The fictional figure of Captain Queeg is a well-known, not beloved figure from the book, play and movie “The Caine Mutiny.” Only recently did I realize the resemblance with Donald Trump. It was his reflecting pool obsession that sealed the comparison.

Here are some paraphrased excerpts from Wikipedia about Queeg including incidents that people may have forgotten.

Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg was a strong, by-the-book figure. Queeg, though, had never handled a ship like the Caine before, and he soon makes errors of judgment that he was unwilling to admit. He found ways to lay blame on others. As the Caine began its missions in the Pacific under his command, Queeg began to lose the respect of the crew and the loyalty of the wardroom through a series of increasingly unusual incidents. These included running aground and damaging another ship, and later running over and severing the cable to a valuable towed gunnery target, which he blamed on someone else. These two incidents revealed his cowardice, paranoia, and inability to accept responsibility.

Sound familiar?

The officers nicknamed him “Old Yellowstain.” He became increasingly isolated from the other officers, who came to dread his rages and unreasonable demands. They often entailed the loss of leave privileges, and at one low point, a 48-hour moratorium on drinking water while the ship was sweltering near the equator.

Queeg’s next act of paranoia began when over half a container of prized strawberries was discovered to be empty. He concocted elaborate and time-consuming procedures in which to catch the thief. These occupied all of the officers and crew for long hours and further eroded confidence in and respect for the captain. When Queeg’s pet theory was finally decisively flouted, he disappeared into his cabin.

The strawberry incident is the one which reminded me of the reflecting pool.

In the subsequent trial over other matters, Queeg was unrelentingly cross-examined. The increasingly defensive Queeg started to display the erratic and unreasonable behavior under oath that the officers had previously reported. The scene with Humphrey Bogart playing with his marbles while cross-examined convinced everyone that he lost his. The most effective technique appeared to be just letting Queeg talk and hang himself.

While there are limits to the similarities between Trump and Queeg, they have enough in common for there to be cause for concern. Both are out of their league when given command positions be it the ship of state or the Caine (named after the biblical Cain.) Both can never admit that they are wrong. Both always need to find someone to blame when things do go wrong. Both have their excuses and his blame-passing blows up in their faces when finally forced to participate in legal proceedings.

The strawberry incident is the most colorful and absurd. It makes for great visuals as the officers and crew are forced to participate in harebrained efforts to catch the alleged and imaginary strawberry thief.

So how many strawberries does Trump have?

STRAWBERRY #1 THE REFLECTING POOL

Put aside for the moment, Trump’s ignorance about the size of the reflecting pool.

Put aside for the moment, Trump’s criminal actions in awarding the contracts.

Instead focus on what happens when things go wrong. Somebody else has to be at fault. It must be the work of terrorists. He arrests people. He has fencing put up. He has the area patrolled. How much does all this cost the taxpayer? Queeg’s actions on the Caine to catch a thief match the absurdity in Trump trying to catch the imaginary terrorists. Then he arrests a three-time Olympian and presses charges against him. The case is thrown out but the obsession doesn’t end. How much more will Trump cost the American taxpayer if the victims of Trump’s obsessions decide to sue him?

STRAWBERRY #2 ANTIFAH

Antifah is back in the news. This imaginary entity is a MAGA construct. It is designed to find someone to blame for actions MAGA doesn’t like such as wrong voting results. Sometimes the terrorist organization is responsible for bad things that happen like the attack on January 6. But when the assault on the Capital became an action of patriots who are pardoned, suddenly Antifah was no where to be found. Perhaps one day if charges are brought in the latest search for the people who stole the election, Trump will be asked to provide evidence that Antifah really exists. Of course, if he ever is that stupid, he can anticipate being sued by everyone he names.

STRAWBERRY #3 ICE KILLINGS

Under new management, ICE has become much more effective in rounding people up below the radar. The figure of 2000 people per day is an impressive achievement. Sill, there are incidents of murder that have put ICE back in the news. Targets were always fleeing and the lives of the agents were always at risk. And the targets were always terrorists. Trump’s first reaction is never one of empathy or sympathy. It is always what terrorist organizations the victim can be linked to. Even the crime scene does not need to be preserved.

But ICE has made the mistake of naming names. Or least countries. When citizens of Mexico or Columbia have been gunned down, it is not unreasonable for those countries to seek accountability.

ICE is supposed to deporting criminals, drug dealers and vicious people. Instead they seem to targeting people who have been here for years, have jobs and families. Where are all the criminals Trump promised to round up? Where are the reflecting pool terrorists?

STRAWBERRY #4 THE STOLEN ELECTION

Of course, the number 1 incident is the stolen election. We have just witnessed adult white males under oath in the confirmation hearings prove unable to tell the truth about Joe Biden winning the election. We have just witnessed Arizona Republicans vote a sweep of election-deniers to victory in the state primary. We are witnessing the dispatch of hundreds of federal agents to Georgia to once again investigate the 2020 elections. And the President gave a primetime TV performance naming China as the foreign manipulator of the 2020 election on a scale never before seen in American history. Finally let’s not forget the hundreds of thousands unnamed illegal aliens who have voted in American elections. Perhaps one day Trump will have to put up or shut in court. DOJ lawyers may be gun-shy about bringing frivolous cases based on bogus evidence to court. They have seen how judges read Trump lawyers the riot act even to the point of recommending disbarment. Perhaps there will come a day when there are no DOJ lawyers left willing to humiliate themselves in the search for the missing strawberries for a person who has lost his marbles.

Regardless of any possible dementia today, his obsessions of his “strawberries” exposes him as being unfit for the office of President of the United States. The biggest difference between Queeg and Trump is that the former was an adult while the other is an immature child.