So, I dated a woman once whose former father-in-law had been a complete co-conspirator with Bernie Madoff.

She had long suspected it. Her husband, on the other hand, worked for his father and completely believed he was just a legitimate success.

1/

When Madoff went down, her husband remained 100% certain that his father wasn’t a party to Madoff’s scam.

Even as evidence mounted, he just could not be brought to believe the truth about his dad.

2/

Then, one day after they had divorced, he showed up at her door in tears and said “He knew. My dad knew.”

An entire lifetime of denial - even to the point of complete cognitive dissonance - had finally broken down.

And he knew it had all been a lie.

3/

I’ve thought of that story often as I’ve watched Donald Trump, Jr. spiraling deeper and deeper into increasingly manic and incoherent denialism.

His feed today is just *unhinged*.

People assume all of the Trump’s are in on the con.

4/

Junior though... I think he’s a true believer.

I think he truly believes his father is a genius and a success and a legitimate businessman who just plays hard rather than just cheats and commits crimes.

5/

Junior seems to be on a collision course with a truth even he can no longer deny.

That may not end well.

When Madoff’s own boys had that day of reckoning, one didn’t survive it.

6/

Junior appears to be in bad shape. Can’t imagine that’s going to get better.

His father doesn’t give a remote shit about him. The people he thought were friends in politics are going to ghost him.

He could be headed for bad, bad times.

7/7

p.s. I feel bad for people who grew up with dysfunction in their childhoods.

I don’t absolve them of responsibility for their adult choices and treatment of others.