Trump Is My President
Trump is My President
Trump is my president. I don't like it, but I accept it. I thought the winner of the popular vote was a much better choice. How did this happen?
Most people did not think this country could elect a man who offended multiple minorities, did not have the full support of his own party, had highly questionable business and personal practices not to mention an out of control twitter account. However, I would rather believe that he received the necessary votes in the required number of states to gain the Electoral College victory than to think that a foreign government tampered with the vote count. It is still disturbing to note Trump's fascination with Putin, a dictator with a heinous past, and Russia's obvious preference for Trump's election.
This odd relationship can be explained in terms of money (nothing new there) and flattery. Putin wants the go-ahead on his $500 billion oil exploration project with Exxon in Russia, and Trump is easily flattered. This lucrative oil deal was blocked by the Obama administration (via Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) when sanctions were levied against Russia for their not-so-nice intervention in the Ukraine. Now Putin has Trump on his side plus ex-CEO of Exxon Rex Tillerson as the new Secretary of State. Maybe the deal will go through now. Who knows? [Interesting side note: Rex Tillerson and I were in Longhorn Band together at UT in the mid-70's. Little did I know at the time I was in close-order drill with the eventual recipient of the 2013 Order of Friendship awarded by Vladimir Putin!] If Trump has his way we will never know the full extent of his business ventures in foreign countries or how he profits from them.
Typical politicians try to say what people want to hear and if successful they reward their supporters. Part of Trump's original appeal was that he was from the outside - no politician! He learned fast. He was also praised for speaking his mind. His campaign quickly learned that this was not always a good thing.
Trump's faux pas' have been too numerous to count, and yet people who desperately wanted to believe in an anti-Obama savior didn't seem to be bothered. He bullied his way to the Republican nomination by name-calling and belittling his opponents while making vague promises with no substance. (It's going to be huge! It will be the best! We are going to win so much!) His ego knows no bounds. He even proudly boasted at one point that he could shoot someone in Time Square without losing votes.
So who elected Trump? Clearly the White Supremacists are pleased with his election. That alone is disturbing. Many of them seem emboldened now, another concern. What really puzzles me is that these groups often claim to be Christian. Christianity is based on a brown-skinned man from the Middle East. Ironic, huh? I guess there's some truth to the saying, “People used to privilege view equality as oppression.”
Another group is anyone who hated the Obama regime. Enough said. I can respect political differences when they are based on fact and reason.
Apparently, Trump struck a nerve with working class people. I fear this group will be the most disappointed of all. Trump promised to bring back jobs that will never come back, many due to automation more than cheap overseas labor. Republicans have always been good at convincing people to vote against their best interests. I predict that Trump's “winning” business deals will benefit the upper echelon much more than the working class. I sincerely hope that they (working class people) will somehow benefit from his policies. We'll see.
I am most disappointed in the support Trump received from evangelical Christians, 81% of whom voted Trump/Pence. I suspect the main catalyst for this support is the abortion issue and future of the Supreme Court. I know they mean well and many of them are my friends, but I see no evidence that Donald J. Trump is a Christian. His own actions and words belie that fact. As a novice politician, he has done a half-decent job at pretending to have a faith. He has met with groups of pastors and closed his eyes when they prayed for him. I guess when you want to believe badly enough you can overlook the fact that he has said he doesn't need to pray for forgiveness, he mispronounced a basic scripture source (indicating he has had no biblical exposure/training), his campaign was filled with untruthful statements (3 fact checkers went insane trying to keep up with all of them), and he exhibits none of the qualities that come from the teachings of Jesus. His university was a fraud and his “charitable” foundation is a sham. His giving record is strictly tied to politics or profit. He promised $1 million to veterans, but only sent the money after a reporter pointed out that it hadn't happened. Even his tax records show that - - wait, he still won't reveal his tax returns. How long does an audit take, and if it really happened why didn't he ever provide proof (letter from the IRS)? Now he hopes that this issue goes away. He says no one is really interested except the media. Really?? I'm interested!!
I think Trump is too thin-skinned to be an effective leader. He takes every criticism personally and immediately lashes out. He can't seem to help himself. Among the many examples: his treatment of a former Miss Universe (how did you know?), Meryl Streep (so overrated!), SNL skits (not even funny!), various congressmen who've spoken against him (Pocahontas Warren, cryin' Schumer…), and of course, the media! He hates it when the media reports facts, in spite of the fact that his campaign got more free media coverage than anyone's from the start, and until recently they let many of his misstatements pass unchallenged. Trump opponents are asked to accept his presidency and move on, yet our President cannot get over the facts that Hillary Clinton got almost three million more votes, and the crowds at his inauguration paled in comparison to Obama's in 2008. His attempts to discredit these facts and to muzzle the media are more reasons for concern. Free speech anyone? How would Putin handle this…?
And then there are the tweets! They are often knee-jerk reactions to criticisms, not well thought out, and I'm sure his staff is tired of trying to explain them. They show his shallowness of thought and lack of self-control. In fact I believe his campaign even took away his twitter privileges a week before the election so he would not blow the sudden advantage he gained with the FBI's ill-timed, non-significant announcement about Hillary's emails.
I predict that Trump will go down as the greatest con man in history. His supporters thought they were electing a cross between Moses and John Wayne to lead them. Instead, it looks more like PT Barnum and Barney Fife. (My apologies to Barney Fife fans.)
America is a great country. It always has been. It has its flaws and areas that need serious attention, but I do not recognize the severely broken, carnage-strewn landscape described by Trump. I do not believe “America first always” is a good thing. Isolationism at a time in history when the whole world is so intertwined is neither healthy nor practical. Trump shows little understanding of global politics, and he shows little desire to learn. His early interactions with other world leaders are just embarrassing. Sad.
Trump is my president. I don't like it, but I accept it.
enough
