Donald E. Trump: Super Genius!

Wile E. Coyote (r.) with
the explosive Tallullah Bankhead-like robot

Our idiot president's declaration that he is a "very stable genius" on Twitter in response to Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury," caused innumerable social media wits to compare him to the immortal Warner Brothers character Wile E. Coyote who was constantly bragging about his intellect when pursuing Bugs Bunny. Wile E. is more famous for the series of cartoons he starred in with the Road Runner, which later served as the basis for a Saturday morning series on ABC. (It later expanded to the Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Hour.) The difference between the two series is Wile E. remains mute in his encounters with the RR while he builds more and more elaborate contraptions--usually employing supplies from the Acme Company--to ensnare his feathered prey. In his jousts with Bugs, Wile E. is extremely verbal, bragging about his colossal intellect and that Bugs should give up since he can never win in their battle of wills.


My favorite moment in this series is in "Operation Rabbit" when Wile E. builds a TNT-stuffed female robot rabbit resembling Betty Grable. "Genius, sheer unadulterated brilliance," Wile E. boasts as he gazes at his creation. There is a knock at the door of his cave and he opens it to reveal an obviously mechanical woman coyote dressed up to resemble a drag version of Tallullah Bankhead, complete with a strapless red gown, elbow-length gloves, full make-up (heavy on the eye shadow) and cigarette holder. "La Vie En Rose" plays romantically in the background. He falls into the trap, grabs Tallullah and declares "My darling, how beautiful you are. And lucky. Little did you know you would marry a genius." We cut to a shot of Bugs holding a dynamite plunger, "Fight fire with fire, I always say." He pushes the plunger and the robot blows up. A bedraggled coyote is singing "Here Comes the Bride" clutching the hand of the robot which is nothing but coils and springs. Then the Betty Grable robot's alarm goes off and Wile runs to throw her out of the window only to have her explode just before he lets go. (There is also an interesting display of what Wile E. thinks Bugs will like in a mate--flashy, in a skimp bathing suit--while Bugs' choice of a date for Wile E. is sophisticated, chic and cosmopolitan.)

The problem with this comparison of Trump to Wile E. is that Trump may fumble and slip but there is no Bugs to outwit him. (The Road Runner doesn't really trick the Coyote, the bird just runs faster and allows Wile E. to trip over his own feet.) Trump is constantly shooting himself in the foot, yet the Democrats and moderate, sane Republicans are doing little to outflank him. It's pretty clear there will be no impeachment or invoking the 25th amendment as long as there is a Republican Congress. Trumpy's base will not turn against him as long as the economy is doing reasonably well and the stock market rises. I worry that the non-idealogical voters will see a few hundred dollars extra in their paychecks in the coming year and say to themselves, "Hey, Trump isn't so bad. North Korea hasn't blown us up yet and I forgot all about that other stuff about no healthcare, his overt racism and grabbing pussies. I don't care about stopping legalized pot, shrinking national parks, climate change or pollution. I'm going out to take the family out to Denny's and vote GOP this fall." They won't be filling out their new tax returns until 2019 when they discover fewer or no deductions for little things like state and local taxes, union dues and work expenses. 

In an Internet search, I found several pro-Trump editorial cartoons and memes comparing Trump to the RR and the "liberal media" to the unfortunate Coyote. His tweets are constantly baiting his enemies and they supposedly fall for it, according to these Trumpists. I don't think Trump is a genius, stable, evil or otherwise, but he's still in place because the GOP is propping him up. Some friends have made some incredibly naive forecasts about the situation. One thinks Trump will not pursue a second term because he's bored with the job. Another thinks now that the GOP has got it's tax cuts for billionaires, they won't support Trumpy anymore. Wishful dreaming.

So yes, we anti-Trumpists can laugh all we want at how ridiculous and clueless the Orange Pig is, but he's laughing all the way to the ballot box.