25 April—On the subject of Trump defense lawyer-acting Librarian of Congress-acting United States Attorney General Todd Blanche, a couple of days ago he announced the Justice Department’s new drive to denaturalize naturalized citizens, probably on trumped-up charges, following Trump administration precedent. In his disgraceful announcement, Blanche asserted that the selective xenophobic persecution of non-native-born citizens—reminiscent of Nazi persecution of Jews and homosexuals—was done “under the leadership of President Trump.”

The selective denaturalization probably wasn’t Trump’s idea, since it’s doubtful he was aware it could be done. (Were you? Denaturalization, after all, is rare and done—or supposed to be done—only in cases of fraudulent naturalization.) But that’s irrelevant. What’s relevant in the circumstance is that Blanche conspicuously credited Trump in the announcement. And that’s relevant because Trump is credited and praised—or at least mentioned in typically sycophantic terms—in virtually every announcement, release, and statement that’s excreted by anyone in any agency of Trump’s administration.

Remember how the flunkies Trump put in his first cabinet in 2017, after effusively groveling and thanking him for allowing them the signal honor of serving his exalted majesty, showered their orange messiah with even more praise than North Korea’s tyrant Kim Jong Un gets from his flunkies who fear for their lives? Well, that was merely a portent of things to come.

So what? you’re thinking. So I recollect—with greater or lesser detail, as the case may be—presidents and administrations going back to Truman’s second one. And through Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama, and Biden, I cannot recall that an incumbent president was credited or even mentioned in just about every positive announcement coming from his administration, let alone lavished with praise, deserved or otherwise. It’s not done and it shouldn’t be done.

In fact, I’d venture that never before in the history of the republic has a president been obsequiously lionized like Donald Trump. Such fawning goes well beyond mere loyalty. Trump’s flunkies get in line to heap adulation on their lord and master. The last cabinet meeting, for instance, at which Trump nodded off (as usual), was more noteworthy for all the cabinet members’ tongues jockeying for position on or in Trump’s ass than for any substance.

Trump has made it clear that rather than govern by consent he rules by fear. Still, frankly, you’ve got to wonder why Trump appointees, so many of whom have been successful, wealthy, and respected on their own and have never needed Trump for anything, have debased and embarrassed themselves by kowtowing to a character they must know is nothing but a con man. They don’t need to be loyal to him and they certainly can’t—and shouldn’t—admire him. So there must be something in it for them that we great unwashed don’t know about . . .