Submitted by George Callaghan…
Trump is the incarnation of all America’s vices. Avarice, malice, covetousness, braggadocio, incuriosity, racism, aggression, mendacity, rape culture and moral cowardice are his besetting since. The fork tongued New York realtor is bereft of all and any American virtues such as liberality, tolerance, valour, family values, honesty, hospitality, mercy and an appreciation of liberty. The orange ogre is part of a wider malaise in American politics. The bifurcation of American society between liberals and conservatives is starker than ever. The Democrats for all their faults do not reject reason, science or objective truth. Trump has been a con man from the get go but some place their faith in him. This monstrosity has already disfigured the world too long.
Why is Donald so odious? A multiplicity of reasons instantly present themselves. He is so utterly bereft of any qualities that one would wish to find in a person or any of the personality traits that are needed in a head of state. DJT has no sense of humour particularly about himself. GSOH is the top quality sought on dating sites. Trump gives a very strong impression of being deeply uncomfortable in his own skin. To some extent this may serve as an explication for his obloquial misconduct.
The commander in chief appears to suffer from a crushing sense of inadequacy. If he feels worthless then at least he is right about one thing. His low self-esteem would explain why he is constantly compelled to blow his own trumpet. Why the ceaseless reaffirmation of his putative attainments and merits?
Spiteful, greedy, volatile, revengeful, capricious, prissy, thin skinned, malevolent and bellicose – these describe his persona. The man still behaves like a spoilt brat. He is an ignoramus with a toxic personality. If he has not been born stinking rich it is hard to imagine him getting a job beyond being the lowliest of security guards.
Trump is charmless and an unwitting clown. He is not cool under fire. This man emotionalises everything. He cannot detach himself from situations. Donald J has no logic. Yet he is possessed of a damnable low cunning. Trump has managed to turn barefaced dishonesty into a winning strategy. The wholesale deglutition of these untruths is worrisome. A propensity for telling blatant lies should surely disbar anyone from being considered as a political candidate. Yet he has made a career out of being a fraudster.
President Trump has no cultural hinterland. Junk food and junk television sustain this philistine. He comes across as a man of the people. His dearth of sophistication appeals to some in Middle America. They regard him as unpretentious. This billionaire poses as an anti-elitist. Philistinism and provincialism do not make one anti-elitist. If he took action against the rapacity of the robber barons and he did something to help the poverty-stricken millions then Trump would be a genuine anti-elitist. His contrived anti-establishment rherotic dupes many. He is a New York born WASP billionaire. It does not get more establishment than that.
Trump has no empathy. Despite being super rich he is as ungenerous as can be imagined. He has never given a cent to charity. He is merciless and witless. He lacks all common decency. He will be as savagely cruel to the marginalized as he can. The targets of his ire are women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, the impecunious and the disabled. He does not pick on this his own size. This man’s proclivity for punching down is rebarbative.
It is worrying if someone does not know what a joke is. Bill Maher offered to pay five million dollars if Trump could prove his mother was not a monkey. Trump sent in his birth certificate and asked for the money. He then went to sure Maher. He thought he had a contract. Someone so literal and so bloody minded can scarcely be called an adult. Why cognitive debilities make him believe that he had a legal case?
The orange one is insensitive to others to put it mildly. Nor does he grasp the nuance or situation. The man is a pathetic whinge bag and cry baby. He so often throws the toys out of the pram when he does not get his way. It would seem that he is having a second childhood. But did he ever leave the first one?
The president is as dishonourable and graceless as can be. Why is he so sensitive to ridicule? It is because he senses that he is ridiculous.
Surrounding himself with toadies Trump only reinforces his own delusions. This is yet another reminder of his overpowering craving for validation. That is why he names everything after himself even wine that he will not drink. He has his claque. They caress his ego which is very brittle. They create an echo chamber for his asinine and nefarious policies. A wise man would ask to be red canned. He would want a devil’s advocate to present the countervailing view. Trump does not wish to hear the flipside of his argument. He cannot do critical thinking. There is no proper planning carried out. He does not weigh up the pros and cons.
Despite never touching alcohol Trump behaves like the most boorish and boring alcohol. Loud, belligerent, nonsensical and overopinionated he is the sort of man whose presence would clear a room of all the interesting people. He is a crass vulgarian whom right thinking people would wish to steer clear of.
The mind of Donald Trump seems to be full of saloon bar prejudices. He has few opinions as such. His attitudes are hype nationalism, ultra-violence and white supremacy. Toxic masculinity is bad enough in a man who is physically fit and brave. But in an obese slob who lacks courage of every kind it is beneath disdain and detestation.
Trump is a slimey shit. This saponaceous charlatan has been a Republican and then a Democrat and then a Republican. He ratted and re-ratted. Do not think that these were principled changes. He has shifted as he thought there was more advantage to be had in one party and then the other.
It is jaw dropping that anyone ever trusted this incessant liar. He is inconstant and untrustworthy. Tony Schwartz wrote books under Trump’s name. Schwartz noted that Trump lied nonstop through his business deals. Trump has no conscience at all. He is not in the least bit perturbed about the grief he inflicts on others. He is only a man of his word when he vows vengeance. He is a psychopath. Trump is unburdened by a conscience or humanity.
The countless detestable feature of Trump’s personality are utterly blatant. It is deeply disturbing that tens of millions of people put their faith in this malicious moron. Even more troubling is that many of them plan to do it a second time. His bottomless stupidity is rivalled only by his infinite malice.
Obama stands in stark contrast to his successor. The most estimable Barak Obama was a man with grace, humility, bonhomie, humour, intelligence, common courtesy and oratorial gifts all in generous measure.
Background
Never trust a man who cannot even tell the truth about his name. The surname is actually Drumpff. However, it was changed to make it seem less German. Donald J put it about that his father’s side was Swedish. He was trying to escape some of the anti-German prejudice that lingered in the United States after the Second World War. As the Trump’s faced ethnic bigotry one might have thought this would have imbued Trump with a certain fellow feeling for those who are victims of ethnic animus. But not a bit of it – he harbours and broadcasts racial prejudice every day.
Calling himself ‘The Donald’ is indicative of the man’s stratospheric conceit. He often refers to himself using a different third person ‘Donald J Trump’. His narcissism is notorious. What is it to be a narcissist? It alludes to the Ancient Greek myth of Narcissus who loved himself so much that he gazed at his reflection on water. There were no looking glasses back then. He started so long and became so mesmerized that he fell in and drowned. It is a cautionary tale about the perils of excessive self-regard.
So much of Trump’s official life story is a stinking lie. In the 1960s he avoided the draft (compulsory military service). He was unable to fight because of bone spurs. The doctor who diagnosed these was a tenant of Trump’s father. Presumably this was a favour for his landlord. Bone spurs are lifelong. Why is it that in subsequent medical examinations these have never been mentioned? Is it because they do not exist? I have not served as a soldier for a single day. I too would have been keen to avoid military service especially in a combat zone. But there is a difference between me and Trump. I am not president nor do I harp on about my toughness and my admiration for the military.
Remember in 1992 when it came to light that Bill Clinton had striven might and main to avoid serving in Vietnam? He was then the Democrats’ candidate for the presidency. Clinton was execrated by Republicans. Bill Clinton was at least honest about his desire to evade military service. Moreover, as an undergraduate he had chosen to serve in the Reserve Officer Training Corps. His record was much better than Trump’s. Yet Trump got off scot free from Republican politicians and the Republican media. Trump so admires the US military that he publicly insulted John McCain for being taken prisoner. You may detest the late Senator McCain but no one can dispute his gallantry. He spent several years in inhumane conditions in a Vietnamese Prisoner of War camp. McCain was offered repatriation but he refused it. He insisted on staying in the POW camp with his comrades. His comradeship and self-sacrifice are astonishing. Trump also went out of his way to demean a gold star family – a family whose son had been killed fighting in the United States military. These people were Pakistani-Americans, they were Muslims. It is hard for Muslims to serve in the US military bearing in mind rampant Islamophobia in the United States and indeed anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world. This man had done so much for America – he laid down his life for the country. Yet Trump could only denigrate such a hero. Trump’s conduct is vile and unspeakably dishonourable. Yet so many military veterans vote for him!
What is the academic record of the president? His school report is so bad that he has made strenuous efforts to prevent it ever being published. He threatened to sue his old school if they ever release it. He attended Fordham University and then switched to the Wharton School of Business. Why did he changed half way through? Was he sent down? These are admirable institutions but in the 1960s it is well known a student who was seriously below calibre could buy his way in. It is a disgrace that to this day the United States permits such grossly unfair and inegalitarian practices.
I have to hand it to Donald Trump. He learnt a few things growing up. Barefaced lying is often a winning strategy. If exposed as having done something appalling then stout denial is the best course. He also observed that rich whites can get away with anything except murder. Of all the fairytales that Americans tell themselves about their country perhaps the most fanciful is that there is equality before law in the United States. Note how wealthy middle aged whites can be caught with cocaine and receive a slap on the wrist. A penniless black minor who is caught in possession of the same substance will be sent to spend years in a brutal prison to be raped by old inmates. The young Donald Trump also learnt a lesson that was to serve him well in his later endeavours. Appealing to the lowest common denominator is a winning stratagem. Exploiting ethnic asperities is so often a surefire way to success. He also discovered that he could easily get away with reneging on promises, breaking contracts and not paying workers. America’s worship of the super affluent was sure to work in his favour.
President Trump often tells a heartwarming tale of his riches to riches rise. He started out in business with a ‘small loan of a million dollars.’ $1 million is not small even now. In the mid 1960s it was a mind blowing sum of money. His story shows his total lack of understanding of how the average American lives.
When Donald’s father died the son inherited $400 million. That was the mid 1970s. That was more money than some countries possessed at the time. Even a blithering idiot could have made that sum increase in real terms. All you needed to do was hand it to some wealth managers. They only make money if you do. These experts would invest it soundly. Sit back and watch your investment fructify. The dividends would come trooping gaily. But not for the Donald. He embarked on countless madcap business ventures. His record is replete with one catastrophe after another – each one worse than the last. The notion that Trump is novus homo is completely specious. He is not a self-made man.
We often hear that Trump has ten billion dollars. It has come from the lips of the Manhattan oran utang himself. When then not release his tax return. Every other presidential candidate since Kennedy has done so. His tax return would plainly reveal information so shameful that Trump keeps it hidden. He can never answer that question as to why he does not publish it. It is odd that he has not published a doctored one.
Trump is not as rich as he pretends. His fortune is thought to be more like 5 billion dollars. To turn $400 million in the 70s into $5 billion now was easy. In fact in real terms his fortune has gone down not up. It required a superhuman stupidity for him to lose so much money. He is America’s biggest loser. No one has lost as many billions as he has.
The worship of the brute god of mammon is a malaise in American society. Much of the Trump cult is based on the specious belief that the man made himself rich. Trump has gone bankrupt many times. Despite this irrefutable evidence of his cretinosity in business he continues maintain that he is the consummate entrepreneur.
In the 1970s Trump’s Vietnam was avoiding sexually transmitted diseases – so he mordantly said himself. It takes a special level of chutzpah to liken being such a reprobate and bed hopper to crawling on your belly through the steaming jungles of South-East Asia under fire from the Viet Cong. Trump’s vanity and boastfulness take on a sort of sick magnificence. But bear in mind, for a moment, Trump’s impulsivity and recklessness. As he was perturbed about the possibility of STDS this proves that he did not use condoms. Contraception was not as widely available in the 1970s. It is more than likely that he impregnated some women. As no child of his was born until he wed it is probable that some of his consorts had abortions. There is more proof of this in the 2000s with payments of many thousands of dollars to other females and not just Stormy Daniels. The pro forma non-disclosure agreement between ‘David Dennison’ and Stormy Daniels stated that the woman must not reveal ‘paternity information’. This shows that Trump knew it was likely that he had fertilized some women. As Stormy Daniel said he did not use a prophylactic. This is despite the pornographic industry being replete with STDs. It makes one wonder whether Trump is suffering from syphilis.
In the 1980s Trump was very close to New York mafia. He purchased cement from the notorious hoodlum Fat Tony Salerno. It is not unlawful to buy cement. But why buy from a villain rather than anyone else? Was it really the best deal in terms of price and quality? We all know that Trump is an imbecile in commercial deals. The only reason that D J Trump bought from a mafioso was that he wanted to stay on the right side of the mob. Donald Trump’s first two weddings were mobbed up. Under the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) there were grounds to charge Trump with being a mafioso himself.
In the 1980s Trump was in the casino business. He owned these gambling dens in New Jersey and other places. It is widely known that gambling is more than tinged by mafia involvement. Casinos are the sewer of choice for filthy money. Gambling is considered a sin by Christian fundamentalists. It is associated with smoking, alcohol consumption, drug abuse and prostitution. How is it then that so many Bible bashers vote for Trump?
One of the most despicable things about Trump is his racism. A Federal Government investigation proved that Trump would not rent to African-Americans. He also rails against immigrants. How about the immigrant who gave birth to him? How about his paternal grandparents who were immigrants? His illogic and hypocrisy are stunning. If immigrants are so wicked why did he marry two of them?
Adultery does not bother me. But it certainly outrages Christian evangelicals. Trump carried on a torrid affair with Marla Maples whilst married to Ivana. Trump made sure that salacious particulars of his extramarital liaison were splashed across the pages of New York scandal rags. He would phone up newspapers and ask them to print a front page story about his affair. There were headlines such as Marla says Donald gave her the best sex she ever had.
Why is it that Trump is impelled to get his name in the paper so much? His egotism and his attention seeking speak of a profound sense of worthlessness. He incessantly craves recognition and validation.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect is when smart people underrate themselves and dim ones overestimate themselves. Sorry for putting it crudely. The two psychologists who discovered this phenomenon noticed how academically gifted people often underestimate their competence and expertise. This is partially owing to mingling mainly with people of the same ilk. Whereas those of inferior intellectual capability often mix with those of a similar level of academic aptitude. They are not equipped with precisely those cognitive skills that would enable them to accurately estimate their own abilities. Trump is a classic example of this.
Trump’s braggadocio is nauseating. ‘I could have risen to the top of the military’. There is no reason to think he could have even been a private in the army. His deceitfulness, his indiscipline, his idleness and his outright cowardice are as unsoldierly as can be imagined. ‘I got ten billion dollars, not saying it bragging, but I got ten billion dollars.’ Bragging is precisely what he is doing! ‘I know more about ISIS than some of the generals’. Trump’s bottomless ignorance makes such a claim beyond absurd. ‘No one knows more about construction than me’ and best of all, wait for it, ‘I am a very stable genius.’ Trump is provably idiotic. He cannot spell and he can scarcely read. He pronounced ‘Namibia’ as ‘Nambia’ In any other country such ceaseless boasting would have him hounded out of politics. His rampant vanity is one of his countless shortcomings.
Perhaps the most shocking thing Trump did before he entered politics related to the Central Park Jogger Case. A white woman was set upon in Central Park, New York. She was raped and severely battered. The victim was left for dead. She was rescued and described some black or Hispanic youths doing this to her. The New York Police Department arrested several boys. These minors were charged with the crime. Trump then took out full page newspaper advertisement to say that these children should be executed. He denounced the constitutional protections afforded to suspects. He suggested that there should be no presumption of innocence. In this febrile atmosphere the last thing New York needed was more racial animus. It is horrifying that anyone should propose doing away with the right to a fair trial. His demand that children be put to death was scandalous. They were not accused of murder.
Put yourself in the position of these boys. These minors must have been terrified to be accused of these offences. If convicted they faced decades in prison with violent criminals. Racism was widespread in New York at the time. When a white billionaire called for their execution these boys might have died of fright. In the end all the boys were acquitted. The woman accepted that these boys were not the ones who attacked her. DNA proved that these bous were all as innocent as a lamb. Yet years afterwards Trump continued to insist that the defendants were guilty.
Knowing precisely what sort of foul and racist demagogue he was the Clintons still took his money. Why did he donate to them? This billionaire is a notorious cheap skate. He is so tight fisted he does not pay his workers. Why would someone so niggardly give away money? There is no such thing as a free luncheon. Trump plainly expected favours in return for his lucre. The Clintons are forever shamed that they readily accepted money from such a vile racist fiend.
In 2015 Trump said he was throwing his hat into the ring for the Presidential nomination. He claimed to be a political virgin. But he was no newbie. He had spoken of being vice-president in the 1980s. He formed an exploratory committee in 1988. He even went to a primary and ran. His campaign was laughed off the field. Trump then slunk away with his tail between his legs. In the 1990s he was a political donor – to the Democrats!
In the runup to the presidential election Trump held numerous rallies. Protestors sometimes gained admission to these rallies. Trump repeatedly incited violence against the protestors ‘beat the shit out of them!’. Physical attacks took place. Despite knowing his words led to crimes of violence he persisted. Why on earth has Trump not been prosecuted for incitement to violence? The REPUBLICAN Party poses as the party of law and order. It is unforgiving for petty offenders especially if they belong to ethnic minorities. But a rich old white can continuously commit crimes in plain view and gets off scot free.
Trump has been committing sexual assaults all his adult life. 20 women independently accused him of such assaults all the way up to an including rape. His ex-wife Ivana went on record to say she was raped by him.
In the Access Hollywood tape Trump boasted of committing sexual assaults. Knowing he was being recorded and all this was due to be broadcast he said all this. It demonstrates his utter lack of shame and his conviction in his impunity. ‘Grab em by the pussy’. Trump has his partisan defenders who claim that their hero was not acknowledging that he had committed sex crimes. A woman might consent to her pudenda being touched. But which woman wishes to be ‘grabbed by the pussy’.
Trump promised to drain the swamp when he stood for the presidency. His administration would be run for ordinary folk. As soon as he was in the Oval Office he appointed Wall Street insiders to key positions. He wanted to cut taxes for the super rich.
Scared of women
Donald is extremely cowardly. He is petrified of intelligence and confident women. When a female journalist asks him a worthwhile question he is mortally offended. Megyn Kelly was a Fox News journalist. When she asked him a question that he found disabling he accused her of ‘surfing the crimson wave – bleeding from her wherever’. He then said this was not an allusion to menstruation despite offering no other explanation. His disgusting treatment of women speaks of a man who is scared to death of women.
Mika Brzezinski said some things that were not to Trump’s taste. He then said he was ‘bleeding badly from a face lift’. He is a despicable bully.
In the 16th century John Knox wrote The first blast of the trump against the monstrous regiment of women. It is time for the first blast of women against the monstrous regiment of Trump.
Dishonesty
The Washington Post has compiled a list of over 12 000 false or misleading statements made by Trump on record since his inauguration. He is a pathological liar. Trump cannot help himself but tell a blatant lie even when he is aware it can easily be exposed for what it is.
Trump will so often turn it around. His defence comes from the playground: I know you are, you said you are but what am I? He will false-accuse others of his own sins. This is why Trump calls the most respectable journals and channels ‘the fake news media.’ The Trump White House has been pumping out fake news from day 1. They told the most provable lies about crowd size.
The story is so often changing with Trump. He did not have sex with Stromy Daniels. That changed. He did not sign an NDA with her. Then he was not David Dennison. He did not pay her off. He did not know about the payment to her. He did not reimburse the money to Michael Cohen. It was lie after lie after lie. This is all relevant since these were undeclared campaign donations. His attitude to veracity and the law is cavalier at best.
Most people try not to tell an untruth more than they have to. A politician like Hillary Clinton will lie when she thinks she can get away with it. Trump is not so wise. As Orwell said an ordinary lie implies some relationship to the truth.
Despite his almost unceasing lying he is also capable of disarming candour. Sometimes he blurts out a very damaging omission. His minions went out to lie for him to the media about the dismissal of James Comey. They claimed the sacking was unrelated the Russia investigation. In an interview Trump then confirmed that the dismissal was precisely because of that.
Treating with tyrants
The Donald has a weakness for tyrants. Whether it is Mohammad Bin Salman, Kim Jong Un or Xi Jinping this president will kowtow to the cruelest rulers on earth. He congratulated Xi on becoming president for life. Perhaps Trump covets this lack of term limits. He barely criticized MBS for the murder of a journalist. Trump said he ‘fell in love’ with Kim.
The North Korean regime brutally oppressed the Christian minority. Trump cannot find it in himself to say a word against such injustice. Where are the Christian evangelicals? Why are they not demanding that Trump lift his voice for his fellow Christians?
Around tyrants whose ability to slaughter is unlimited by any constitutional impediments notice how Trump’s demeanour changes. His tone of voice and body language transform. He treats them with an obstrusive display of deference. Why is he so cloyingly obsequious to these torturers? He accords them a degree of respect that he accords to no one else.
Trump’s kowtowing to these waxworks is in jarring contrast to his childishly insulting behavior towards the leaders of democracies. Theresa May, Justin Trudeau, Sadiq Khan, Angela Markel and others have all felt his sharp tongue.
Corruption
Trump has broken the emoluments clause. He has kept a hold of his business empire while in office. Foreign embassies hold functions in his hotels more than ever before. A disinterested gift is not in his ken. These countries are ingratiating themselves with him.
The US military has been diverted to land at an airport in Scotland close to Trump’s golf course. The aim is to keep the airport open. If it shuts down so will the Trump golf course.
In Ireland the VP stayed at Trump’s hotel. The VP was there for meetings in Dublin 180 miles away. US dignitaries in Ireland usually lodge at the US ambassador’s residence in Dublin. Trump hugely increased costs to the US taxpayer just to enrich himself. It is all about him being self-interested. It is stunning that he gets away with such a blindingly obvious misappropriation of public funds.
There are so many blatant conflicts of interest. It would disgrace a banana republic. Where are the fiscal conservatives? Why do they not call him out for squandering the people’s money?
Trump appointed his moronic children to high positions. They got passes despite not having clearance from the FBI.
Wrecking the environment
Trump does not care one iota about ecology. His party is largely made up of climate changer deniers. The irrationalists in the ranks of the Republican Party mostly disbelieve in evolution. It leads to a more general distrust of science. Trump wanted to scrap environmental protections. The Republican dominated Congress on his watch got rid of rules about healthy food for schoolchildren. They also started to use more plastic in Congress. They abolished clean air legislation. In his State of the Union address the president hailed ‘beautiful clean coal.’ It must have been the first time anyone called coal ‘beautiful’. He is keen to burn the filthiest fuel of all. The American people can now die of pollution if they are not killed in a mass shooting first.
Divorce from reality
Trump lives in his own fantasy world. Mexico will pay for the wall, Trump is highly intelligent and all his lies are the truth.
Trade wars are good and easy to win. When has one ever been won? If they are good he should not have suspended the tariffs. Remember that the excue for this is national security. Are you having a laugh? Socks and washing machines are a matter of national security? Only by this absurd lie is Trump able to use presidential powers to start this moronic and unwinnable trade war.
The rumour is that the Trump White House knows that the trade war has been catastrophic. It has already cost 300 000 jobs. Trump is the master of disaster. He wants to row back on his imbecilic policy. How can he do so while saving face? He has a cunning plan. The big idea is to wait till October. That will be the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. As a gesture of goodwill the president will end the trade war. How preposterous is that? He is supposed to be a good negotiator. He claims that he is consummate deal maker. All this hot air just to go to status quo ante? Trump suggested he is tough. He takes no prisoners in business we are given to believe. But he will sell out American blue collars just to suck up to the Chinese. Cathay might not accept his offer. If Trump shows weakness they will smell victory. They know they have the US on the run. They can insist on a trade agreement more advantageous to them than what they had before.
The idea that Greenland was for sale was yet another example of his unreality. No nation has sold land in decades. The Danish PM rightly said his idea was daft. The Greelanders are autonomous anyway. Denmark has the highest standard of living in the world. Why would they wish to be American? He ought to offer to sell Alaska back to Russia.
Trump wrongly said that a hurricane was going to hit Alabama. He was so idle he did not prepare for the briefing. Anyone else would have admitted the mistake and corrected it. Trump would not walk it back. He dug his heels in. He repeated his erroneous statement many times. Alabamans fled in some cases when they did not have to. He has undermined public trust in government agencies. Government employees were lent on to go along with the president’s bogus statements. Trump is profoundly weak and lacking in self-assurance. That is why he cannot acknowledge that he got it wrong.
The truth is not negotiable. But Trump has begun a frontal assault on the very notion of veracity. Lucky him not to be bedeviled by what is and what is not. He can simply make up things to suit himself. At times he seems unable to distinguish fact from fantasy.
No decorum
Trump has no dignity. He frequently disgraced his country. He never does his homework. He did not prepare for his visits to the United Kingdom. He messed up the protocol and walked in front of the Queen when he was supposed to walk beside her. The president later boasted that the Queen had more fun with him than with anyone else.
The president is a wimp and totally self-centred. He bangs on about adoring the US military. The GOP wears militarism on its sleeve. They accuse the Democrats of not being pro military enough. When it came to the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day many world leaders went to a ceremony. There was a light drizzle. The 93 year old Queen was there. Trump was not because he is afraid of the rain. But he plays golf in the rain. How does he get away with it? This flagrant disrespect for the US military ought to incense the Republican Party and Fox News. Can you imagine if Obama had done that? Yet Trump gets away with it. There was nary a word of disapprobation from his own side. Think of those teenage Americans who died shrieking in agony at so many battles. Yet Trump will not even experience a moment’s discomfort to honour these boys.
Mental illness
Trump’s father has Alzheimer’s which is a hereditary condition. Trump may well suffer from pre-Alzheimer’s. If he suffers from this damnosa hereditas it would explain his erratic behavior, his continuous outbursts and his confusion. The president is often disoriented. He slurs his speech sometimes. The man hates walking up and down stairs. He therefore displays many of the symptoms of pre Alzheimer’s. It is evident that he is not compos mentis. The cabinet can invoke an article of the constitution which enables them to depose the president on the grounds that he is incapable of discharging his functions.
In January 2018 the mounting evidence of Trump’s mental incapability goaded his team into action. They had him request a particular test for dementia. Why did they request a particular test and not just any test? Presumably the president was coached for it. He would have to know the date it was when he was being tested and remember which city he was in as well as recognize drawings of animals. The person who carried out this evaluation of the president was a military doctor. This physician is an admiral in the US Navy. No wonder he gave Trump a glowing assessment because his career depends on Trump’s patronage. Military personnel are conditioned to blind obedience and sycophancy. It would seem tantamount to mutiny to assess the president as insane or unable to execute his duties.
View some footage of Trump 20 years ago. He was self-possessed and almost dignified. He was soft spoken and even polite at times. He was capable of formulating an almost persuasive argument. That was him acting. Now he has lost control of his faculties.
Cognitive decline is common among those in their 70s. This man does nothing to keep his synapses functioning well. His sedentary lifestyle would not be good for this. Watching hours of television would not help.
Trump is effectively retired already. He is the most slothful president. He spends days playing golf. He cheats liberally by kicking the ball.
The president was a dunce at the best of times. A speech by him is a veritable dyslexicon. Being dim does not make a person bad. Being mentally ill does not make one immoral. But Trump combines all these things – dimness, mental illness, badness and immorality. He is a perfect storm of psychological and mental shortcomings.
An oration by the Donald is a word salad. It is bereft of substance and packed with vehemence. There can be no clearer proof of his malicious madness. Full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Failed policies
Even if you support Trump it is plain for all to see that he has failed ignominiously on so many policy fronts. The wall is not being built. Mexico has not paid a peso towards it. The troops are not home from Iraq, or Afghanistan or Iraq. ISIS has not been wiped out. Success against ISIS0 has been due to Russia and Iran. The trade war has not been won. Manufacturing jobs have not come back. Medicare has not been funded. Medicaid has not been funded. Muslim immigration has not been halted. Illegal immigration has not been stopped either. His policies were facile and as Bill Clinton said ‘fact free’. These were uncosted wish lists. Even the slowest person knows what a wall is. His policies were huge and simple. That is why they appealed to simpletons. He gulled many of the academically challenged by scapegoating the poorest. His argument was that the poorest had too much money. It is not the billionaires who have too much? The wall helped get him elected. But it might doom him next time since only a few miles of a fence have been built.
Trump’s state of emergency was farcical. Illegal Border crossings are far lower than they were 10 or 20 years ago. Admittedly they are higher than 5 years ago. He has dictatorial tendencies. He wishes to rule by decree. His mind is the emergency not the wall. He abused the notion of a state of emergency just to bypass Congress. He had the US Army go to the border despite them being legally prohibited from providing border security. It was all for show. He was offered more funding for border patrol agents but declined it. He could have enhanced border security but refused to do so. US troops are being killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. He could have sent more troops to these combat zones to help their comrades. Instead he wasted the US military’s time by sending them somewhere to do nothing. It was just a PR exercise.
Trump is financially illiterate as his numerous business failures amply prove. He seems to be innumerate. Whenever citing number he simply makes them up and keeps changing them. Small wonder his policies require acting like a crackhead with a credit card. The US has a deficit much higher than ever and it is ballooning alarmingly. It is 250% of GDP.
Disparaging democracy
Trump has spent much of his time bad mouthing America’s institutions. He has promulgated theories about the American deep state. He has besmirched the reputation of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and the judiciary. Why does he use the courts if he reposes no confidence in them? Trump believes foreign adversaries rather than American security agencies.
Seriously undermining public trust in these institutions has major consequences for democracy. Trust takes a long time to build. Yet it is easily lost. This vandal has exacted an untold toll on American society. Does his contumely against judges include his sister?
There was a racial angle to Trump disparaging the judiciary. He cast aspersions on one judge due to the man having a Spanish language surname. This is a flagrant dog whistle to white supremacists.
The toddler
Trump behaves like a particularly sociopathic toddler. It is all me, me, me. He speaks about himself nonstop. He refracts every decision and opinion through the prism of his ego. Did these people flatter me? He is impetuous, impulsive, self-regarding, emotionally incontinent and lacks any attention span. He is irascible and volatile. This is why he throws tantrums when gainsaid.
Trump is very easy to manipulate through laudation. His fragile ego and simplistic, magical thinking are infantile. This man is entirely superficial. He judges by appearances and said he appointed people to crucial positions because ‘they look very nice.’ He also said ‘looks count’. He made Hope Hicks his press secretary when she had no relevant experience at all. At least she looked fabulous in a bikini. But let us be fair. He does not appoint women on the basis of their looks. Did Sarah Huckabee Sanders get her job for her body?
Hubris has carried Trump a long way. In the US blowing your own trumpet is acceptable. On this side of the Atlantic a person tends to be a trifle self-effacing. That is regarded as decorous. Modesty in the United States makes a person appear to lack self-confidence. One American told me that diminishing my own achievements made me seem to be a loser. Trump is a loafer but he is also an indefatigable self-publicist. He is all style and no substance. His babyish boasts have carried him to the White House. It is a dream come true.
Racism
Trump started to make a name for himself in Republican circles by saying that Obama was not born in the US. Long after this birther claim was shown to be hogwash Trump continued to harp on about it.
Unlike most I do not think Trump is a racist. He is not anti-racist either. To call him racist is to overestimate him. A racist believes in something. This egomaniac believe only in himself. He panders to racism where he assesses that that shall advance his own aggrandizement. He has appointed some Hispanics and African-Americans to high offices.
In 2015 Trump electrified a Republican rally by calling for a total ban on Muslim immigration. He was stoking bigotry against a religion not a race.
Trump denounced Mexicans moving to the US. He did not distinguish between legals and illegals. He accused them of being rapists. He is a rapist himself. It is the old, old trick of accusing others of one’s own crimes.
But if Trump thinks racism is cataclysmic he should reflect on when an immigrant really wrecked America. By giving birth to him. If he opposes immigration he should not have wed an immigrant. Twice. With this man it is always do as I say not as I do.
The pretended concern for the wellbeing of the American working class is one of his most glaring and sickening lies. He could not care less about the plight of the exploited American workers. If he did then why did he have his products made overseas?
The appalling treatment of illegal immigrants at the border is a manifestation of Trump’s spite. It has also failed to stem the flow of immigrants.
Trump courts neo Nazis. Why is he lionized by white supremacists? They fete him because they feel he has given them his imprimatur. He could not bring himself to speak ill of the Ku Klux Klan. Trump is viciously insulting about all sorts of politicians. Why is this ‘tough guy’ so afraid to say anything the least bit disobliging about the most odious organization in America?
Trump gave aid and comfort to the pro Confederate protestors at Charlottesville. They were very fine people said Trump.
White supremacist rhetoric from Trump have led directly to a major increase in white Christian terrorism. Why has Trump not called for a ban on white or Christian immigration?
False god
One of Trump’s more transparent affectations is his religiosity. He made no pretence at being godly until 2015. Then it became electorally essential. In 2015 he donned the mantle of a Christian. He had not darkened the doorstep of a church except at weddings and funerals. He had the nerve to say no one loved the Bible as much as him. He gave himself away by saying ‘two Corinthians’ instead of ‘second Corinthians’. Anyone au fait with the Good Book would not make an error so basic. He is so obviously disingenuous in pretending to be in God squad.
Why might a Christian not think Trump is a good leader? Adultery, profanity, blasphemy, theft, lust, backbiting, duplicity, rape, envy and warmongering are all sins. He looked to the heavens and said he was ‘the chosen one’. His delusions are now messianic. Where were the clergy? My did priests, pastors and ministers not denounce him from the pulpit.
Venality is the least of his iniquities. He has a charity. His so-called charity is a slush fund for himself. It is nauseating to see someone so self-absorbed claiming to help the needy. Stealing from the poor is as low as you can go.
The love of money is the root of all evil – so said St Paul. Try telling that to the Chaucerian frauds who preach the prosperity Gospel. The poor naïve dolts who donate money to these people are also marks for Trump. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I wonder of Trump has read that passage. The snake handling bigots in the Bible belt worship the mighty dollar that they do not have as much as Trump. How can working class people believe that the most selfish man on the planet cares two hoots about them? It beggars belief.
Christian fundamentalists often ask what would Jesus do? Would he vote for Trump? Would meek and gentle Jesus like him? Trump who promised worse than water boarding? Trump be promised to deliberately killed the relatives of America’s enemies? Advocating crimes against humanity now goes down well among evangelical Christians in the United States. Whatever happened to ‘love your enemy and do good to those who hate you’?
The Trump administration’s cruelty to illegal immigrants has scandalized the world. The Bible says to be merciful to the sojourner. In modern parlance a sojourner is an immigrant or asylum seeker.
How on earth do Christian evangelicals forgive Trump? Christian evangelicals in the United States are often pharisaical. They are so commonly judgmental and intolerant. But why do these puritans and prudes unsought absolution extend to Trump? He is never contrite. This person is as far from Jesus as it is possible to be. He purports to be anti-abortion. He does nothing to make unwanted pregnancies less likely. The Bible bashers and bigots forgive trumps manifold mortal sins simply because of his pretended pro-Life stand.
Trump is a horror story and a shit show all rolled into one. Down with his wretched regime. May his ghoul be exorcised forever.
After Trump
With luck the Trump era has only 18 months left. But has he inflicted a body blow to the body politic? There may be lasting repercussions to his exercrable regime? The vehemence of his racial screeds has given aid and comfort to white supremacists. When it comes to white supremacists be mindful of Callaghan’s law. Those who proclaim white supremacy disprove it. The US has become a tinderbox of ethnic asperities. In this wise it has regressed a few decades.
The all out attack on truth is troubling. Trumpists overlap with anti-intellectuals and irrationalists. Those who deny evolution and climate change are among his constituency. Those who deny evolution are the missing link. This also touches on the anti vaxxers. He has breathed new life into their movement. The consequences of Trump’s rampant dishonesty might be with us for many years yet.
A book called RIP GOP has been published. The author is a Democratic Party pollster. The thesis of the book is that the Republican Party is headed for a bruising defeat in 2020. The man who penned this tomb confidently forecast the victory of Mrs Clinton in 2016. Therefore his perspicacity is questionable. It is likely that the Republicans will lose next time but not by much. However, if you believe this book they will not only lose next time but lose every time for many years. They have pitched themselves as the party of rural, white, blue collar, gun owning, churchgoers. There are fewer and fewer of such people left in both absolute and relative terms. Further, the GOP has failed these groups on so many fronts. The claim is that that the Republican Party is in grave trouble. There is some merit to the book but its thrust is overblown. I desperately want to be proven dead wrong.
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