No one can deny that Trump is a leader.

He possesses the great talent of being able to take the pulse of his supporters, to express what they are feeling, and to make decisions that win their admiration – so that they are ready to make sacrifices, if necessary, for him.

Therein lies his power. He can use his fanatical followers as a protective shield, as a tool of intimidation, and even as a weapon to blackmail his opponents.

And there are, unfortunately, few who have the intellectual strength, the sense of obligation, and the perceptiveness to resist people like Trump. Because they are not leaders. They are hacks.

In the case of former President Trump, it is well known that many people not only disagree with him, but hate him and worry about the future of the country because of him. It is no coincidence that suddenly people are making references to the Civil War.

And yet, the vast majority of them are ’silent fish’.

This is true for politicians as well as media owners and journalists. In the face of the threat of an attack by Trump and the risk of losing votes – or customers – they turn a blind eye.

When the issues are small, then the damage is minor. But when it comes to major issues, then, as history teaches, the damage to society – and to themselves – is potentially very great.

Apart from this, it is also a serious mistake to underestimate the intelligence of opponents.
However, there are also times when people from whom we do not expect it show courage, and perhaps driven by a sense of debt to society, demonstrate leadership.

One such example is former president George W. Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney, whose daughter, though a Republican, is vigorously battling former president Trump.

Dick Cheney was for years one of the most hated politicians among Democrats and within Liberal circles in general, because he is considered by them to be one of the architects of the war in Iraq, because he supported the use of torture on enemies of the United States, and for many other reasons.

And yet, when he visited Congress recently to show support for his daughter, who is under constant ‘bombardment’ by Trump, only Democrats formed a queue to meet him and congratulate him.

When asked to comment on the fact that the Republican leadership did not appear at the Jan. 6 ceremony, he replied: “It’s not a leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for 10 years…”

That is the difference between leaders and hacks.