Apparently it hasn’t been enough for Donald Trump to rail maniacally about voting by mail. Or to attack his own medical experts for truthfully warning about the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Or to threaten to ban TikTok, a Twitter app that sometimes hosts messages that are critical of Trump. Or to whine incessantly about Fox News (aka State TV) when they aren’t sufficiently worshipful.

Nope. It has not been nearly enough to satiate Trump’s massive and fragile ego. Now he is turning his wrath on the Commission on Presidential Debates, the independent, non-partisan organization that has been producing these general election encounters for almost fifty years. True to form, Trump cannot enter into any activity without angrily stomping his bone spurred feet until he gets the undeserved attention demanded by his addled-brain, malignant narcissism. Consequently, Trump took to his Twitter machine to bellow…

How can voters be sending in Ballots starting, in some cases, one month before the First Presidential Debate. Move the First Debate up. A debate, to me, is a Public Service. Joe Biden and I owe it to the American People!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2020

In order to give his imperious grumbling some additional oomph, Trump dispatched his equally schizoid personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to fire off an urgent missive to the Commission with a set of utterly irrational, albeit self-serving, requests. However, it’s hard to take seriously a plea that opens and closes with a disparaging remark about Joe Biden finally being, “available to leave his basement for the fall debates.” Stay Classy, Rudy.

Giuliani’s letter sought to change the terms of the already agreed upon debate schedule to add another meeting between Trump and Biden in early September because…

“By the time of the first presidential debate … as many as eight million Americans in 16 states will have already started voting. [Giuliani claimed to want to] avoid having millions of Americans disenfranchised by not being able to see and hear the two major party candidates debate before they have ballots in-hand.”

For Giuliani and Trump, or any Republican, to complain about disenfranchising voters after having gutted the Voting Rights Act, and worked so hard to eliminate early and weekend voting, close polling places, purge registration rolls, and draw preposterously gerrymandered districts, is Olympic-grade hypocrisy.

There is, however, a notable logical fissure in Giuliani’s demands. The vast majority of the states don’t allow for any voting prior to the first debate, which will be held on September 29. And the few that do provide ballots before then, do not require that they be returned until election day. Which means any voter who receives a ballot can simply hold onto it until after any or all of the debates before making their decisions and mailing it in. Although it is best to return ballots as soon as possible to facilitate tabulation, it is not required.

What’s more, voters this year are particularly committed to their presidential preference already. According to a recent poll by CBS News, most voters say that they “strongly support their candidate” (77% of Trump supporters / 74% of Biden supporters). Nine in ten say they would never consider the other candidate. So barring a catastrophic meltdown, the debates may not have much influence over the election outcome. And by all appearances, it’s Trump who would be most susceptible to the meltdown scenario.

In addition to Trump’s ludicrous scheduling alterations, he also weighed in on who he thinks should moderate the debates. Note that the candidates have never selected the moderators for these debates in the past. And the reason for that is perfectly illustrated in Trump’s ultra-partisan list of preferred moderators. Out of 24, nine of them are from Fox News, including notorious Trump-fluffers like Maria Bartiromo. The list also includes some shameless bootlickers from the New York Post, Christian Broadcasting Network, and the Wall Street Journal.

The Commission sent Giuliani their response that can be summarized as a big “NO” on every count. Surely Trump will regard that as a personal slight and throw a Twitter tantrum casting himself as the victim of a “Deep State” plot to destroy him. Because, sadly, that’s what we’ve all come to expect from the Crybaby-in-Chief. But his infantile tactics won’t help him get his way this time. And his well-founded fear of being humiliated is driving him to ever more deranged outbursts, such as…

Trump is so DESPERATE & AFRAID that he's accusing Biden (who is Catholic) of being "against god."

Is there anyone who still is NOT convinced that Trump is the Antichrist?pic.twitter.com/TKaXWdrhrd

— News Corpse (@NewsCorpse) August 6, 2020

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.