OPINION:
President-elect Donald Trump once said that the second greatest book ever written — after the Holy Bible, of course — is “The Art of the Deal,” written, of course — of course! — by Donald Trump himself.
But that book — indeed the entire arc of Mr. Trump’s life — could have also been titled “The Art of the Possible.”
In God we trust. And in Mr. Trump, anything is possible. (These two statements, by the way, are not mutually exclusive.)
Ridicule him. Call him a racist. Assure the world he will never be elected president of the United States. And then he gets elected.
That’s Trump.
Investigate him. Impeach him. Silence him. Indict him. Arrest him. Mug-shot him. Perp-walk him into every court you control. Convict him.
Stop just short of jailing him once you realize all the slings and arrows you inflict upon him only make him stronger. And then he gets himself elected again.
That’s Trump.
A barrage of bullets from an assassin’s rifle? Mr. Trump turns his head just enough to the right that one barely nicks his ear.
He pumps his fist. “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
That’s Trump.
Anything is possible with this guy. It is why people love him so much. It is also why other people hate him so much.
Everyone is so deeply invested in Donald Trump. People who love him pin their wildest hopes on him. People who hate him saddle him with their darkest fears.
No one can afford to ignore him. Everyone is too much invested in him.
The silly wedded crew over at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” have loved him and hated him and are now desperate to love him again. (The show’s ratings are in the toilet.)
They are what we call Vichy MAGA.
Mr. Trump was Hitler just a week ago. But now Hitler is back in power and rolling into town. A gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do. Go down to Mar-a-Lago and grovel. Kiss the ring and crotch-nuzzle the king.
Anything is possible.
Donald Trump has seen it all. He watches all the groveling and keeps score. And he never forgets.
Watching the “Morning Joe” whores back on television pledging all their suddenly realigned loyalty was a clear and painful violation of Geneva Conventions rules against the videotaping of war prisoners.
Most of us just looked away in shame on their behalf. Others — the few invested in “Morning Joe” — curdled with vitriol and scorn at the silly morning crew.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, was back at Mar-a-Lago building his new Cabinet, filling it with serious people. Serious people who believe in the art of the possible. Serious people committed to doing great and consequential things for their country.
Elon Musk is one of those people. Planetary explorer. Environmental crusader. Free speech mogul. Neurotechnology inventor. Radical humanist.
One of the happiest developments of the 2024 presidential campaign has been watching this delightful bromance develop between these two titanic visionaries who just a while ago had seemingly nothing in common.
Now they knock around like two boys on their Huffy bikes enjoying their first taste of summer freedom, pedaling to parts previously unknown and stopping at the edge of the world to look up at the cosmos and talk about their dreams for big and unthinkable things to come.
Mr. Trump takes Mr. Musk to sit ringside for a UFC fight. At one point, Mr. Trump excitedly punches Mr. Musk in the arm of his leather jacket over a particularly raw and epic move inside the ring.
In turn, Mr. Musk invites Mr. Trump to watch one of his rockets launch into space. It is at once terrifying and brilliant, yet also hopeful. The two men are giddy with excitement.
They watch the rocket rumble skyward atop a raging inferno, headed for stars unknown. The whole world sees it now.
Anything is possible.
• Charles Hurt is opinion editor at The Washington Times.
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