level of confidence that requires more than passive research.  You want a test drive.

So, let’s think about the Trump Tower meeting in that context.  Putin (the buyer) has done is homework.  He thinks Trump and the campaign fit his needs.  But he wants to make sure.  He has a surrogate contact the dealer (the campaign) and suggest a deal.  But what if he’s wrong.  What if he has misread all the signals.  What if Don, Jr. does the right thing and hands over the email about dirt on Hillary Clinton to the FBI?  Or what if one of the campaign attendees–Junior, Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner–is wearing a wire with national security officials in the next room?  You have your representatives talk about anything but helping Trump become president.

To mix metaphors, this is an Abraham sacrificing Isaac moment.  Will one of the Trump people play the role of the angel God sent to stop Abraham before he murdered his son?  As we now know, there were no angels in the room.  The Russians leave and report back to Putin.  “It’s a go. No one objected to our potential interference.  In fact, they were disappointed not to get the goods on the spot.  It’s a reliable car.  Buy it.”

Despite Trump’s exhortations of “no collusion,” circumstantial evidence related to events from the time of the June meeting through election night strongly suggest the car performed exactly as advertised.  And from the various indictments issued under the Special Counsel investigation, the only remaining question is, “Does Robert Mueller have the perp’s license plate number?”

The 2016 Election

• The Car/Presidential Choice
• The Buyer/Voters
• The Dealer/Donald J. Trump

As the mid-term elections approach, we are constantly reminded of one of the major anomalies which contributed to Trump’s electoral college victory, the number of counties, particularly in Midwest states which voted Obama in 2008 and 2012, but switched to Trump in 2016.  A shift of this magnitude suggests the voters who made this choice did not mark their ballots based on party loyalty or ideology.  They were the epitome of the term “swing voters.”

Again, the test drive metaphor has value.  What if, in 2008, these Americans said to themselves, “You know, I’ve always owned cars manufactured by white men.  Maybe, this time I’ll give that minority-owned dealership a try.  They seem to have come out with a pretty good model this year and I personally like the salesman.”  So 2008 was the test drive.  (Remember, this was a time when we thought the chief executive could only do so much damage to the Constitution and our values.)  And, in 2012, a majority of buyers said, “You know, this car isn’t fancy, but it’s pretty reliable.  Let’s hold on to it for another four years.”

I have to believe enough voters took a similar approach in 2016.  “We keep hearing government needs to be run more like a business.  We’ve never had a businessman at the helm.  Let’s give it a try.”  Going into the 2018 mid-terms and beyond, the only question is how many of these voters (mostly independents and moderate Republicans) now conclude they didn’t get a 2016 LINCOLN.  They got a 1970s FORD, which jokingly was believed to be an acronym which stood for “Fix Or Repair Daily.”

Will they trade in their current ride for a different model?  We’ll have the answer in 75 days.

It is no coincidence Trump is the “dealer” in both analogies.  Even he admits it is what he does best.  But then again, that is what a slick, used-car salesman would also brag about.  Caveat emptor.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP