I too have held off on posting to this thread. Most of the reasons I abhor Trump have already been stated by all of you, but the bigger reason is hard to explain really.
It was just something I felt in the pit of my stomach when I first saw him on TV. At first I felt a curiosity about him, but it very quickly turned to a strong dislike which just grew and grew with every mention of his name.
I cried the night he was elected because I just knew he was going to do a lot of harm to the country I love. Even now, I just feel sick to my stomach at the very thought of him.
And I gather the current administration is pushing ahead with removing lead pipes and paint. How long before there’s any noticeable effect on the quality of political thought and discourse? (Or will that only ever be a rhetorical question?)
“Today, (Jan. 23 2023) the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing an innovative partnership to leverage existing efforts and funding to meet our commitment to accelerate the replacement of lead pipes by the end of the decade.”
“Today, (Jan, 27 2023) at a White House Summit on Accelerating Lead Pipe Replacement hosted by Vice President Harris, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions and progress to deliver clean drinking water, replace lead pipes, and remediate lead paint to protect children and communities across America. Through historic levels of funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and American Rescue Plan, annual appropriations, and harnessing a variety of tools across federal, state, and local government, the Administration is delivering tangible progress on the groundbreaking Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan announced in December of 2021. The Biden-Harris Administration is working aggressively to replace all lead service lines in America in the next decade.”
The assumption there is that hating someone is unreasonable. It’s not. Hatred is a perfectly reasonable feeling to have for a loathsome person who has harmed something you love.
For me, Trump is trivially worse, no contest. Like I say, I think at least half a dozen things he did were more corrupt than Watergate.
A common argument that I hear is that GWB, say, was a worse president because he got the US into two wars.
But I don’t think Trump is anti-war so much as pro himself. I would not want to see how Trump would have responded to an attack or, heck, just a world leader repeatedly calling him names. He certainly alluded to nukes a lot more than other presidents have (well, apart from Truman), and he clearly doesn’t give a shit about millions of people dying.
Nikon’s crimes were more than Watergate, he committed extortion, money laundering and international war crimes that were arguably treasonous. Here’s a good summary.
I think Nixon was more criminal. I think Trump is more dangerous, though….because his power abuses were more reckless and thoughtless.
Something I’ve said many times is Trump, as a malignant narcissist, doesn’t really do quid pro quo corruption very well……mostly because no matter how much someone does for him or how much money they give him, he doesn’t think he owes them anything. One of my most amusing Trump moments was the indictment of Trump mega-fundraiser Elliot Broidy. Broidy took 6 million bucks from someone that wanted to influence Trump, all he promised in exchange was that Trump would play a round of golf with him.
And Trump ghosted him.
If there is a “deep state” pulling the strings and they’re willing to keep trash like Trump away from the reins of power, then I say: Vive Le Deep State.
The GOP had control of all the government branches the first 2 years of Trump, and they never exposed The Deep State that was secretly controlling them.
Maybe Bill Hicks was right. They were all shown film of the Kennedy assassination from up close, showing how the execution really happened, and they wised up.
I think Trump’s devoted followers understand he’s a con man and accept that. Where they’re deluding themselves is their belief that Trump is conning the liberals. So they support Trump because they believe he’s on their side.
The reality is Trump is conning his own supporters. When Trump was indicated and asked for money, it wasn’t liberals who sent him five million dollars (despite the fact that Trump is a supposed billionaire).
I think my hatred for him stems from his inability to not bullshit. Criminal level bullshit, like his attack on the Central Park 5, and his malicious mischaracterizing of Kolin K’s kneeling, trying to destroy him. From the time he rode the escalator down until now it’s been nonstop. His greatest hits are the times he said, no matter the subject, that no one knew more about it than him. I’m also peeved at the MSM for never pushing back against any of it. Don’t want to lose a seat at the White House press conferences- it’s best to be gas lit in person.
Actually, I’m torn between my hatred for him, and my hatred for the enablers that ever allowed him to become a public figure in the first place.
Other than that, Happy Easter!
I think we’re underestimating the influence of end times religious zealotry here. Some notable evangelical preachers and such have declared that Trump was sent by God to do His Will on Earth. They use various apocalyptic scriptures to prove the belief that Trump is the anointed one who will bring on the End Times. The fact that Trump is so obviously unchristian only means that God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform. Trump is their version of King Darius, if you will.
If their religious leaders say it, to Trump supporters, it must be true.