A bastardization of a quote by Napoléon, perhaps, but just as useful for any politician, anarchist, psychotic or flaming nutjob who wraps himself in faux virtue as an excuse for whatever crimes he commits.
He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2025
There are any number of other quotes by people of far greater virtue than Napoléon worth considering. Take Montesquieu, for example.
There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.
Or, if one is inclined to attribute virtue to Trump’s intentions, as opposed to self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment, there’s always this proverb.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
But Trump’s confession aside, it provides a litmus test of his supporters. Are you so simplistic as to believe that no matter what Trump does, no matter what laws are violated, it’s acceptable because, as far as you’re concerned, he’s saving the country? From the contorted efforts to excuse Trump’s actions, whether irrational, predicated on lies or just plain old dumb, it appears that many of his MAGA supporters are satisfied with such vapid aphorisms.
So here’s another pithy quote to consider.
As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
It’s unclear whether Trump is simplistic enough to buy the virtue of his quote, or merely thinks his supporters are such simpletons that they believe this is a deep thought by a stable genius. Either way, the likelihood of his MAGA sycophants is great that they are about to get what they want, “good and hard.”
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“Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel” – Samuel Johnson
“On the contrary, it’s often the first” – Ambrose Bierce (paraphrased)
Robert Heinlein.
Patriotism is not ‘my country right or wrong’; patriotism means loving the ideals for which America stands and having the courage to speak up when these ideals are distorted for personal or political gain. The American government was instituted to be the servant of the people, not our master.
[Ed. Note: TANSTAAFL.]
I might toss this off as a throwaway line, but then his MAGA apologists make an excuse for every stupid thing that comes out of Trump’s mouth, only to get their balls cut off when Trump later says, “no, I meant it.” He’s not playing 4D chess or being a master negotiator. He’s saying exactly what he means, no matter how crazy it is.
You would think that the apologists would get tired of trying to defend the nutjob who keeps cutting off their balls, but nope they just keep making inane excuses. This “throwaway line,” together with his mugshot, are now on the White House twitter feed, so he sticking with it no matter how dumb it is.
There’s a word for people who do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome next time.
It is essentially a return to Dick Nixon’s postulate that if the president does something, it can’t be illegal. I have a distant recollection that not everybody bought it that time either.
[Ed. Note: This calls for a video.]
Add this to your list of 🌽y aphorisms: It’s never the wrong time to hire the right person. Corollary: It’s always the right time to fire the wrong person! No one knows this better than our Nazi-wannabe president. So sad. But so far the stock market luvs it, as do his minions of “deplorables.” What do those smart investors know that we do not? Inquiring Minds demand answers. Warren Buffett, where are you when we kneed you for your own silly aphorisms?
Hey, it’s Sunday, but the sun is not shining and we neglected Bible Class. Instead, we opened the bar early today!?
The greater problem is that many across the political spectrum decided to ride a hobby horse and pissed people off, with the consequence that Trump (who I consider a buffoon) had an open goal to exploit. Politicians surrendering to group-think has never been a good thing, and, and as we have discovered here in the UK, goes to shit rather quickly, so I suspect that we will follow your path in the US fairly soon. We too have plenty of rascals waiting in the wings to tell the public what they want to hear.
Saving the country from what? The upcoming invasion by Canada, or is it Greenland? Maybe all the marauding millions of centenarians collecting Social Security checks?