Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

To answer the question in this blog headline, I say this, bluntly:

I hope his future is limited by his over-reactions to almost everything.

Even January 6, 2021!  Now five years later remember that date?

The New York Times does.

Here is what the Times wrote in an editorial about that fateful day:

“That day was indeed a turning point, but not the one it first seemed to be. It was a turning point toward a version of Trump who is even more lawless than the one who governed the country in his first term. It heralded a culture of political unaccountability, in which people who violently attacked Congress and beat police officers escaped without lasting consequence.

“The politicians and pundits who had egged on the attack with their lies escaped, as well. The aftermath of January 6 made the Republican Party even more feckless, beholden to one man and willing to pervert reality to serve his interests.

“Once Trump won election again in 2024, despite his role in encouraging the riot and his many distortions about it, it emboldened him to govern in defiance of the Constitution, without regard for the truth and with malice toward those who stand up to his abuses.”

Regardless of his violent effort to overturn an election he lost, Trump nios claims to be the best U.S. president in history.  Overstatement.

I say he is the worst, given his intention, as a narcissist, to turn everything into a fable about himself, no matter the reality.

I also read a column a few days ago by Michelle Goldberg, which appeared in the Washington Post under this headline:  Trump Is Getting Weaker, and the Resistance Is Getting Stronger

I like that tone.

Here is more from the Goldberg column:

“It has been a gruesome year for those who see Donald Trump’s kakistocracy clearly.  He returned to office newly emboldened, surrounded by obsequious tech barons, seemingly in command of not just the country but also the zeitgeist.

“Since then, it’s been a parade of nightmares — armed men in balaclavas on the streets, migrants sent to a torture prison in El Salvador, corruption on a scale undreamed of by even the gaudiest third-world dictators, and the shocking capitulation by many leaders in business, law, media, and academia.

“Trying to wrap one’s mind around the scale of civic destruction wrought in just 11 months stretches the limits of the imagination, like conceptualizing light-years or black holes.”

Yet, Goldberg says that, as 2025 limps toward its end, there are reasons to be hopeful.

She goes on:

“That’s because of millions of people throughout the country have refused to surrender to this administration’s bullying.  When Trump began his second term, conventional wisdom held that the resistance was moribund.  

“If that was ever true, it’s certainly not anymore.  This year has seen some of the largest street protests in American history.”  And much more.

The question is whether we, as Americans, will be able to survive three more years of Trump.

Goldberg sees several pivot points in Trump’s decline:

• One of the first was a Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April.  Elon Musk, then still running rampant at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, declared the contest critical and poured more than $20 million into the race.  Voters turned out in droves, and the Musk-backed conservative candidate lost by more than 10 points.
• In June, Trump’s military parade, meant as a display of dominance, was a flop, and simultaneous No Kings protests all over the country were huge and energetic.
• A few months later, Charlie Kirk was assassinated, a tragedy that the administration sought to exploit to silence its opponents.
• Trump has thoroughly corrupted the Justice Department, but its selective prosecutions of his foes have been thwarted by judges and, more strikingly, by grand juries. Two grand juries refused to indict Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, whom the administration has accused of mortgage fraud, with no credible evidence.

So, Goldberg posits that “Trump ends the year weak and unpopular, his coalition dispirited and riven by infighting.”

Now, on this Monday, we one result Trump was seeking in Latin America – the overthrow of the despot leader in Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro.  Incredibly – and perhaps illegally – the U.S. military invaded the country and captured Maduro and his wife.  They will be arraigned in New York court today and, later, will stands trail.

Meanwhile, Trump is coming in for criticism around the world for his actions to overthrow another country’s leader.  No doubt, he, Trump, doesn’t care.

To use an old phrase, only time will tell if Trump continues to wilt. 

For my part, I hope he does so we can get back to a more genuine America where all voices can come together to create a solid melting pot.

So, can we stand three more years of Trump as we enter a new year?  Who knows?