Someone on the question-and-answer website Quora asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response:
A few things spring to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat.
He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
‘My God… what… have… I… created?
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
• Here’s how to win a debate on Trump’s presidency
• “No Labels” Party? Here’s the TRUTH about these guys
• Listen to Shane MacGowan and 30 surprising Christmas classics
Don’t Follow Your ‘Leader’
You can’t be a leader if you don’t want to lead
That’s okay cause we don’t want to follow
Your ego is boorish, your motives corrupt
Your rhetoric too puerile to swallow
When great leaders lead their people respond
If you lead them with wisdom they follow
But nobody wants a crude thug at the helm
Whose focus is selfish and hollow
If you don’t want to lead, that’s ok with us
In bravado we don’t want to wallow
You’ve shown us the wrong way, now we’ll go the right way
If you like you are welcome to follow
© Sam Steele Jun 2017
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
I’m a Canadian living in Scotland
And Canadian friends will say
Your heart belongs to Britain
Cause you don’t live here, but away
So many times I have told them
(It’s a long-term battle cry)
Don’t confuse a residence
With where the loyalties lie.
© Sam Steele Jul 2018
Amen.
4 cheers to the BRITISH
Gosh this is so good!
Here in America, nearly everyone has an opinion about Trump. Most of us agree that the root cause of his complete incompetence is raging insecurity. His father was a bully, and young Donald was apparently treated with barely concealed disdain, leaving a child desperately short of self-confidence and self-worth. Then his dad gave Trump $431 million to launch a real estate business for which her had no training or talent, and he largely failed, leaving behind mountains of debt and more enemies than perhaps even Boris Johnson.
There is no there there with Trump. He is a husk of a human, without a thread of empathy or sympathy. He hates himself, and projects that hatred by attacking everyone who doesn’t fall down at his feet like a puppy.
Yet the thing is, around 45% of us adore him. I can’t help but think that his supporters are in the same boat: they hate themselves for whatever inadequacies they possess, and they love taking out their anger on the rest of us.
I agree with Paul Bernish’s comment and would add that his supporters are also a manifestation of the declining priority placed on education over decades. Not all regions of the US are blessed with quality education and you can see it on the electoral map. (Non Americans should know most social programs are implemented by individual states or local governments so the quality of life can vary widely per state.) Simply put, I think many of his supporters are too ignorant to realize all of Trump’s “finest” qualities but he validated how they feel and makes them feel less wrong about it. And finally, I’m not sure if this provides any solace but the rest of Americans who don’t support him are downright embarrassed by him and see him as highly dangerous not just to ourselves but to global stability.
That article was very compelling. Thank you for masterfully wording your piece. It flowed beautifully. :o).
This assessment is so very SAD and unfortunately TRUE. From his first appearance, I was convinced that the American electorate would not vote Trump into the White House. He was a farceur – a very dangerous one – at lest to my mind. But, unfortunately, a number of my fellow Americans, enough to put Trump into office, voted for him. They felt that a blustering, thoughtless bumbler would be better than Hillary Clinton, a very intelligent woman who, unfortunately, did not have the ability to bring people together. From the moment, Hillary threw her hat in the ring, it seemed to be a matter of an attempt to fulfill presidential “firsts”; the first woman President, the first spouse of a President, not the choice of the best candidate for a specific moment in time. Sadly, some of us knew at the moment of nomination that that calculation was erroneous.
Best written description of Trump ever. All of which people have thought may have even said of some things but to see them all on paper is both exciting and embarrassing
Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
How spot on- “ the Picasso of pettiness” indeed. And if you think you Brits are mystified try being a sentient adult in America!
This NewYorker could not have said it any better. You were spot on!!! Hopefully, this racist POS will go away forever at noon on January 20, 2021!!!
If he loses in November, watch him destroy America before the 20th January 2021. The man is evil.
Trump destroy America before Jan 2021? I think that ship may have sailed, ma’am.
Brilliant Nate, spot on.
Know comment, too negative!
😬
Sorry, but this isn’t even close to how bad he is. We in America need some normalcy. Normalcy is so good. But with Trump, it’s almost hard to remember. I hope next January we once again find normalcy and not the chaos our country is now in.
Too negative?? CRAZY! This guy is leading us to hell. The article was spot on. Trump is a mental midget; a sick, disgusting human. No more quarter. He must go if we want to save ourselves. …..and that comes from a former Republican, 30 years retired military, who is a fun owner.
Wha?
Really? KNOW comment?
..very negative and narrow minded….common among the brits though
Quite the opposite Most of us in Britain, who read this, are remarkably well travelled, broad-minded and worldly. That differentiates us from the masses who still inexplicably support this narcissist ignoramus
Thanks! Perfectly describes the buffoon!
Paula, that’s insulting…to baffoons.
So well stated. Thank you. As an American, living outside the USA for 40 years now, this is the most embarrassing and humiliating person in the White House my years can recall. Even those Presidents for whom I did not vote – I respected more. What a sorry state of affairs!
Obama fought ISIS for 6 years during which time they tortured, decapitated, burned, raped, killed 33,000 men,women, and children. He fought them, I want to say relentlessly, but perhaps “charmly” would describe it better, because when Trump began his presidency, on his 3rd month in office, he set the tone of his classless prosecution of ISIS by dropping the MOAB on their HQ. From there on it was game up and in 1 year, the Caliphate was no more. I calculated that Obama could’ve saved 24,000 to 28,000 lives had he fought ISIS with a tat less class.
but but but but obama
ISIS and the Taliban haven’t gone anywhere.
Or more truthfully Obama set the stage for a long run up to trump’s supposed ‘success’ similarly with the economy, to imagine or imply that trump is anything less than a plastic shapeless mass of greed stupidity is asinine at best.
Classic whataboutery. Jog on.
How conveniently you leave out the rest of the story, like how Trump then betrayed our strongest ally in the battle against ISIS (The Turks) so that he could make favor with Turkey where he has Trump property, he then did nothing as Turkey proceeded to slaughter them, and allowed the Russians and Turkish to lob munitions dangerously close to our U.S. soldiers over there. ISIS is not dead either. I n fact, Trumps inexcusable and deplorable act resulted in hundreds of them that were in Captivity on Turk land escape to go regroup..Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Meant to say Kurds byt he way, before your most assuredly school marm trite response to the error wastes more of the our time
Amen. I was working in Saudi Arabia when the “Line in the sand” was crossed and BO did nothing. The local paper editorials blasted BO for being a wimp. Shortly after that the Obama hit the fan in the Mid-East.
Mexseiko: You DO realize that ISIS is not only alive and well, but stronger now and tRump dropping bombs has strengthened their recruiting?
American here, you nailed it. The only thing that could be added, is his complete lack of self-esteem which seems to be the root of his monstrous behavior. We can’t believe the people that follow him either, it’s completely baffling. Imagine sitting across from friends/family that support this abomination of a human being. We used to have a Democracy, now what do we have a Plutocracy, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Totalitarian, Dictatorship? Take your pick. He “has an article 2” that says he can do whatever he wants. He uses the Dept. of Justice as his personal lawyers and removes life time expert personnel that know what they’re doing with people that don’t know their ass from their elbow. These are friends and family or anybody that will make a big donation to him. So it’s going really great over here. Will you take any of us back? j/k, but not really.
I am always amazed at how many top Americans live in England.
I agree with most of the adjectives used to describe Trump. However, the reason he is so popular in the USA is one important fact that you seem to have left out. He is working to save the country. Obama, as suave and charming as he is, was attempting to destroy the country as we know it and turn it into a 3rd world shithole. Half of the American people agree with me, IMHO, and the other half listen to and believe CNN, MSMBC, CBS…
Saving it from what – democratic law? A president who favors dictators like Putin, don’t want to save the country but make as much money as he can and as much uncontested power as he can.There are other news sources besides the 3 you listed; try the CBC, BBC, The Globe and Mail and just about any other from democratic countries.
I believe President Obama was doing his best to keep us from BECOMING A shithole, as you put it. Obama inherited the previous president’s mess. Obama could not reverse the USA’s downward financial spiral overnight. It appears now that, on all fronts, the USA is being viewed as having a SHITHOLE FAKE PRESIDENT, and many people are following him like a bunch of lemmings. I refuse to follow our current president – ABSOLUTLEY REFUSE because I love our country!
Just more hogwash
You don’t understand his motive. It is not money. It is power. He truly believes that if Putin and other enemy leaders like him, he will be able to rule the world. It is pure, unadulterated EGO.
Actually, Trumpsky is working to line his own pockets. Nothing more, nothing less.
I believe his pockets are fine, but his self esteem, self-confidence and his humongous ego are constantly on Empty. The rhetoric needed to fill that abyss is endless!
I think it was slightly less than half that agree with you, Ronald. Slightly less.
You’re full of it.
brilliant retort!
No, the reason he is still popular, & (unbelievably) still in office, is simply because of “White-Privelege! People in other countries may not realize how pervasive racism still is in this country, but it should be obvious by how many people have commented here, & are still blaming Obama for all the countries ails. (just like #45 does)! It’s as if we forgot, Obama pulled this country out of The Great Recession! I think we all know, (although we may not want to admit it,)that if Obama had committed 1/1000th of the many travesties, insults, hirings, firings
& lies, etc that # 45 has perpetrated, he would’ve been “tarred& feathered” in the town square!
Actually, as I must continually point out to my fellow Americans—he lost by over 3,000,000 votes–and 173,000,000 people either didn’t vote or voted for someone else–so clearly not a majority. Nor is he wildly popular–only with his base is that a true statement. I even have relatives who would agree to all of the horrible but true adjectives used to describe him– but excuse it all by saying he loves his country or he loves Americans. I have no idea how or why they think that–one of the most preposterous disconnects I have ever heard.
No, dear Fox News viewer, half of the American people very definitely do not agree with you. There is no excuse for supporting this grifting troll. None. Zero.
The Force is weak in this one.
That’s a whole lot of BS. Why don’t you stop for a moment and think. What if Trump had come into office when Barack did. Trump inherited a great economy because Barack and his administration not only restored the economy but rescued the nation from devastation. Barack did not restore the economy only for it to fail within four years of leaving office. Trump, since he came into office has been battling his imaginary demons and has done nothing to strengthen the economy, instead he’s been wasting tax payers money trying to destroy Barack’s legacy with the help of racist and bigoted people like you. Trump is still riding on the successful coat tails of Barack period, and he knows, including you.
I see the U.S. as being closer to a “3rd world shithole” after 3 years of Trump than it ever was under ANY predecessor. And I cannot imagine what “news source” you relied on for believing President Obama had such an agenda. I didn’t vote for Obama, but I only saw him make a single misstep in 8 years (Benghazi).
Benghazi was not his misstep. As in most ‘war’ situations there was a fog as to mission, responsibility and timing.
Do you truly believe he is trying to save our country? The only thing trump is trying to save is himself, his money, his family, his rich friends. The rest of us he mocks and destroys. He is a despicable man
You are right on the money!
So you like Fox? Is that what you are saying?
Inaccurate in the extreme. The vast majority did not vote for him nor has he gained any more sheep. This imaginary narrative that Obama tried to ruin the country is false, of course, but confounding. How? By shoring up the economy when the world’s markets were crashing? Putting stronger environmental controls in place? Of the worst – for the very first time, offering Americans a way to secure healthcare? Yes, all third world moves.
So sad for America. Many people hate Obama would bring up false facts about him ( what are the real motivates under these feeling?). Not half of America agree with you. Remember Hillary beat him by a few millions vote and many did not vote. Yes, many of you rather be a member of the Trump’s cult and voted for this piece of shit and believe Trump and his Fox News’s propagandas and of course you are proud that you make America great again. More Americans and the world see a truer America’s image than you and your lot. Come 2020, I hope that we show our children and the world that we are back to be the real world leader which value the truth, integrity, compassion, fairness.
Mr. Trump is all you say and more. However, I take issue with your assertion that the British dislike bullies. You should consider your history. The world is still recovering from your many blows.
Put simply – Britain is landmass with people living on it. It was the people who lived in Britain during that time that did those things and they are since long dead and buried.
Todays people of the UK did not do those things. Instead we have been making payments to other countries for years to help them recover, we accept refugees into the country and help them to integrate with education, jobs and houses, and we teach respect, acceptance and tolerance in our schools.
Blaming today’s UK citizens for the actions of those who did those things centuries ago, is the same as me holding you responsible for early American settlers did to Native Americans years ago. Like saying “You weren’t alive then, you didn’t actually have anything to do with it, but somehow you’re responsible for all those rapes, tortures and deaths”.
The whole point in acknowledging history is to learn from it, which is what we as a country have done. To carry on the blame game for centuries after events is just ridiculous and only serves to continue anger and hate through generations which accomplishes nothing.
Well said.
Totally agree all of us around the world should learn from the events throughout history to make this world a safer better place for all children no matter where they are in this world Jo 🇬🇧
Well… I don’t know about that… It’s not just distant history, you know. A group of young British thugs beat two Polish residents so badly (2016 or so) that one of them of died; the thugs had very strong anti-immigrant sentiments. And there were other such incidents. .I recall seeing (again, at least a couple of years ago) on BBC News a clip of young man with a swastika tattoo on his upper arm boasting about having killed the Polish grocer who had a shop down the street. Also, a lot of the rationale behind voting for Brexit was anti-immigrant sentiment, sometimes very strongly expressed! And aren’t your public schools known for bullying? (I watch a LOT of British television! — which, actually, I enjoy very much — but there are often plots about such bullying…)
OK, that’s it, just my two cents worth… I really wanted to comment on the above. By the way, I loved the description of the tRump (as I like to call him). Like the T-Rex, he’s a dinosaur, plus he’s a big fat Rump. And I’m also so SO tired of people rationalizing his behavior… his father didn’t love him, bullied him, etc. Boo-hoo. That happens to a LOT of people and they don;’ turn out to be the self-centered narcissist he is. He loves ONLY himself..and power and money, of course.
What a very accurate portrait. I am completely perplexed though, why other countries still deal with him. If other countries did not invite him, throw lavish dinners, elaborate meet and greats, whatever validation he claims would be lost. Even as we struggled through the impeachment process other countries were playing up to him. Many Americans look at these countries as enablers. And, when we needed them the most they were no there.
An interesting opinion, that’s for sure. And it shows why most people on the left will never “get” those of us who support Trump. I especially smiled when reading the second paragraph of no less than 14 adjectives that the writer evidently deems essential to a president, claiming that “Mr. Obama was generously blessed” with all (Really? Obama had humility and was self-aware?). Even if true, it wasn’t Obama who was on the ballot opposite Trump- Hillary Clinton was the Democrat nominee. It’s enlightening that the author didn’t even mention her when rattling off the 14 necessary adjectives of a U.S. president. Hmm…. I wonder why….
I’m sorry the author doesn’t like Trump because Trump doesn’t make him laugh. That’s a shame. Try going to a comedy club for your laughs. I have a feeling if Trump did crack a few jokes, the lefties would treat him the same way they treated George W. Bush and call him a moron.
So, the author states that because Trump is “never funny” he is a troll who talks and thinks “in crude, witless insults”. He chastises Trump for his crude and witless insults and four paragraphs later calls Trump “…a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.” I’d say the author isn’t very self-aware, but elitists usually aren’t.
I do agree with the author that Trump is a very flawed person. So was Obama, Clinton, both Bushes, Boris Johnson, Margaret Thatcher (as fabulous as she was), Ronald Reagan (as fabulous as he was), the author of this very flawed piece, me.
The fact is, unless you’re Jesus Christ, you have flaws. I suspect dissatisfaction with Trump’s flaws by the author has less to do with the flaws themselves then it has to do with the fact that Trump is a man of action and fights back. And he’s not liberal, of course.
Try being a conservative woman in today’s world and you might understand the appeal of Donald Trump. Things conservative women have actually been told-
“Women who voted against Hillary Clinton were bullied by men.” “Women who vote against Hillary Clinton vote against their own voice.” “You are a traitor to your gender” “You only say what you are told to say by men.” I could go on. Telling me I’m not educated and can’t think for myself is probably not the best way to get me to come around to a position you hold.
This is why I love a fighter, and Donald Trump is a fighter. It’s not pretty but I’ll take a deeply flawed man who will fight for my beliefs over a polite elitist (Mitt Romney, anyone?) that will fail again and again. Sometimes he does punch down and sometimes he’s petty. So what? Quit writing whiny, elitist articles that pretend everyone but Trump is good and decent. Donald Trump is only giving what he gets and if he were a liberal politician, you would be celebrating him.
CRA I loved your comment,people who are against the president, are either not awake yet or will have indictments served upon them! PERIOD!
Exactly how was Obama turning the US into a shithole? An administration with 8 years and no corruption charges at all? Compared to Trumps administration ? The finest people! History will record this time and d bet a lot of money there will be the piper to pay for the corruption. Just following orders.
As a man Ive see at least a hundred like him. The substance abusing, bullying husband that the wife sticks up for, in spite of the abuse. Either because she is that afraid of him- or she is that damaged as to see him as the pinnacle of masculinity. Imagining his brash actions in a heroic light.
Both views are extremely sad, and the second is the most damaging. The rest of the world is currently in a similar position. Daddy is drunk and got the guns out. Everybody better smile and stfu.
Supporting trump means you are for corruption, sociopathy, an eradication of women in position of power, an eradication of the rights of others, and white nationalism. Glad he represents your beliefs but you are on the wrong side of history, and history shows us minority rule never ends well.
Thank you, Lesley, for making my point. You don’t address anything with substance concerning what I wrote. You don’t debate any point and instead yell, “Trump supporters are sociopaths!”. Blah, blah, blah. If you want me to reconsider my support for Donald Trump, tell me which policies that he has put in place are bad and why. Again, yelling that I’m a racist, corrupt, and I don’t support women just makes me tune you out. Which policies has he put in place or is trying to put in place would eradicate women in positions of power? As a woman, all I feel is empowered by the freedom he has brought back to our country through the elimination of onerous regulations and his freeing tax policy. Economic freedom lifts everyone up regardless of identity. During the Obama presidency, I felt as though I was targeted because of my identity. I’m really sorry you refuse to allow that I felt that way, but I’m still waiting for you to thoughtfully and intelligently tell me why I should reconsider. Waiting…..
Having said that, if it looks like shit, smells like shit, it likely is shit” 🙄
I’m concerned for people who admire, fervently admire, a human piece of shit like Donald Trump. It must be truly soul damaging to have to defend a man who you don’t want your kids to watch on TV, much less emulate. It can’t be easy to ignore the lies, the petty grievances, and the corrupt self-dealing we witness every day. I have to think Trump admirers must be able to compartmentalize their political beliefs from the conduct of their daily lives. Because if they try to “be like Trump” (and why not if they truly admire him?), they’d soon end up in jail. Or worse.
Alas, the liberals will never be able to grasp the charismatic appeal of Trump’s vulgarity.
Thankfully. Imagine living with oneself if one found his qualities appealing.
I not a Trump fan, but nicely written, with some strong points. He is detestable, we all know this,m but the best vote in 2020. I did not vote for him last election.
Blah blah blah, stop defending the man.
Still waiting….Which policies has Trump put in place, or is trying to put in place, would eradicate women in positions of power? Liberals always claim to be so tolerant, but….
Problem with this line of thinking is believing the deeply flawed man has any chance of instilling permanent change. He squeaked by in the election as one of the least popular presidents ever. Whatever beliefs you hold that Trump is fighting for will not outlast him so he is the wrong champion.
You go girl………..the best well written comment I have read so far.
Spot-fucking on! Very well said!
Best description of the miscreant I’ve read to date. Utterly brilliant.
I have written a blog for Spindrift Research which, in a sense, parallels what you wrote. The difference being is the reason ‘why’ Americans are putting up with President Trump’s aberrant behavior. I offer it here: https://www.spindriftresearch.org/blog/2016/08/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-and-the-paranormal
Saying this as an American: That was a fantastic read. You have articulated brilliantly what so many of us have struggled to express. Let’s just hope we can save ourselves come November.
I am an American and this article is spot on. We hate him!
Now do Boris Johnson
Boris is Trump Lite…. a little boy who thought it would be fun to be PM… but now is struggling with the idea that the country expects him to actually do some work…
This sums Trump up perfectly. Even though it was written a year ago, it’s just as true now as when it was written, maybe even more so.
Canadian here,Nail meet hammer !!
Donald Trump is extremely addicted to Adderall. He takes Sudafed to sleep. His insecurities, narcissism, dementia, pettiness, paranoia, nonstop Twitter use fueled by his ragey reactionary behavior are all symptoms.
Those of us who have either been in, or dealt with substance abuse can see it a mile away.
This is the very crux of what we are dealing with. Not sure why we don’t remove him for that.
As a former drug addict, my first instinct when I hear him speak is he’s LYING HIS ASS OFF
Donald Trump is extremely addicted to Adderall. He takes Sudafed to sleep
And you know this how?
Jabba the hut of privilege. Best description yet!
What a droning bit of pseudo elite claptrap and drivel—presented without even a slight veil of objective journalism. This “piece” goes a long way toward explaining the demise of Labour and the Corbynites. Most Americans prefer substance over style and results over shallow promises. Pompous dipshits and their baseless insults don’t count for much in such a place.
Besides his crude demeanor and and embarrassing inability to read or speak like an educated person, here are a few policies and actions that cause me to dislike him.
Trump’s administration revoked a federal guidance on campus sexual assault cases known as the Title IX.
• Trump canceled Obama-era Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order. Under this specific policy, female workers had protection from labor exploitation through 14 civil and labor rights laws. It was a critical protection for working class women. Things like paycheck transparency or outlawing sexual discrimination fell into this order.
• The DACA program was terminated by Trump. The program has no gender component but for immigrant women who take care of their families, DACA was a source of access to livable wages, better health care, and job opportunities.
• He has proposed cutting programs that help victims of domestic violence.
• His withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan was a gift to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
• His pullout of all U.S. troops in Syria took America’s boot off of the terrorists’ necks.
• Trump’s only significant legislative accomplishment gave massive tax breaks to rich and big corporations, while doing nothing to benefit workers. Tax cuts left an $11 trillion deficit which will require the economy to grow as fast as 11% over the next decade to balance the budget.
• Trump vowed to protect Medicare and Social Security, but has proposed drastic cuts to both programs. Trump sought a $554 billion cut to Medicare and $72.5 billion cut to Social Security disability insurance and supplemental security income.
• Without any replacement his ongoing campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act has made health care less accessible and less affordable for millions of Americans. He repeatedly promised that he would lower the costs of prescription drugs within weeks, but that hasn’t happened.
• Trump has demonized and attacked immigrants while doing nothing to actually solve the issue of illegal immigration. He separated families; rescind the right to asylum from victims of domestic violence and gang violence. His administration fired tear gas at children and their families seeking asylum at the border. Trump’s lies aren’t innocent exaggerations. Trump has used misleading statistics to stoke fear about a manufactured crisis at the border, and has even lied directly to our active-duty service members and our nation’s veterans.
• Trump’s VA is being steered by three of his Mar-a-Lago cronies with no experience.
• The gap between the richest Americans and everyone else has grown under Trump’s watch.
• Trump eliminated protections for student borrowers, gutted enforcement of payday lenders, and let corporate wrongdoers off the hook.
• Trump damaged relationships with key allies, and the decline of America’s standing left openings for other countries to fill the leadership void.
• Trump withdrew the U.S. from the U.N. human rights council and the Paris Agreement.
• Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian officials in the Oval Office.
• After pledging to drain the swamp, Trump stocked his administration with donors and former lobbyists, and let special interest groups and corporations draft their own policy. His Cabinet secretaries have used their positions for their personal gain, while wasting taxpayer dollars.More than a dozen of Trump’s top appointees have been forced out amid ethics scandals. Trump’s culture of corruption has permeated his administration with an endless string of misuse of taxpayer dollars, conflicts of interest, and concealing information.
• Trump himself has continued to profit off the presidency through numerous conflicts of interest. Meanwhile, despite his promises not to take vacations as president, Trump has wasted tens of millions of dollars traveling to his own properties and golf courses.
• The lobbying industry has boomed, while Trump has watered down lobbying restrictions and issue broad ethics exemptions to members of his administration.
Not a policy but-
• It is first time that a president has been caught on tape bragging about grabbing women by the pussy.
• His disrespectful handling of Sen. John McCain’s funeral was a new low.
• His handling of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder harmed America’s moral standing.
• His news conference with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki was an embarrassment. On the heels of Russia’s attempted assassination of a dissident on British soil and the indictment of 12 Russians for 2016 election meddling. Trump publicly sided with Putin over his own intelligence community.
• The government went through its longest shutdown in history. He said, “I will be the one to shut it down.”
• Trump’s lies aren’t innocent exaggerations. Trump has used misleading statistics to stoke fear about a manufactured crisis at the border, and has even lied directly to our active-duty service members and our nation’s veterans.
Thank you for bothering to enumerate these. I am curious to see how the supposedly conservative supporters of Trump respond. But I am not going to hold my breath waiting.
Thank you for doing this work!. I cannot even remember last week’s horror show, so this helps me when I must respond about his destruction of everything most people care about.
Excellent!!
Brilliant and every word spot on!
Unbelievable some people don’t agree think they’re just kidding themselves 🙄
The best I know of the Trumpster and his Team of merry men and women is he/they are all pro life and that’s good enough for me. If one has no respect for the most innocent of us then their consciences are clouded and they are unable to see, think or even feel fairly and truthfully. There is a large amount of TDS out there and sounds like England especially it the article truly reflects their state of minds/hearts.
Did God force you to choose Jesus as your savior? No! Did he force you to do anything? To follow his laws? No, he gave you a choice.
So, don’t you think it would be advisable to allow others to choose and not force your beliefs or impose laws on them?
It would be fine to ban abortions unless the mother would die or the child is stillborn or wouldn’t live outside the mother’s womb, IF the Trump administration would help pay for the child’s needs like medical bills and food. So many poor children suffer from not being able to get to the doctor or who don’t have enough food. The RepubliCONS want to end free school breakfast and lunches. These meals may be the only meals some kids have all day. And then what happened to them on weekends? Pro life means more than banning abortions.
Nailed it!
The British people elected Boris Johnson and David Cameron for Prime Minister; you really have no moral high ground I’m afraid.
Well said. Please keep in mind that Trump did not win the election. Hillary lost it. I am so embarrassed by the fact that he holds the office.
That antiquated electoral college gave that election to that fraud who squats in the Oval Office kissing Republican behinds & signing whatever they hand to him. Hillary had 3 Million more votes than that unqualified bozo. We the people can elect our president, etc. Way past time to get rid of that ‘electoral college’. It’s a sick joke on the American people.
Learn about the constitution of this country. You can’t get rid of the electoral college as it would require a CHANGE to the constitution. Good luck getting getting the less populated stated to buy into that. So it is here to stay despite your whining.
FACT is that Hillery didn’t even campaign in 3 states she lost: https://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-pennsylvania-michigan-wisconsin-what-happened-2017-9
Absolute savage mad lad.
Beautiful language and content. Couldn’t agree more
Sir, I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment of our president. The problem was we let the media run our elections, we let Facebook and the media, guide us to our decisions. I am a well traveled and more enlightened person, I could see the flaws long before he was elected, He is a boorish, sadistic person who takes great pride in the fact that he is in fact wealthy, but accepts none of the responsibilities that go with it. He is also a liar, and I am not talking about lies to protect national security, or even just to cover for himself, he lies for the pleasure of lying. I think of Trump and a mob boss, a person that has little on his mid but, his own agenda.
Right on! I couldn’t imagine it being stated any more accurately or any more succinctly.
Hi all, I’m writing from Covid 19 overwhelmed Italy. Despite that, I’m so happy to live here. Coronavirus, mafia etc, are nothing compared to Trump. I’m pretty sure that you American people will be wise enough not to re-elect this criminal idiot and that he will spend his life in jail, unless a miracle eradicates him earlier.
God bless and keep you healthy. THE HOBBLEDEHOY loves Italy!
This article is The Triumph of Shallowness. 60 million Americans voted for Trump, which is a testimony to Americans’ ability to value Substance over Appearance. The Brits…….they’re the ones who sucked the Treasure of Empire out of hundreds of millions of their Subjects around the world for hundreds of years and deposited it in Buckingham Palace. Then when their Empire went south they begged American boys and girls to save their sorry asses. And if needed, we’d do it again. We rejected their monarchical class-bound system a long time ago and created something magnificent that the world had never seen before. We don’t need any lecturing from them.
THE HOBBLEDEHOY agrees – a Triumph of Shallowness (and Cruelty) https://thehobbledehoy.com/2016/07/10/trump-mocks-disabled-reporter/
Is that the best you can do? That moment was awful if done by any person. But is was a moment that is not characteristic of Trump. Every public person has a clip out there that they rightly regret. Like most Lefties, you can’t engage on the level of substance, as your comment above attests.
If you can find a clip of any respected world leader openly mocking a disabled person is such an obvious and hurtful manner. I’ll take back any bad comment I have ever made about Trump. The fact you can defend his behaviour is unfortunately a sad comment on the state of your country.
As I said, ” That moment was awful if done by any person.” So I don’t “defend” that behavior. You’re naive if you think most people haven’t behaved badly at one time or another. The reason you don’t see equivalent gaffes by other world leaders is that their comments are carefully scripted, carefully filtered. If you’ve read lengthy biographies of other top politicians you’ve discovered some of the reprehensible opinions of most of them. It’s that kind of phoniness that we Trump supporters rebelled against in 2016. In contrast, Trump is incredibly open. What you see is what you get. The good, the bad and the ugly. He is unique in that he had absolutely no experience as a politician. He was a TRUE outsider. That’s why we voted for him. We were sick and tired of the political establishment that wasn’t addressing our real problems as a Country. It’s a tradeoff. We value the openness much more than the careful slick presentations by most other leaders. You should try stepping back to see The Big Picture, what’s really important. When you set that awful moment of behavior against what Trump has accomplished for Americans, you see things in their proper context. Try not to be so shallow. Just because the Media go crazy over such gaffes doesn’t mean you should base your fundamental positions on them. Try thinking for yourself. Thanks.
When you have a moment, check out the death camps that Churchill erected in South Africa that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Black and White South Africans. Stop being so naive.
There are numerous articles in the googleysphere that claim Trump mocked a disabled reporter. But there are just as many that debunk it. Here’s just one but I could link to several-https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-medias-disabled-reporter-lie
Did he do so? I doubt it based on the fact that he made the same gestures about several people on different occasions but who really knows? I do know that I’m not going to accept it as fact just because Meryl Streep said so. And certainly not because The Hobbledehoy agrees.
Some people ask me how I can support Trump after the Billy Bush tape came out. My reply, as a female, is that I don’t care what the two men said to each other on the back of the bus. I only care how those women treated by Trump when he walked off the bus and greeted them. And he was a cordial gentleman. When men interact with me they’d better show me respect. I couldn’t care less what is said by men about me otherwise. But I’m not a weak little snowflake that melts every time someone looks at me cross eyed.
But what do I know? I’m just a corrupt, white nationalist sociopath with a damaged soul, rooting for the eradication of women in positions of power and the eradication of the rights of others 🙂
I certainly appreciate that you wouldn’t and shouldn’t depend on Meryl Streep and THE HOBBLEDEHOY (love that we are paired together!) for facts about the Trump Crime Family. And I do not think you are really a “corrupt, white nationalist sociopath with a damaged soul…”
No. You are however a person who supports a president who lies as easily and as often as he breathes.
And speaking of Meryl Steep, I’ll always remember this from the brilliant “Sophie’s Choice”:
Sophie “I see you’re wearing your cocksucker suit”
Stingo: “That’s my searsucker”
Amen, baby……!
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, Hobbledehoy. I am entitled to mine and I vigorously disagree with you assessment that Trump “lies as easily and as often as he breathes”. I wouldn’t support anyone who I believed did so. And thanks, by the way, for being one of the few people who disagree with me that allows for the fact that maybe I’m not evil and racist.
I’ve enjoyed reading through this blog post and those comments that are more than just flame throwing rhetoric. I don’t usually post a response to things like this because it’s almost always useless, but sometimes it’s a good exercise for me in order to justify my own positions. And I always challenge those who disagree with me to do the same by asking for specific proof of what they say. The challenge is rarely accepted because I’ve found that most people are too lazy to prove their own positions to themselves let alone to me. It’s easier to just parrot talking points- this goes across all political leanings.
How about those Americans who don’t like Trump vote for his opponent, and those Americans who do like Trump vote for him. May the best person win the most electoral votes! (And then when Trump wins maybe this time the losers can try to accept the results of the election??)
Now something we agree on- Meryl Streep is a tremendous actress! Thanks, Hobbledehoy!
Well , it’s now March 29th, and I’ve watched tRump clearly BS his way through this virus invasion.
I presume you have watched the same White House events I have, so is your assessment about him being an honest person still intact?
Trump is a throwback to the great American wild west , where the town bigwig used to own half the town, run a large cattle ranch and always have the local beauty on his arm. Invariably this town bigwig was kept in place by a gaggle of “friends” who were in his pocket. Then as we all know this stereotype bigwig gets his comeuppance in the end.
Where are all the present day John Waynes of the USA ,your country needs you, desperately.
John Wayne was married 3 times and had numerous affairs on the side. He avoided military service in World War II, and after the war was over, he supported Sen. Joe McCarthy’s Hollywood witch hunt, a shameful era of America’s history that ruined the lives of many good people. Wayne was also a bit of a racist – even by the low standards of his day: “We can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the Blacks,” he said. “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.” [Wayne quote from interview with Playboy Magazine 1971]
So Trump is actually a bit of a “throwback” to John Wayne. Except of course, Wayne could read his lines properly. – THE HOBBLEDEHOY
Much as I despise Trump, I hate these smug untrue stereotypes of Britishness equally.
Against the notion that a gentleman never punches downward, I set the class system, which means a gentleman never has to bother punching in that direction, because no-one is ever going to threaten him from lower down. The system is already so heavily loaded that the British gentleman never needs to do any of the dirty work. That’s what he has servants for.
For the notion that the British despise bullies, I give you the British Empire, which was the ultimate expression of bullying by a vastly superiorly armed culture against countless others.
As for lack of self awareness… well, I give the above as just two examples of how the British are blind to their own faults.
Add in a bit of parochialism, xenophobia and racism, and the British are not particularly better or worse than Americans. There are plenty of Trump types over here who have reached high office. Viz Marc Francois, the Penfold to the buffoon Johnson’s Dangermouse; the Lord Snooty that is Rees-Smugg… and so on.
So, I agree that Trump is a twat. I disagree that, looking at the current crop of British arseholes in power, we should start throwing stones in that particular glasshouse.
Very well written.
But spare me the sanctimonious drivel!
Sure, your descriptions of Trump are mostly accurate.
But oh my, how forgetful you Brits can be.
“And worse, he (Trump) is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.”
As I choke on my English breakfast tea, ahem…was not colonialism founded on bully-ism, and wholesale looting to build the wealth of the British Empire??
And then the esteemed writer goes on to compare the Brits to David, against Goliath.
Cough splutter, the sanctimonious drivel!
Just like when Tony Blair engineered a viscous war against fleeing defenseless Iraqi’s who had “weapons of mass destruction”, which actually did not exist.
Or when you stole Zululand at gunpoint in the land I live, South Africa. And put thousands of Afrikaans women and children in concentrations campsite to die a miserable death.
So when Trump visited England, and I saw the Poms wailing and gnashing their teeth and shouting “go home”, I was reminded of the proverbial pot having a go at the kettle …
So whilst bashing the boorish Trump may make you feel better, the industrial military corporate complex is the same. Whether it’s brash, arrogant, witless – or if on the other it is “cultured” or “cool” .
very well put, cant believe people continue to support this piece of shit, unfit, misogynist pig. god help this country!!!
In other worlds is A SON OF A BITCH!!! Sorry I am Italian….
All I can say is that Trump is the bottomless pit of evil.
And that’s the truth!
There’s so much fascinating cultural discussion here – as a Humanities teacher I love it – keep it happening!!! thanks “Jonny-comesmarchinghome” and “Lifeisamazing”, not to mention CRA!
But I hope virgiliolanfranchi is not actually sorry to be an Italian …
Trump’s ‘lack of decorum, dignity, and statesmanship’ By Evan Sayet in his article “He Fights
My Leftist friends (as well as many ardent #NeverTrumpers) constantly ask me if I’m not bothered by Donald Trump’s lack of decorum. They ask if I don’t think his tweets are “beneath the dignity of the office.”
Here’s my answer: We Right-thinking people have tried dignity. There could not have been a man of more quiet dignity than George W. Bush as he suffered the outrageous lies and politically motivated hatreds that undermined his presidency.
We tried statesmanship.
Could there be another human being on this earth who so desperately prized “collegiality” as John McCain?
We tried propriety – has there been a nicer human being ever than Mitt Romney?
And the results were always the same. This is because, while we were playing by the rules of dignity, collegiality and propriety, the Left has been, for the past 60 years, engaged in a knife fight where the only rules are those of Saul Alinsky and the Chicago mob.
I don’t find anything “dignified,” “collegial” or “proper” about Barack Obama’s lying about what went down on the streets of Ferguson in order to ramp up racial hatreds because racial hatreds serve the Democratic Party.
I don’t see anything “dignified” in lying about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and imprisoning an innocent filmmaker to cover your tracks.
I don’t see anything “statesman-like” in weaponizing the IRS to be used to destroy your political opponents and any dissent.
Yes, Obama was “articulate” and “polished” but in no way was he in the least bit “dignified,” “collegial” or “proper.”
The Left has been engaged in a war against America since the rise of the Children of the ‘60’s. To them, it has been an all-out war where nothing is held sacred and nothing is seen as beyond the pale.. It has been a war they’ve fought with violence, the threat of violence, demagoguery and lies from day one – the violent take-over of the universities – till today.
The problem is that, through these years, the Left has been the only side fighting this war. While the Left has been taking a knife to anyone who stands in their way, the Right has continued to act with dignity, collegiality and propriety.
With Donald Trump, this all has come to an end. Donald Trump is America ’s first wartime president in the Culture War.
During wartime, things like “dignity” and “collegiality” simply aren’t the most essential qualities one looks for in their warriors. Ulysses Grant was a drunk whose behavior in peacetime might well have seen him drummed out of the Army for conduct unbecoming.
Had Abraham Lincoln applied the peacetime rules of propriety and booted Grant, the Democrats might well still be holding their slaves today.
Lincoln rightly recognized that, “I cannot spare this man. He fights.”
General George Patton was a vulgar-talking.. In peacetime, this might have seen him stripped of rank. But, had Franklin Roosevelt applied the normal rules of decorum then, Hitler and the Socialists would barely be five decades into their thousand-year Reich.
Trump is fighting. And what’s particularly delicious is that, like Patton standing over the battlefield as his tanks obliterated Rommel’s, he’s shouting, “You magnificent bastards, I read your book!”
That is just the icing on the cake, but it’s wonderful to see that not only is Trump fighting, he’s defeating the Left using their own tactics. That book is Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals – a book so essential to the Liberals’ war against America that it is and was the playbook for the entire Obama administration and the subject of Hillary Clinton’s senior thesis.
It is a book of such pure evil, that, just as the rest of us would dedicate our book to those we most love or those to whom we are most indebted, Alinsky dedicated his book to Lucifer.
Trump’s tweets may seem rash and unconsidered but, in reality, he is doing exactly what Alinsky suggested his followers do. First, instead of going after “the fake media” — and they are so fake that they have literally gotten every single significant story of the past 60 years not just wrong, but diametrically opposed to the truth, from the Tet Offensive to Benghazi, to what really happened on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri — Trump isolated CNN.. He made it personal.
Then, just as Alinsky suggests, he employs ridicule which Alinsky described as “the most powerful weapon of all.”… Most importantly, Trump’s tweets have put CNN in an untenable and unwinnable position. … They need to respond.
This leaves them with only two choices. They can either “go high” (as Hillary would disingenuously declare of herself and the fake news would disingenuously report as the truth) and begin to honestly and accurately report the news or they can double-down on their usual tactics and hope to defeat Trump with twice their usual hysteria and demagoguery. The problem for CNN (et al.) with the former is that, if they were to start honestly reporting the news, that would be the end of the Democratic Party they serve. It is nothing but the incessant use of fake news (read: propaganda) that keeps the Left alive.
Imagine, for example, if CNN had honestly and accurately reported then-candidate Barack Obama’s close ties to foreign terrorists (Rashid Khalidi), domestic terrorists (William Ayers & Bernardine Dohrn), the mafia (Tony Rezko) or the true evils of his spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright’s church.
Imagine if they had honestly and accurately conveyed the evils of the Obama administration’s weaponizing of the IRS to be used against their political opponents or his running of guns to the Mexican cartels or the truth about the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and the Obama administration’s cover-up.
So, to my friends on the Left — and the #NeverTrumpers as well — do I wish we lived in a time when our president could be “collegial” and “dignified” and “proper”? Of course I do.
These aren’t those times. This is war. And it’s a war that the Left has been fighting without opposition for the past 50 years.
So, say anything you want about this president – I get it – he can be vulgar, he can be crude, he can be undignified at times. I don’t care. I can’t spare this man. He fights for America!
Fuck me🤦♂️
It is unfortunate that this is a perfect description of Trump!
Having been raised on a very large chicken ranch, I am qualified to say that Trumps mouth is exactly like the butt of a chicken…………..too bad he’s not as smart as one……….
An outstanding piece that belongs in an anthology of Trump critiques!
I would however point out that Trump is only the latest in a long line of sociopathic and psychopathic leaders who have plagued the rest of humanity since at least the dawn of civilization.
If we do not somehow restrict these “aliens” from positions of power we will continue to suffer at their hands. In the past they controlled people through outright violence, brutality and/or the threat thereof.
They were pharaohs, high priests, kings and queens, emperors, knights and others who murdered their way to power.
Today, they are the CEOs of banks, pharmaceutical companies, energy corporations, casino operators, real estate magnates and other “leaders” of capitalism who carefully select from their own to control the masses.
There is no supernatural evil in the world. There are human beings with a brain developmental disorder that robs them of the mirror neurons that give the rest of us the power of empathy.
WE are actually OK. Not great. Not good. Not bad. Just human.
THEY are not.
While Prince Andrew is raping under age girls and Charles was busy fucking Horsey Camilla whilst still with Diana, the British should focus more on getting their teeth fixed than what our President is doing. Just because he doesn’t lift his pinky to their liking while sipping tea doesn’t mean he is a bad leader. He is getting shit done despite what the hob knobbers across the pond might think. Tally-ho, your perspective means nothing to us Trump 2020!