Gray Franks

By GARY FRANKS

Nostalgic much? Sometimes the movies, television shows and disgraced political figures leave an enduring mark on you. “The Godfather,” “The Apprentice” and former President Richard Nixon all do that for me.

Yet, I see them all coming back now.

I can always find a comparison between my favorite movie of all-time, “The Godfather,” and almost anything else that occurs today.

For example, President Donald Trump often makes “offers that people (universities) cannot refuse.” Isn’t that true, Columbia and Brown universities — and others?

Or like Michael Corleone in “The Godfather,” Trump makes it a point to take out all his enemies — perceived or real. And they both suffer no repercussions from their actions; in fact, they become stronger to a degree.

Then there is that pivotal moment in “The Godfather II” when the godfather sends his personal lawyer to meet in prison with a convicted felon but also a longtime friend, one of the people who, if he could testify honestly, would send Corleone to jail forever.

In the private one-on-one meeting with this person the godfather’s lawyer thanks the convicted felon for his silence and encourages him to “let it go” in exchange for his family being taken care of forever.

And today we see the president’s former personal lawyer, now deputy attorney general of the Justice Department, go to prison to meet with a convicted felon, Ghislane Maxwell, for reasons not yet made clear to the public.

The Jeffrey Epstein files must be released — without divulging the names of the victims. Epstein and Maxwell’s horrific crimes of sexually molesting girls rivals that of the Catholic priests who sexually molested boys.

There is no transparency here. In a recent poll, 81% of Americans blame Trump for withholding the Epstein files from public scrutiny. Contrary to the belief of many Republican leaders and despite the numerous distractions, the American people can clearly see through the curtain.

After meeting with Trump’s former personal lawyer, Maxwell was quickly moved from her prison in Florida to a low-security prison with few walls in Texas. Years ago these prisons were known as country club prisons. Today they are called campus-like prisons with dormitories. How special.

And, reportedly, like the character in “The Godfather,” Maxwell had nothing negative to say about the “boss” of the “lawyer” who was questioning her.

During that same period of “The Godfather” movies, we witnessed another “classic moment” that seems to have returned. Nixon, after he stepped down from the presidency following his impeachment proceedings, said something that caused all of America to gasp.

When asked if he had broken the law, Nixon said, “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” Oooo … K?

Remarkably, decades later the Supreme Court voted in near agreement with Nixon’s statement. But for Nixon that decision came about 50 years too late. Who knows? If applied back then, Nixon not only would have completed his second term in office, he might have thought about going for a third term.

This would have given him and other presidents a repeated “pass” on just about everything — like unilaterally, without the approval of Congress, punishing friendly countries to get his way via his use of tariffs.

Subsequently, when we look back at a time when our democracy was torpedoed in the worst way, it may have been at that moment when the Supreme Court opened up the barn door by granting presidential immunity for “official acts” that presidents took during their time in office. Sadly, once the horses are out of the barn, it is very difficult to get them back in.

Nixon and Trump in a twisted way have several things in common. Nixon established the “Southern strategy” which was used in a racist way to gain support in the South. Trump also uses unnecessary and unprovoked racial attacks to bolster support from his allies.

Trump and Nixon did not push for diversity or integration. They were just fine with segregation. They were both impeached — or in Nixon’s case, he resigned on the doorstep of actual impeachment. And time will tell if they will be ranked near each other with regard to best and worst presidents.

Lastly, I have to admit that I religiously watched one of Trump’s best projects — “The Apprentice.” I looked forward to it weekly. Looking back at the show now, I see its flaws. But it was entertaining nevertheless.

The show’s contestants were sucking up to Trump to be named “the apprentice.” Well, Trump must still love the memory of that show because he is continuing to produce something like it today, which has become America’s reality.

Rarely was anyone on the show qualified to do anything more than be in a “management training program,” which was common back in the day.

The qualification to become “the apprentice” was largely based on who could give Trump what he wanted — who could be the greatest suck up. If you made Trump mad then, well, you could expect those infamous words, “You’re fired!”

Let us not forget that most, if not all, contestants had little experience in the field. Some were household names and others were just successful, but in other arenas. Yes, they all had no idea what the heck they were doing in the game.

One could argue that they mirror many of the folks in Trump’s cabinet.

Today, if you give Trump official numbers on employment, numbers he does not like, you might also expect those words, loud and clear — “You’re fired.”

When Trump questioned Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell live on television in Trump’s failed attempt to blindside the chairman, I thought I was seeing a rerun of the show. But it backfired on Trump on live television.

So back down memory lane — “The Godfather” movies, “The Apprentice” and the disgraced Nixon. As Archie Bunker from the “All in the Family” TV show would sing with his wife, “Those were the days … days when men were men … maybe we need a man like Herbert Hoover again.”

Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. He is the host of the podcast “We Speak Frankly,” and his website is www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.