I had a close friend while in high school. When we graduated, we lost contact with each other. That was a half-century ago. A dozen years ago, he came across my website and emailed me. He lives in Munster, a forty-five-minute drive from where I live in Crown Point, IN. We get together for lunch every couple of months.

My friend was Catholic and went to college and seminary to become a priest after high school. He was a priest for a couple of decades but wasn’t happy for a litany of reasons. He tried the Anglican Catholic Church for several years but finally left that branch. We are both retired and will discuss political, social, and theological questions over lunch.

We share a similar left-of-center mindset on nearly all topics. Last Friday, a day before the third anniversary of the Capitol riot and insurrection, we had our first lunch and chat of the New Year. We spent several hours harping about Donald the Dumb. Neither of us will convince any MAGA followers, but we enjoy venting. Some MAGA followers contend that 1/6 was a walk in the park, and others maintain that the FBI was responsible for starting the riot.

During lunch, he blurted out, “Trump sees himself as the pope. He believes that he is infallible.” Trump does claim on Truth Social that he is perfect, “Of course I am entitled to Presidential Immunity.” Well, several things about that statement aren’t correct. Trump should have added a comma after the word course, and Presidential Immunity isn’t capitalized.

Beyond basic grammar, a more pressing issue is that Trump doesn’t have immunity. Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” Again, presidential immunity doesn’t include shooting people.

We bantered back and forth about Trump, who also is called OJ, the Orange Jesus. I mentioned that the Orange Jesus is Trump’s vision of the divine rights of kings. Henry II of England promoted the notion in the 12^th century. He stated that English monarchs possess the royal we from the Latin pluralis majestatis. Essentially, the king was God incarnate. The king was working on behalf of God. Queen Victoria would say when she disagreed with something, “We are not amused.” Even a few English commoners see the royal we as hubris. It also is racism. Their place in society is based upon birth. The royals view themselves as better than the commoners.

Many Americans view the royal we as beyond the pale. Nevertheless, listen to King Donald.

‘I am your retribution’: Trump lays out his grievances at CPAC - POLITICO

The Orange Jesus faces 91 criminal indictments regardless of his color. He faces 34 felony charges in New York, 40 felony charges in Florida, and 13 felony charges in Georgia.

OJ faces various other cases like the second defamation case regarding E. Jean Carroll, and several Capital Police officers filed cases. Other cases are working their way through the various courts filed by Alexander Vindman, Michael Cohen, Mary Trump, and ad infinitum. Colorado and Maine have acted to disqualify Trump from his name on the November presidential election ballot.

I said to my friend that no one will go through life without some distracters. Nonetheless, I would be at a loss to name someone facing more criminal and civil charges than Trump in 2024. What is beyond the pale is that Trump claims all of his legal problems are due to political persecution. He promises to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” Trump is doing this on behalf of Americans; he is the martyr for the masses.