Where had I seen it before? For a couple of days, “Don’t ask me tough questions!” had nagged me constantly. Where had I heard it before and seen it practiced?
Then it hit me.
I had seen it practiced in utter regularity in every interview done with Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. No one dared to ask them tough questions. Not only they were asked soft questions, they were all pre-approved questions that came with standard answers. That was every dictator’s way, and that is what Mr. Trump yearns for when he says, “Don’t ask me tough questions!”
A good thing about Mr. Trump is his openness. He has made it clear that he wants to be the first dictator-for-life of the United States. The only problem with the dictator-for-life form of governance is that another dictator, usually the dictator’s son, gets to be the country’s next dictator-for-life. A good example is Kim Jong-un, following his father. Do you have the stomach for Don Junior being the next dictator-for-life who will never answer tough questions? Some of us do. They listen to Mr. Trump’s dictatorial desires and still vote to keep him in office. To them, Don Junior is the icing on the dictatorial cake.