Idiot Savant or "Made Man"?

Two Explanations for Donald Trump

Idiot Savant? Made Man? These two designations may not be mutually exclusive. But either could explain the rise of the phenomenon known as Donald Trump. After all, how could someone, anyone, get this far in life, with virtually no people skills, a complete lack of empathy and zero accountability for any number of vile, if not idiotic, words and actions?

This is no ordinary charlatan. This one has been of beastly proportions, successfully resisting any and all manner of challenge. He has made quick work of the Republican party’s few remaining moral principles and somehow disposed of the need for integrity within the GOP, perhaps once and for all. He has proceeded to somehow inspire the worst of the worst, among previously normal politicians as well as more common MAGA followers. He has inspired them all to come forward with passion and pride, full of sound and fury, in exaltation of himself of course, and his own worst traits.

So how was this possible? What would explain the rise and popularity of vulgarity personified, in the name of grift and narcissism no less. How has someone like him managed to incite such fear amongst his rivals and potential critics? What has made them all cower in his presence, and how has he mostly avoided being held accountable for his gross accumulation of misdeeds and illegalities, known and unknown?

There are at least two possible explanations: (1) The twice-indicted, twice-impeached, admitted sexual predator and proud leader of the modern Republican party is in fact an “Idiot Savant” or (2) The self-styled mob-boss, ruler of the grift, and international symbol of opportunistic demagoguery is actually a “made man,” in the classic mobster context. Let’s look at these one at a time…

The Idiot Savant: The term refers to “a mentally defective person with an exceptional skill or talent in a special field…” An example might be someone capable of playing advanced piano compositions after hearing them only once, while otherwise having an unusually low IQ. Or being able to name the day of the week for any date in history, instantly, while having trouble speaking in coherent sentences.

The first half of the term is a no-brainer — Of course he’s an idiot. Only an idiot would be fined 5 million dollars as punishment for defaming his rape victim, and then publicly repeat the defamation on the day after the verdict, only to prompt additional damage claims against him.

Only an idiot would brag, both on an authorized audio recording and during a national TV interview, about committing the crimes that the Department of Justice has indicted him for, in essence providing a first-person, unforced confession to the very crimes that he pleads “not guilty” to in court.

Only an idiot would personally attack Jack Smith, the DOJ’s Special Prosecutor pursuing the evidence in multiple inquiries of Trump, with additional indictments likely to come, including one for the attempted (and arguably ongoing) coup against the government, including the violence of January 6th at the nation’s capital.

Only an idiot would extend his attacks and expressions of victimhood into implicit if not explicit threats on Jack Smith’s “family and friends.” Does he not realize that this is the very person that can put him away for decades, via more than one indictment and prosecution?

There are enough other examples of less nefarious idiocy to fill volumes (staring into the sun during an eclipse is only one of them). So, if being an idiot is a given, what about the savant side of the equation? What is that “exceptional skill or talent in a special field” that seems to work so well for this unctuous excuse for a human?

The Savant. There is probably a unique combination of traits or talents that come together to qualify for the savant side of the equation. But surely, at the foundation, must be Trump’s ability to convince people of a certain mindset of pretty much anything. It’s the “some of the people, all of the time” segment of society. His gift is a perverse kind of super-authenticity (“he may be a dangerous liar, but at least he doesn’t hide it”). What you see is what you get. And if what you want are base values and violence-prone character traits that the vast majority of people would find repulsive, then he’s your guy.

Those that are susceptible to Trump’s dark charms are not simply the chumps that unwittingly finance his legal fees and continued relevance, forsaking friends and sometimes family in the process. His reach specifically extends to at least 145 or so Republicans in Congress who voted to stop certification of Biden’s 2020 win, on instructions from the Don.

Even more impressive, he was able to corrupt many former White House and Congressional insiders into his long-planned coup attempt in 2020. As Jack Smith’s efforts eventually come to fruition, a lot of household names in the MAGA GOP are likely to be held criminally accountable, right alongside their fearful leader. So why would they have followed him into the abyss of idiocy to begin with?

Is Donald Trump a “made man”?

In the mafia, the term “made man” is used to describe someone who has typically been of Italian descent, but more importantly, the term itself refers to someone who has become part of the mafia hierarchy, and has thus amassed enough personal power (and protection) to be considered untouchable (by rival mafioso, and even by law enforcement under certain conditions). Being “made”means being valuable, at least to others in organized crime, and especially to those more powerful in stature. But becoming a made man is not a movie role, and can happen under any number of circumstances.

For instance, it’s been well documented that Trump has long been a valuable Russian asset. Thom Hartman did the heavy lifting putting together a well-documented summary of Trump’s 30-year, all-encompassing relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin in particular. Being a Russian asset who ascends to the White House in 2016 would have “made” Trump, as an invaluable asset. His “accomplishments” on the world stage as President routinely helped Mr. Putin, at the expense of vital western alliances and America’s own standing in the world. Later, his stealing of Top Secret government documents and his refusal to hand them back are likely but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential damage he has done to our country’s national security.

Even today, Trump is of great value to Russia. We may or may not find out how many government secrets he’s already passed on to “visitors” at Mara-Lago, but why stop at Russia? The realm in which Trump is an asset is really at the global organized crime level — the level where oligarchs and demagogues and full-on fascists spread and coordinate their dangerous activities around-the-world. This level is where he really becomes a made man.

And so naturally, who in Washington would dare oppose a “made man” of this stature? Would any of the spineless Republicans (manly-man Josh Hawley comes to mind) risk harm to themselves or their families, just for the sake of openly standing up to the untouchable buffoon? Would this not explain how Trump can openly threaten prosecutors, judges, journalists, and even fellow-Republicans who dare oppose him?

Or maybe Trump only thinks he’s a made man. Why wouldn’t he? He knows many international dirty secrets that he learned while President. Other autocrats have stuff on him. Well, he has the goods on them as well. He’s done business with dictators, oligarchs, insurrectionists, unethical lawyers, fanning sycophants, FOX propagandists, and zombie-like cult followers, willing to do almost anything for him. Who would dare cross that guy.  He’s touted publicly that he’s “got the police,” "got the military,” “got the bikers.” It goes without saying he’s got international organized crime associates. That would seem to be enough to protect him against any and all challengers, right? All that is what would make him a made man, at least in his own mind.

Whether Don CorleOrange is actually a made man is something we’re about to find out. He’s the walking definition of hubris, with no guardrails and little resistance. Even two impeachments couldn’t shake his support from within the now wanna-be fascist GOP.

Maybe Trump is “made” because he is an invaluable asset to global organized crime, or “made” because because the fascist infrastructure that exists inside what used to be the Republican party has established too strong of roots. Either way, he is “made” as far as he is concerned. But will that be enough to save him from complete demise?

If Jack Smith is not threatened and/or otherwise derailed by Trump, like so many others have been, and Smith remains on course, then he is sure to bring his best game into the courtroom(s), along with mountains of damning evidence, much of it courtesy of Donald J. Bigmouth. When that happens, we will find out if Trump really is a made man, or not. There is no middle ground during this spectacular chapter in world history. Either he is fully held to account for his misdeeds or he isn’t. The answer, of course will depend on whether the rule of law holds up under these unprecedented circumstances.

This moment feels different than others in the past, and somehow reminiscent of the eventually successful prosecutions of once-notorious gangsters. Chances are as good as they’ve ever been that Trump (1) will be found guilty of major crimes and sentenced to prison or its equivalent, (2) will flee the country, back to Russia or whatever other autocratic regime will grant him asylum (and then make the most use of him), or (3) expire suddenly of natural causes, likely under the weight of accountability.

At that point, even if he is an Idiot-Savant, that status and those skills will no longer help him. His special talents will no longer have a viable venue, and his reign as the “useful idiot” working for no-good-nicks domestically and abroad will come to an end. What will remain is what once looked like a very big “made man,” but was ultimately revealed to be just an idiot — one of colossal proportions.

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