Who is the lunatic?

The Chief Executive Officer of BP is Bernard Looney. Despite his name, it seems that he has never been spotted howling at the full moon aboard an oil rig-or mumbling Shakespeare sonnets on the Bakerloo line. So we really ask, “who is the lunatic?”

On the contrary, he is a respected model of stability, highly successful in his current role. In interviews he comes across as a tough but fair leader with charm and a sense of humour. His surname is therefore inappropriate.

Why then, does the President of the United States not bear this name? A few months ago, I wrote, with no respect for political correctness, that we can safely assume that the President is mad. I am not mocking the tragedy of mental illness, but, when combined with ego and power, madness can be dangerous–in this case for the world.

No matter what his true mental condition, Trump comes over as a deeply disturbed, immature egoist, trapped in a world of fantasy, he has done nothing nothing but prove himself to be a lunatic. He has emerged as an ignorant, uneducated and unprincipled disaster. I have met many good people in different parts of the USA–conscientious, decent, educated and informed.

I have met others who are not so. The same applies to Western Europeans. So, given his record to date, how could a majority of Americans possibly vote for Trump in the forth coming election? If they do, does it raise questions over the mental stability of an entire nation? Almost every decision and every suggestion by Trump has been the wrong one.

Almost every tweet, every address, every comment he has made is offensive, juvenile and packed with lies and nonsense. He may have had success in business, but he is as much out of his depth in the Oval Office as he would be at the controls of an Airbus A380.

Trump demonstrates a vitriolic dismissal of anybody who does not share his own distorted view of the world and his own racial, jingoistic and intolerant standards. He seems incapable of political relationships and has the diplomatic acumen of a sullen teenager. His only concern is for another four more years in the White House.

Under this leaderless administration, his once respected and powerful country has subsided into a crisis of economic disaster and social unease everywhere. There is unnecessary death and bereavement, resulting from his attitude to from Corona Virus, unrestrained policing, the absence of gun control and the hatred, confrontation and anarchy unleashed by his words and his policies.

And always, somebody else is to blame. What kind of people could want a further four years of this? Under his presidency, the USA is widely mocked, pitied or despised–even by its natural allies. No wonder Russia and China (despite the sanctions) want him to stay.

But he evidently strikes a chord with millions of gun-toting American nationalists and racists, and the millions of voters who appear unconcerned by the damage already done. He could yet win!

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