The question must be asked.  Has the President of the United States gone completely loco?   His reckless and seemingly mentally unbalanced statements appear to be getting worse.

Within the past couple of days, Donald J. Trump, has taken the world to the brink of a nuclear confrontation, threatening millions of lives by taunting the boy-man leader in North Korea.  From the safety and comfort of his country club in New Jersey, he has called the Governor of little Guam, our island territory in Kim’s nuclear crosshairs, assuring him “We’re behind you one-thousand percent!”   Really?   Never would have guessed.  Thing is, it was totally avoidable.

So was his idiotic statement thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin, a man who can do no wrong in Trump’s eyes, for expelling more than seven-hundred American diplomats from Russia.   Trump said that was just fine with him because expelling all those diplomats would save the U.S. a pile of money.

The Americans who have been expelled from Russia are career diplomats, who will be reassigned and not fired, so there’s no money to be saved.   Beyond that, our President has just praised a foreign adversary for kicking the United States in the teeth.   He can come back later and say he didn’t mean it but the fact is he said it and he’s the President, and his words carry weight.   Beyond that, it’s one more example of Putin being able to do no wrong in the eyes of Donald Trump.

What does Putin have on Trump?   Is Trump being blackmailed by the Russians?   Is it possible that Trump’s creeping authoritarianism, now challenging even his own party, could be guided by a foreign power?   Can he claim he’s just delivering on his promise to “drain the swamp?”  At times it feels like there’s an evil brilliance behind Donald’s actions that exceeds his abilities.

And now comes the creme de la creme of bizarro statements with Donald’s threat to invade the sovereign nation of Venezuela.    When I first heard it I laughed.  I stopped laughing as the frightening realization hit me that Trump might finally have gone completely off his nut.   What next?   Sending the 101st Airborne into the woods around Chappaqa, in search of Hillary’s emails?

Whatever Mr. Trump’s problem is, it appears to be getting worse.  It no longer matters whether Trump is acting to create a diversion or if he’s truly delusional.  Neither is acceptable.   The Republicans must act now to put a stop to this madness.

#######################

LATE ADD – HE’S DONE IT AGAIN – The piece above was written before the Neo-Nazi / White Nationalist automobile attack on counter protesters in Charlottesville, VA, which Trump tried to explain away by saying, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”    Unacceptable rubbish.

When it comes to Nazis, there are only two sides, fascism and freedom.  Many of us lost loved ones who fought to keep the world free of Nazis in World War II.  Trump is obviously trying to pacify those in his base who are white, racist, Nazi or KKK.     Unpresidential, Un-American and totally unacceptable.