Today is Sunday, July 9, 2023. In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zaharia, President Joe Biden addressed the elephant in the room – his advancing age – as he makes another jab at becoming president once more in 2024. Addressing the issue of age, Biden said, “They’re not right or wrong” in addressing voters’ concerns about his age. He is already the oldest president in U.S. history, and if he wins reelection, Biden would be 86 by the time he leaves office, leading many Democratic voters to say that he should step aside for someone much younger. The interview was covered in an online article for The Washington Post by Ramsey Touchberry entitled “Biden says those concerned about his age are ‘not right or wrong’ – Washington Times.”

The interview aired today on CNN and it’s unlikely that Biden’s responses might have convinced voters about his fitness for the job at 82. To justify the reasons for running again, Biden said, “I just want to finish the job.” He also reflected, “Look, to use the phrase again, I think we’re at a an inflection point. I think the world is changing. And I think there is one thing that comes with age, if you’re – been honest about it your whole life, and that is some wisdom.”

Making more of a case for another four years of his stewardship of the nation, Biden continued, “I think we’re on the cusp of being able to make significant positive changes in the world. I think we’re putting the world together in a way that is going to make things significantly, how can I say it, more secure for people. We’re uniting democracies – have the possibility of uniting democracies in a way that hadn’t happened before.”

Despite his many successes achieved over three years into his first term in office, large swaths of voters – including Democrats – have expressed reservations about his age and health, in addition to that of a potential Republican challenger who’s just three years younger at the age of 77, the Orange Blob known as Donald J. Dumpf. It’s the Orange Blob’s mental state right now that should concern a large swath of moderate to far-right repugnicans who still support him, no matter what, in my humble opinion.

At a campaign event last week in Iowa, Dumpf resorted to the one thing he does best, which is calling the kettle black when he himself is showing signs of cognitive decline, in addressing Biden’s shortcomings: “He is not old, he is off.” Priceless coming from this mental giant!

A more chilling online opinion piece is written by Miles Taylor, who was a former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security in the Dumpf administration, for the Los Angeles Times entitled “Opinion: The lasting threat is not the ‘next Trump,’ but the MAGA base.”

In his cautionary view of Trumpism, Taylor envisions that the reactionary movement will maintain its dominant influence on the party for the foreseeable future, even after Dumpf is long gone. What a wonderful future we have in store for us, if this dim view of the repugnican party is to be realized. It can be easily stated then that Frankenstein’s monster has advanced much further than its creator, who is, in this case, the con man extraordinaire known as Donald Dumpf.

An illustration of this dangerous thinking, Taylor cites, is a yard sign that he saw in rural Pennsylvania during the 2020 presidential campaign. He writes, “Planted in front of a house was a homemade poster with the words “RONALD REAGAN IS A LOSER.” The 40th president’s face was crossed out with an X, replaced by Dumpf’s smiling face next to it. Why would this Dumpf supporter, Taylor wondered, attack Reagan who was beloved by Republicans, not even on the ballot, was long dead, and certainly not a threat to Dumpf? The answer lies in Dumpf fixating on his predecessors just as this adherent has done in his homemade poster for his beloved Golden Idol.

Taylor comes to the realization that Dumpf inspires cultlike fealty to the main man, “inspiring throngs of supporters to create deeply personal – sometimes spiritual – connections with his movement.”

“Tribalism is as strong as it’s ever been within the Republican Party,” Taylor maintains. Even if Dumpf remains the tribal leader or not, “the power of group loyalty has radicalized the base.” Taylor states that “Tens of millions of people now believe conspiracy theories that are provably false, a reality that will shape the American political system in unknowable ways for many years to come.”

Now that the body politic has been tainted by ridiculous conspiracy theories, Taylor believes it’s delusional to think they won’t have lasting repercussions. These highly motivated voters are hungry for MAGA candidates who share their deluded views. “And such views will not change overnight,” Taylor asserts.

Therefore, the next Dumpf will have to feed this beast to win, which means keeping the base radicalized on a steady diet of conspiracy theories about existential threats to their lives like the absurd Trump-fueled Great Replacement Theory promoted on that despicable “Fucker” Carlson show sometime ago. This theory alleged that the Democratic Party is attempting to “replace the current electorate” of white Americans with “Third world” voters. This delusional theory fueled a handful of mass shootings, as Taylor points out.

One was the shooting in upstate New York in 2022 when a dozen Black shoppers were killed in a supermarket by a lone gunman who cited this race-baiting theory in a rambling manifesto before training his AR-15 rifle on innocent customers. The second incident occurred in El Paso, Texas, in 2019 when a gunman killed nearly two dozen people in a Walmart, in which he echoed Dumpf’s words about an “invasion” at the U.S. southern border. What is just as astounding here is that an AP/NORC poll found nearly half of Republicans believed in the theory.

So what is so depressing about this opinion by the former Dumpf official is that we’ve seen only the beginning of Trumpism. The radical faction of this antidemocratic party has put down the rational one. And the disgraced ex-president may return to power – or not. What is scary is that “the conditions are right for the next Trump to emerge.” And when that happens, “the rest of democracy’s guardrails will be weaker than ever.” Not a very rosy picture of our future, is it?

Oh, and have a nice week if you can, after reading this grim view of a large swath of voters’ unbreakable ties to Trumpism. What will cause them to eventually abandon this fascistic doctrine? It seems reality is not a factor here anymore. Only their losing election after election might put some sense into them at some point down the road.

Stay safe and be well.