Trump is one of the few people outside my ex-wife who can leave even a word spigot like myself speechless. Kinking my hose is different than the capacity to surprise, because Trump’s ability to visit a scene of unrelenting grief and talk about himself is his least surprising behavior.
After tuning into Fox News and One America News Network, Trump tweeted about “Radical Left Democrats,” his political nemeses like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the “Fake News” that he’s “up against,” and the specter of “ANTIFA” street fighters. Later in the day, he railed against Democrats for negatively portraying the reception he received at a hospital (though they did no such thing) and—once more—cable news hosts for being less than glowing in their coverage.
It underscored a reality that’s become obvious to anyone who has ever worked for or even casually observed Trump: He’ll find a way to make nearly any national tragedy into an airing of his personal grievances, and neither he nor virtually anything else will change in the process.
Trump on his very own has sapped the moral authority of the oval office, he has made presidential visits to scenes of tragedy into scenes of sick comedy. He cannot do what president’s are supposed to do, be a representative of us, a reflection of ourselves, someone Americans can aspire to be. But all of that requires someone willing – even in the most awful of circumstances – to forget for a moment their own selfish needs. Trump wills for something different, always, his needs surpass all. This includes rejection of representing ALL Americans.
I truly do not understand why he even goes anymore. Some might think: “Well, maybe Trump supporters appreciate his presence.” But I would argue that Trump supporters support him precisely because he has no empathy. They love that he doesn’t care about family separation, or minorities, or even victims of crime. The Trump-voting families of victims in El Paso likely don’t feel any empathy from Trump. They likely noted his presence and then turned to friends. He added nothing, and they expected nothing, but will not hold it against him. None supporters? That is something entirely different, he added to their pain.
At Sandy Hook, President Obama hugged family members, he shed tears. Some of the family members may not have voted for him, but they knew he hurt along with them, and in doing so, he did speak for a nation. In South Carolina, Obama visited the black church as only Obama could, and surprised those gathered by leading them in Amazing Grace. He understood his environment, and what they needed from him. He understood what we all needed. Amazing grace indeed, personified.
This president lacks the ability or desire to stand in someone else’s shoes, never mind represent the nation’s better angels. No one likes having to “be there” among people feeling everyone’s worst nightmare. But we go, and the president goes, because that is what it means to be human. Animals do not comfort each other over a loss, or at least most don’t. I cannot speak for dogs. They, too, seem to understand better angels.
There is a lesson in there somewhere. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate dogs.
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God’s peace, y’all. Especially to the grieving everywhere, about anyone.
I usually sign off … But this isn’t about me.
“He cannot do what president’s are supposed to do, be a representative of us, a reflection of ourselves, someone Americans can aspire to be.”
He is a reflection of “Those People.” He’s exactly what the people who voted for him aspire to be. A rich SOB that is as ignorant as themselves. A loud mouth no nothing conspiracy peddler who can say and do anything with no repercussions. Jesus himself.
True, but I will fight to my last breath that he and his voters are representative of “America” as an idea and ideal. I have a line in my novel, that the west brought freedom to many places, but none inspired people like the word “America” and I believe that is still true today. The alternative is to give up, and neither of us is willing to do that.
OOPS, I meant he and his ideas are NOT America, but a temporary dive into insanity, from which we will pull ourselves out. “America” remains an ideal, among good willed people, the rest remains the same. THANK YOU for stopping by and leaving a good comment.
Damn, I am going to get this right at some point. A “president” is supposed to represent US, and he’s failed (as I note) and so have his supporters, who don’t want empathy. That is what I wrote in the story, at least in my mind.
It’s in moments like his speech in El Paso that you realize that we aren’t only dealing with corruption, a lack of morality, stupidity, etc (what a delightful mix of traits…lol) but also some sort of deep-rooted mental condition.
Some day, I’m sure someone with qualifications will write a book that examines this man’s mental state and the underlying conditions. But I’m going to hypothesize that the roots of a lot of this is having wealthy parents who locked him in a palace and reinforced over and over that he’s completely infallible. But not only infallible, they also reinforced a fictional view of him and his qualities. They made him believe that he was brilliant when he was…in fact…not brilliant.
So this raises a lot of questions (that would be more interesting if the subject weren’t president). If a child with below average intelligence is told they’re right all the time, how are they going to view things when someone who really is intelligent comes along who disagrees with them? They’ll probably mistake intelligence for stupidity and vice versa. Then this gets reinforces over and over throughout his life…that has to explain some of the divorced reality he seems to exist in.
And to get under Trump’s skin…maybe that book should be a double-feature in which the author examines how Obama’s upbringing produced an adult with intelligence, compassion, empathy, and all the other qualities that Trump lacks. Ha…that’d really annoy him.
Genius insight …. on your part, not his. 🙂 I also think you’re on to something. Had you read that he once said to someone that he knew all he needed to know in first grade and hadn’t learned anything “new” since? That is terror if I’ve ever heard it. I don’t think I actually started learning much useful until age 30, and then really did 7 years later upon becoming a parent. I take that back, I learned pretty early that I needed to learn a lot more.
That sort of comment on his part reinforces the theory that he has some sort of weird belief in the infallibility of his own intelligence. It is very scary. Some of my musings on this subject are informed by the fact that I am horrible with kids. I mean…in the sense of ever trying to raise one. I wouldn’t do it.
But I have nieces and nephews, and when they were very little I was very conscientious of how my actions had longterm implications on them. How I spoke and behaved as a role model affected them hugely. I worked to encourage good behaviors and reinforced their self esteem. You could see how one small action on my part had a ripple effect for them…positively reinforce their homework, and they’d want to study more. So it was always a scary thought to me what happens when a child is exposed to something bad over and over…you really are molding them into the human being they will become. When I see how wretched trump is…what the eff had to happen to cause that mess?
(FYI, I am aware that saying I spent a lot of time thinking about my actions and how to use them to help my nieces and nephews grow and learn makes me sound like I’m actually good with kids…but there is an extremely thin veneer to that, and after a few days I’m exhausted, cranky and need three months away from them, which is what makes me bad with kids, lol.)