opinionEJ Montini
Arizona RepublicPublished 6:38 PM EDT Aug 29, 2020I don’t imagine Gov. Doug Ducey is fond Donald Trump.I believe he would possibly secretly even dislike him. Quite a bit.However he’s clearly afraid of him.Massive time.It’s like the 2 of them are in sixth grade and Trump is the bully who on daily basis threatens to take Ducey’s lunch cash if Ducey doesn’t do precisely what Trump tells him to do.So Ducey complies.That’s why he didn’t put on a masks at instances throughout Trump’s nomination acceptance speech and extravaganza on the White Home.Plenty of individuals observed and questioned concerning the apparent hypocrisy. Right here was Ducey, who imposed all types of restrictions on Arizona companies to curb the unfold of COVID-19, going with out a masks in a crowd that wasn’t conforming to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention suggestions for sporting masks or social distancing.An ideal soup for spreading the virus.The governor’s spokesman tried to pawn off any criticism of Ducey’s actions as politics.Extra necessary than 5,000 deaths?He responded to the Arizona Republic’s Maria Polletta saying that Ducey “makes use of widespread sense about when to have (a masks) on and when he feels snug taking it off. The Democrats are greedy at straws in a determined try to politicize the virus as a result of they don’t have anything else to speak about.’Nothing else to speak about?Arizona has had over 200,000 COVID-19 instances and almost 5,000 deaths.I might ask the governor if there one thing extra necessary to speak about?When the virus was raging in Arizona the governor did not depend on everybody’s “widespread sense” to mitigate the issue. He issued govt orders.Going maskless on the White Home wasn’t “widespread sense.” If was worry of a bully.Keep in mind when the Entry Hollywood tape was launched, catching Trump saying about girls, “I do not even wait. And if you’re a star they allow you to do it. You are able to do something… Seize them by the pussy. You are able to do something.”Ducey, like so many others, condemned candidate Trump at the moment.He put out an announcement saying partly that the thingsTrump mentioned had been “insulting and terribly demeaning to girls, and I disavow them 100 %.”Ducey added, “They’re fully unacceptable. Angela and I’ve three boys and we work onerous on daily basis to boost them the best manner and to have the utmost respect for girls. We must always demand the identical from our leaders, particularly those that need to occupy the White Home, the very best workplace within the land.”That Machiavellian characterHas that modified?Is it okay now with Ducey for his boys to admire Trump and the way, as president, he respects girls?I assume it should be.A grown-up bully like Trump is usually known as Machiavellian.It’s a reference to a political bigwig from the Italian Renaissance named Niccolo Machiavelli who believed, primarily, that since politics is an unprincipled endeavor any quantity of double-dealing habits is okay to attain energy.Sound like anyone we all know?Guys like that rule by worry. Not everybody bows such intimidation, after all. (A latest native instance can be the final Sen. John McCain.)However, those that cower earlier than a Machiavellian bully, and are caught doing so, will generally attempt to make excuses for his or her fearfulness. For instance, saying the critics are being political.However they’re simply…unmasked.Attain Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.