By Andrew Klein
In response to the admirable Senator Marco Rubio’s declaration that we are blessed with a president of “moral clarity” in Donald J. Trump, I feel it is the duty of every patriot to illuminate this clarity for those who may be too simple-minded to perceive it. The Senator is, of course, absolutely correct. Mr. Trump’s morality is of such a pristine and crystalline nature that it has, I fear, been mistaken for its opposite by the weak and the literal.
Let us examine the evidence with the clear-eyed reverence it deserves.
On the Clarity of Familial Fidelity
A man of muddled morals might be discreet in his affairs,hiding his true nature behind a facade of marital piety. Not so with Mr. Trump. His morality is too bold for such deception. His liaisons with a pornographic film actress while his wife was at home with their newborn son were not acts of infidelity, but public lessons in biological pragmatism. He was demonstrating, with stunning clarity, the alpha male’s prerogative to sow his seed where he pleases. To pay hush money is not an admission of guilt; it is merely a transaction fee for a masterclass in evolutionary strategy.
On the Clarity of Christian Charity
The faint-hearted Christian might turn the other cheek.Mr. Trump, in his divine wisdom, understands that this is a strategic error. His public mocking of a disabled reporter, his branding of political opponents as “vermin,” and his declaration that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” without losing voters are not acts of cruelty. They are sermons on the mount of realpolitik. He is clarifying that in the kingdom of God, the meek shall not inherit the earth; they shall be sued for defamation.
On the Clarity of Democratic Principles
A leader with a confused moral compass might have conceded an election after all legal avenues were exhausted.Mr. Trump’s clarity would not allow for such ambiguity. His attempt to overturn the will of the people, his incitement of a mob to storm the Capitol to “fight like hell,” and his subsequent valorization of the attackers as “patriots” and “hostages” represent the purest form of democratic renewal. He was not subverting democracy; he was clarifying that its true form is whatever he, at that moment, declares it to be.
On the Clarity of Fiscal Responsibility
While lesser men might use complex financial instruments to hide their wealth,Mr. Trump’s morality is one of transparent grandeur. His decades of business failures, his six corporate bankruptcies, and the New York civil fraud case which found him liable for persistently inflating his wealth are not evidence of failure. They are a brilliant, long-form performance art piece on the nature of perceived value. He has clarified that a dollar is not worth 100 cents, but whatever you can convince a bank it is worth. This is not fraud; it is financial philosophy of the highest order.
On the Clarity of International Diplomacy
His moral vision on the world stage is particularly luminous.His withholding of military aid to an ally at war (Ukraine) to pressure them into investigating a political rival was not a shakedown. It was a clarification of the true purpose of foreign policy: to serve the personal interests of the leader. His admiration for the world’s strongmen—from Putin to Kim Jong-Un—is not an affection for autocrats; it is a clear-eyed recognition that morality is simply the will of the powerful, a lesson he has learned from the best.
A Modest Proposal for Further Clarity
Therefore,I propose that we stop quibbling over petty details like laws, norms, and truth. We must embrace the full, radiant spectrum of Mr. Trump’s moral clarity. To those who are troubled, I say: your conscience is the problem. It is a foggy, outdated instrument. Let it be recalibrated by the brilliant, unwavering lighthouse of his self-interest.
For if this is not moral clarity, then nothing is. And if this is the future of American leadership, then we must, with the clarity of a man staring into the sun, accept that we are not being led into darkness, but blinded by the light.
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In the tradition of Jonathan Swift, who also found that the most effective way to critique monstrosity was to praise it with a straight face.