"Trump is seeking a physical legacy, a collection of signs and structures that will pay eternal tribute to his greatness. Which is why it is so importantand why it will be so rewardingfor the next Democratic president to tear it all down and smash it to bits. This isn't just about petty revenge, even if there is undoubtedly some of that going on here."
"Waldman's second caution is worthy of further study. There's been no more pernicious political phenomenon over the past four decades than what we can call the Looking Forward, Not Backward strategy. It's the preferred philosophy of the Both Sides, No Labels, Problem Solvers crowd. It is one of the main reasons that there was no clear, clean resolution of the Iran-Contra scandal, or the Iraqgate scandal, or all the scandals of the first Trump administration."
Trump is seeking a physical legacy of signs and structures intended to memorialize his greatness. Dismantling those symbols should be a priority for the next Democratic president as part of a broader strategy of repudiation and repair. Emerging from this period requires substantive, procedural, and symbolic actions, including subpoenas and investigations. Removing physical remnants will be simpler than rebuilding the federal workforce or security alliances. The "Looking Forward, Not Backward" ethos has prevented accountability for decades, enabling unresolved scandals like Iran-Contra, Iraqgate, and prior Trump-era abuses. Thorough investigations and institutional repair are necessary to clean out the stables.
Read at www.esquire.com
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