Former President Donald J. Trump insists the “Presidential Records Act” justifies his taking government documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago. The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 22 § 2202 states: “The United States shall reserve and maintain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records; and such records shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.” (Merriam-Webster) (My emphasis.) What am I missing? Am I losing it?
Cursory consideration of Donald’s voluminous pronouncements and screeds make clear that whatever comes from his lips at a given moment serves his purpose in that moment. For non-MAGA Minions, the maddening question is: Is the ex-President just shooting off his mouth here or, more frightening, crazy?
No doubt Donald Trump believes the documents belong to him. The conflict between this assertion and the Presidential Records Act may be viewed as, intentional or not, “gaslighting,” the “psychological manipulation of a person(s) . . . that causes the person(s) to question the validity of their own thoughts, perceptions of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator! (Merriam-Webster) (My emphasis.)
Whew! I’m not losing it!
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