Thin-skinned President Donald Trump has popularized a quaint rare pastime.
News media call it throwing others under the bus.
So far I’ve not discovered any rules to the game except proponents resort to it as a means to save face. Anyone can be disciplined in this way, even friends previously in good standing.
The more I ponder this sport, the more questions I have.
For instance, will any old bus do, or must buses have a minimum clearance under the chassis?
That would seem to be a major consideration if the tossing is to be done cleanly, without snagging on obstructions.
Where do these buses come from?
Are they older models retired from active service, previously owned by the city, state, or Washington D.C.?
Are there many buses stationed at various sites around the capitol – along 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House so the president in a fit of pique can toss a cabinet minister with minimum delay?
Just how is throwing someone under the bus accomplished?
With a motion similar to caber tossing?
Or with a sideways flick of the wrist as though launching a frisbee?
Is it kosher to have help in tossing? After all some of the tossed might possess excess poundage, unlike Attorney General Jeff Sessions who is a small body.
How many people can fit under one bus at one time?
Is there a safety limit such as fire codes that limit room occupancy?
Is there a minimum time limit to their stay under the bus?
Is it acceptable to lend the tossed assistance in crawling out from under the bus?
Besides emotional battering, do the tossed suffer bruising, bloody scrapes, broken bones? Has the senate taken those health expenses into account when drafting their proposed replacement for Obamacare?
How does someone like Trump go about luring his victim close enough to a bus to begin the process?
Can he accomplish this alone — in his younger years he was a formidable football player, rumour has it — or do staff assist?
Is there a category of staff assigned specifically to help assess victims and then follow through on the spineless deed?
Reporter Maggie Haberman of the New York Times recently revealed after speaking with employees who had worked for Trump over many years that despite his reputation on The Apprentice of announcing “You’re fired!”, in his role as U.S. president he never lowers the boom himself, preferring to send a lackey to do the job for him.
For instance, when he fired FBI director James Cuomy, Trump had his bodyguard deliver the news to Cuomy’s office as a typed letter.
We all know Trump talks big at a distance, but wimps out when face to face. Remember his visit to Mexico early in his term?
After weeks of boasting on the campaign trail that Mexico would pay for the wall, willingly or not, once sharing the podium with the Mexican president at the end of his short visit, Trump never even broached the topic of building or paying for a wall.
Tossing people under the bus has become Trump’s favourite physical exercise, unlike previous presidents. Clinton and the younger George Bush liked to run. Bush also mountain bikes. Obama preferred tennis or basketball.
All three exercised for fitness and relaxation. Trump tosses people to get even with those he feels have wronged him in some way, no matter how slight.