Trump Is the Luckiest Man in U.S. History — And by Far the Most Dangerous

[Note: This is an updated version of an article published on Jul 19, 2024. Trump’s recent re-election and subsequent ‘wins’ demand further commentary.]

Ivisited the CNN.com site this afternoon and was greeted by this noxious — but not unexpected — headline: “Special Counsel Jack Smith Drops Election Subversion and Classified Documents Cases Against Donald Trump.”

Wow. Ouch. Once again, Donald Trump has shown he IS, indeed, above the law — and has affirmed to the world that he is THE master manipulator of our time and the #1 con man in U.S. history.

Mr. Smith never calls Trump ‘innocent’ or admits any defects in his ‘strong’ cases; rather, he ruefully admits that, under our current system, it is verboten to prosecute and convict an elected president or sitting president.

In our country, an elected or sitting president is, indeed, above the law.

In his filing, Smith wrote “… the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” but added, “This outcome is not based on the merits or strength of the case against the defendant.” Oh well — better luck next time, Jack… if there ever IS a ‘next time.’

And just a few days ago, Juan Merchan, the judge in Trump’s New York ‘hush money’/election interference case — which saw Trump convicted on 34 criminal counts — “postponed his sentencing indefinitely.”

Again: no surprise.

There’s no doubt anymore: Trump is the luckiest man in U.S. history, bar none. His run of incredible, astounding luck ‘keeps going and going’ like a maniacal Energizer Bunny.

Did God purposely save Donald Trump?

Think back to July (only four months ago, but it already feels like years!). On Saturday, July 13, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, someone tried to assassinate Trump. A messed-up 20-year-old perched on top of a building outside the rally and fired at Trump — and into the crowd — with his assault rifle.

But again, just like many times before, Trump was uncannily lucky. His right ear got nicked by a bullet (or glass shard?), he winced and grabbed his ear, and then the Secret Service leaped into action and hustled him out of there.

Others in the crowd weren’t so lucky: a firefighter/dedicated family man was instantly killed, and several others were badly wounded.

Trump relishes and constantly burnishes his ‘strong man’ image and appeal. He appears as someone who is supremely confident and ‘makes his own luck’ — and he delights in that studiously constructed public image. He would have us believe he’s always ‘in control’.

But there’s also an undeniable aura of weird, undeserved ‘good fortune’ that surrounds Trump and seems to protect him from both physical and legal harm.

Unfortunately for the U.S., Trump’s incredible, endless ‘lucky streak’ has been wildly unlucky for our nation.

After the assassination attempt, Christian and right-wing media immediately proclaimed that God ‘saved’ Donald Trump and that his minor wound was ‘clear proof’ of divine intervention.

Once again, Trump was astoundingly lucky. He survived totally intact — and was treated like a conquering hero and ‘beloved of God.’ His presidential campaign and MAGA got a huge boost, and now he’s even more emboldened — and bent on revenge against all who thwarted or opposed him over the past eight years.

Heaven help us.

Trump’s amazing July: an astounding run of good luck

However, surviving the attempted assassination was just the ‘capstone’ of an amazing run of good luck during July. In the course of that one month, Trump triumphed in several crucial ways:

• On July 1, the Supreme Court finally ruled on Trump’s ‘presidential immunity’ case — and mainly decided in his favor. In its infinite wisdom (?), the court ruled that presidents ARE immune from prosecution for ‘official acts,’ and that most presidential acts are entitled to ‘presumptive immunity’ unless they’re proven to be personal ‘private’ acts. This set a very high (perhaps insurmountable) bar for prosecuting any president — and ensured that Trump’s upcoming federal trials would be either further delayed or outright dismissed. (As noted, they have now been dismissed.)
• After Biden’s stumbling and ‘disastrous’ debate performance, the press and media shifted ALL their focus to Biden’s deterioration and infirmity — and gave Trump a pass for his outrageous lies, deflections, and distortions during the debate. Suddenly, it was Biden who was the greater threat to our nation and our democracy — much to Trump’s delight. Media reporting was SO beneficial for him (in comparison) that the notoriously reactive Trump went uncharacteristically quiet, and stopped attacking Biden that month — since the media was doing his job for him, and all he had to do was sit back and silently gloat.
• Then, on July 13, the attempted assassination cemented Trump’s hold on the GOP, MAGA, and many millions of Americans — and raised him to a quasi-divine status (if he wasn’t already there) in the eyes of his adoring fans.
• On July 21, Biden announced his withdrawal as a candidate — and by August 1, Kamala Harris became the official Democratic nominee. This proved to be a great gift to Trump — since he was now running against a mixed-race woman in a still-racist, still-misogynist America.
• And I have to mention: back in June, Trump managed to turn his 34-count conviction in his sordid ‘hush money’/election tampering trial into a massive win with MAGA and many Republicans. He used it to bolster his aggrieved ‘persecuted victim’ narrative and raked in almost $100 million in donations from his outraged supporters.

The ‘king of lawsuits’ and delaying tactics

Trump’s string of incredibly good luck over the last four months shows, once again, how the rich and powerful (Trump, Musk, Bezos, etc.) can influence politics, sway our justice system, and manipulate our entire system of media and government to serve their selfish ends.

However, with Trump, these tendencies are greatly amplified — far beyond what is usual — and always have been for his entire life. They DO have the look and feel of some sort of divine ‘protection’ or intervention — until we look carefully at his actual, terrible record as a businessman, real estate mogul, and president.

For instance, Trump has worked hard — for decades — to create a ‘bubble’ of unaccountability and near-invincibility around himself, mainly through his calculated abuse of our legal system and his endless efforts to derail, delay, or endlessly appeal legal decisions and judgments against him.

While others might mount an appeal or two, if necessary, Trump has turned constant manipulation of our legal system into a ‘dark art’ and an entire way of life.

It’s not for nothing that Trump has been called ‘the king of lawsuits’ — 4,500 and counting! We can also add ‘the king of delaying tactics,’ as he files endless appeals and cynical legal motions designed to paralyze our justice system. (Of course, now that he won the election our justice system IS effectively paralyzed — and can’t touch him for at least four years.)

A vengeful failure and pathological liar is… God’s ‘chosen one’?

But it gets worse. If we recall his many business failures and bankruptcies, his botched handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tremendous fiscal deficit his administration created (the largest of any president), the many thousands of lies and distortions he’s foisted on America, and the way he foments anger, racism, and hate… we could be forgiven for concluding that this super-divisive man is, in reality, a huge failure and total flop as a human being and businessman, as well as in his role as president.

Yet, this is NOT the way he’s perceived by tens of millions of Americans. Bizarrely, he’s seen as almost divine by many evangelical Christians, who seem to believe his every action is divinely guided and ordained. To them, he is ‘God’s chosen one,’ sent to ‘make America great again’ and restore Christian values to the forefront of American life.

But wait! Wait a goddam minute here! How is it even possible that a lying, cheating, bullying, sexually abusive, totally amoral, super-narcissistic, super-manipulative, and Ten-Commandments-breaking scumbag like Trump is adored by many ‘Christians,’ and seen as God’s agent on Earth — or even as akin to the son of God himself, Jesus Christ?!

How the hell is this ballooning craziness even possible?

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

There’s no chance — none — that ‘God’ is protecting Trump

Ah yes, that’s an excellent question in today’s weird, wacko U.S.: How is this ballooning craziness even possible? In truth, it may be the indispensable question of our time.

Here’s what I think. Given Trump’s long-term, amoral, and destructive track record and all the publicly available evidence, the likelihood of perpetual divine protection amid God’s beaming approval is exactly ZERO. Zilch.

Yet it’s also true, as I’ve observed in this essay, that Trump does seem to enjoy some sort of unusual, almost preternatural protection and support. It’s a weird and inexplicable phenomenon.

Or at least, it’s inexplicable if we try to fit his life, behavior, and social and political impact into either a rational or ‘divinely ordained’ framework. His life is one long series of cons, rip-offs, lies, and financial and legal manipulations, so it makes NO sense at all that he gets away with almost all of it, and that he’s this friggin’ lucky almost always.

It’s totally, bizarrely incomprehensible.

Likewise, given all the pernicious and dangerous behavior patterns listed above, it’s simply inconceivable that ‘God’ would favor this man, protect him, or support his sleazy ventures in any way at all.

An ugly, terrifying alternative

But that leaves us with one ugly, terrifying alternative. If his unbelievable luck in avoiding accountability, turning his many failures into public ‘success,’ and mesmerizing millions of Americans can’t be explained in any rational terms OR by claiming ‘divine intervention’… well, I’m forced to conclude that he’s likely receiving some other kind of ‘supernatural’ intervention and protection.

If we look at the entire trajectory of Trump’s life, including ALL the myriad ways his incredible luck has saved him from financial ruin, total public condemnation, jail time, or even death, the one explanation that makes any sense at all — in a super-creepy and horrifying way — is that Trump is getting ongoing, massive assistance from the ‘dark side.’

Sure, Trump puts plenty of time, money, and intense effort into manipulating the legal system, the media, and the public — but somehow, these efforts still don’t add up to the unbelievable level of ‘luck’ and amazing feats of non-accountability we’ve all witnessed over the past nine years.

Somehow, Trump is getting energetic, foundational support and outward protection from somewhere or something… and by now it’s pretty damn obvious it can’t be ‘God.’

I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide what that ‘somewhere’ — or ‘something’ — might be.

We’re about to experience four more miserable years under Trump’s thumb

This bonkers and terrifying reality, my friends, is what the U.S. is facing — especially since Trump won re-election and will be inaugurated (again !) as our president on Jan. 20, ‘25.

Right now, Trump is on a tremendous roll as his creepy ‘good fortune’ keeps going and going — seemingly without end.

No trials.

No accountability.

No punishment.

No effective guardrails.

No stopping him.

Meanwhile, the right is united in ‘Godly’ triumph, while the left and the defeated Democrats are in near-total disarray.

Right now, the forces of oppression and darkness are winning, big time.

Let’s face it: the ‘never-Trumpers’ and ‘I’d vote for a rotten log before I’d vote for Trump’ folks were totally right all along.

But in the end, it made no difference — because the American people spoke and said “We want Trump!”

The American people — a slim plurality, anyway — decided they want Trump, his corrupt plans, his lies, his horrendous baggage, and his even more horrendous stated intentions (think political ‘revenge purges.’)

There’s an old saying, “The people get the government they deserve.” If the U.S. and Americans ‘deserve’ Trump and his henchmen… and we’re exposed for four years to the full force and fury Trump and his administration are sure to (gleefully) unleash — it’s probably ‘game over’ for the venerable U.S.A.

The luckiest, most manipulative man in U.S. history just got re-installed as our president and nation-wrecker-in-chief. And the U.S. just clinched the unadmirable title of ‘most foolish and UNlucky’ modern nation.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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