Brexit and Trump Nearly Identical? Yes, Neither Expected to Win, Neither Ready at All

The Tories drove the Brexit vote as a way to quell a populist revolt, and Donald Trump created one for a free ride to the White House. Now, it's WTFDWDN...

Former London mayor Boris Johnson may yet
get what's coming to him.

Tories Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, along with UKIP leader Nigel Farage, pushed Brexit with false claims, then admitted it sheepishly after it won. Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, Gove abandoned Johnson for May, and incoming Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Johnson Foreign Secretary, as if to tell him, "You explain this to foreign leaders, I'm sure as bloody hell out of it!"

Then, of course, to shelter the Conservative Party, May declared "Brexit now, Brexit forever." As for Farage, he resigned from the xenophobic UKIP, saying, "My work is done," as if mischief on such a gargantuan scale could be called work rather than a catastrophe.

The stalwart PM May might be making a decent impression among the hoy polloi she's attempting to con, but, apparently, her plan to move forward on Brexit has hit a snag: The Tories have no plan, nothing:

Britain has no overall strategy for leaving the European Union and splits in Prime Minister Theresa May's cabinet could delay a clear negotiating position for six months, according to a memo for the government that was leaked to The Times newspaper.

The document, prepared by consultancy firm Deloitte for the government department that supports the prime minister and her cabinet, casts Britain's top team in a chaotic light: May is trying to control key Brexit questions herself while her senior ministers are divided and the civil service is in turmoil.

Alrighty then! Now, on this side of the pond, Donald Trump crowed during his campaign that he was Brexit, mostly meaning that the polls had it wrong on him as they did on Brexit while also making the connection that he, like the Brexiters, stood up to the immigrants and free traders, promising never to give up even a sliver of sovereignty.

So where does Trump, who didn't expect to win either, find himself? In similar chaos:

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s transition operation plunged into disarray on Tuesday with the abrupt resignation of Mike Rogers, who had handled national security matters, the second shake-up in a week on a team that has not yet begun to execute the daunting task of taking over the government.

I got a tickle out of this Tweet from Eliot Cohen, formerly of W.'s admin:

After exchange w Trump transition team, changed my recommendation: stay away. They're angry, arrogant, screaming "you LOST!" Will be ugly.

— Eliot A Cohen (@EliotACohen) November 15, 2016

Then Tweets on Trump and Brexit:

@EliotACohen They won. Why would they be angry?

— Morning in America (@sremkusrenner) November 15, 2016

.@sremkusrenner @EliotACohen Because, like UK Brexiteers, they never expected to win and are now terrified of having to take responsibility.

— John Stevenson (@johnstevenson_x) November 15, 2016

@johnstevenson_x @sremkusrenner @EliotACohen John, you hit the nail on the head there. The first thing the Brexit leaders did was hide!

— GreatCthulhu (@AdeCthulhu) November 15, 2016

British and American leadership in disarray as hate, mistrust, and fear swoop in. It used to be said we're ruled by idiots. Now we fear we're ruled by demagogues. Turns out we're ruled by idiots AND demagogues. Holy crap.