As I have said on numerous occasions, my original intention for Deprogramming101 was to show how counter-intuitive thinking can open one’s mind to challenge the status quo and see new possibilities.  One major tool to promote this broader view of reality is what Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung called “synchronicity.”  The term refers to his belief that seemingly unconnected events can have meaningful relationships.

One historic example is the effort to link the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy using facts about these two events.  For instance, both were succeeded by vice-presidents named Johnson.  Both were elected President in a year ending in 60.  Both assassins were known by three names.  Both assassins’ names contain a total of 15 letters.  Kennedy was riding in a Lincoln at the time of his assassination.  I have no doubt these comparisons were triggered by someone having a sense of déjà vu following Kennedy’s death.  It all seemed so familiar.

This morning I had the same sensation about the Trump administration.  Where had I seen all of this before? The easy answer would have been the parallels to previous authoritarian rulers or regimes. But Jung was exhorting me to look elsewhere.  And sure enough, there it was.  Trump’s nomination of Linda McMahon as director of the Small Business Administration.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with McMahon, she is the the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband Vince McMahon.  And I know what you’re thinking.  Dr. ESP is going to remind us both Trump and professional wrestling are fake and rely on the star power of villains.  Again, much too simple an explanation.  Look deeper.

The more appropriate comparison is Vince McMahon’s attempt in 2001 to form a new football league, the XFL.  Consider the following similarities.  (NOTE:  All facts and quotes about the XFL are courtesy of Wikipedia.)

• The XFL was a joint venture between WWE (then known as the WWF) and NBC.  The Apprentice was a joint venture between the Trump Organization and NBC.
• XFL stadiums “featured trash-talking public address announcers.”  Trump’s has his own stable of trash-talkers–Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer (aka Scary Spice).
• The XFL “was hyped as ‘real’ football without penalties for roughness and with fewer rules in general.” Trump promotes himself as the real president but does not believe he is subject to any rules or should be penalized for violations of the Constitution or other laws.
• XFL “teams were not individually owned and operated franchises.  The league was operated as a single business unit.”  In Trumpland, the legislative authority of the individual cabinet departments has been co-opted by the White House.
• McMahon claimed the “X” in XFL did not stand for “extreme” even though seven of the eight original teams were called the Orlando Rage, Chicago Enforcers, NY/NJ Hitmen, LA Xtreme, SF Demons, Memphis Maniax and Las Vegas Outlaws.  The eighth team was originally dubbed the Birmingham Blast until residents protested because the nickname was a reminder of the bombings of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1961 and a local abortion clinic in 1998.  The team’s name was changed to the Thunderbolts. McMahon swore XFL was chosen because it was the “eXtra Fun League.” Trump relishes the fact his supporters are outraged and view themselves as enforcers and outlaws.  And he regularly denies the obvious as was the case with the attendance at the inauguration or when he swears a Muslim ban is not really a Muslim ban.
• McMahon was “ridiculed by mainstream sports journalists due to the stigma attached to professional wrestling as being fake.  Many journalists even jokingly speculated whether any of the league’s games were rigged, although nothing of this sort was ever seriously investigated.”  The media is finally starting to realize Trump is trying to run the country like a reality show where the outcomes are manipulated through manufactured confrontations and editing. As for speculation the 2016 election may have been influenced by outside parties, as was the case with the XFL, the Republican controlled Congress seems afraid to conduct a thorough investigation for fear of what they might uncover.
• McMahon attacked NBC sportscaster Bob Costas who referred to the XFL as a combination of “mediocre high school football with a tawdry strip club.”  Costas later invited McMahon to appear on his HBO show On the Record. In response to the XFL’s declining ratings, Costas told McMahon, “I have to put the right spin on this because I’m also on NBC–apparently, it (the ratings) went through the toilet.”  Like the XFL, Trump has nominated individuals who, at best, are past their prime and, at worst, are amateurs.  As a result, his approval rating is also going through the toilet.

If the parallel paths of the XFL and the Trump administration continue to stay on course, there is room for optimism.  The XFL was cancelled after one year despite a commitment by NBC to broadcast games for a minimum of two years.  The WWE and NBC lost $35 million on the venture. The XFL is #2 on ESPN’s list of biggest flops in sports.  Even Vince McMahon eventually had to admit the XFL “was a colossal failure.” At this point in time, there is no reason to doubt the Trump administration is on a similar trajectory.  There is one exception. The Trump family will likely walk away with their pockets lined with taxpayer dollars and thinly veiled bribes as foreign governments and lobbyists gladly acquiesce to  pay inflated prices for meals and lodging at Trump properties.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP