Staying
true to his nature, Donald Trump recently made the comment that Hillary Rodham
Clinton didn’t look Presidential. It may have been intended as an insult but I
think that he also has acknowledged with his comment that being Presidential is
important. Being Presidential involves something much deeper than appearance.
Being the role model and representative for our nation requires substance,
strength of character, intellect and the ability to make decisions that will
benefit not just citizens but all humanity, as well as the core values of our
nation.
In
some ways this election makes me think of the movie “Being There” Peter Sellers
played the character of Chauncey “Chance” Gardner. It is another of my favorite
movies. Chance ends up on the streets and through chance ends up in a powerful
position. There’s no delicate way to say this; Chance was a simple man. His
intellect was not deep. He was illiterate. He was exactly what he presented to
the world. It was the desire of others that made him so much more in their
eyes. They reinterpreted and redefined what he was. Ultimately though he was
what he was. Chance the gardener. At the end of the movie there was talk about
running him for President. If you haven’t seen the movie give it a try. It’s a
great movie.
When
Donald Trump claimed that he would end up with 95% of the black vote Mike
Pence, his running mate, said while laughing, “Well, that's Donald Trump."
when told of the comment. And yet he’s
polling in the single digits with black voters. I believe that sums up the
character of the man quite succinctly. Life imitating art.
I
want to give just a couple of quick examples to illustrate the point that I’m
getting at.
He’s
a draft avoider yet he denigrated POWs and belittled Gold Star parents. “Well,
that's Donald Trump."
He’s
insulting and abusive to _____________ (Fill in the blank). “Well, that's
Donald Trump."
He
brags that he’s a multi-billionaire that says he gives millions to charity but
won’t release his tax returns. “Well, that's Donald Trump."
In
the primary campaign he claimed he had a large penis because he had large
hands. “Well, that's Donald Trump."
He
has a perfect memory except when he’s giving a deposition for court and can’t
remember yet he made fun of a disabled reporter for not remembering. “Well,
that's Donald Trump."
He
has ownership of his history. He is what he is and is any of that Presidential?
Think of him as a role model and leader of the free world continuing to do the
same things as President. Remember, he has said that he isn’t going to change.
To change would mean that he wouldn’t be Donald Trump and he loves Donald
Trump.
Our
nation can’t afford several bankruptcies. We had a hard time surviving the
economic collapse that we just went through.
We’d
have a President who likes other men seeing his wife Melania naked. (I don’t
want to give the impression that I think there’s anything wrong with Melania
having posed for nude photos. The human form is beautiful in all its
manifestations. What I object to is Trump’s lasciviousness and the gratification
he apparently gets from having other men envy him and covet his wife. I also
believe he and his followers would be as outraged by nude photos of First Lady
Michelle Obama showing up as they are proud of Melania’s.) That’s where we are
and “Well, that's Donald Trump.".
I
think that Donald Trump believes the things that he says even when there isn’t
the remotest chance that they are true and no matter how outlandish. Even if he
later contradicts himself, or if what he says now contradicts something he said
earlier. If he said it then it is true and
there’s no backing down. He lives in the moment.
Trump’s
history, actions and utter lack of qualifications are not what those that vote
for him care to see. I don’t believe that it’s because he’s anti-establishment
either. That’s what people used to say about hippies but they didn’t support
one for President. Trump hob-knobbed with the Washington elite and brags about
buying politicians. He is tied in with the bankers that crashed the country.
That doesn’t make a person an outsider. That makes a person one of the ultimate
insiders, buying favors. Electing him President would put the fox firmly in the
hen house.
Whether
anyone likes it or not Donald Trump has become the “Great White Hope” of the
political world. His followers are predominantly white. His national following
among minorities is miniscule. Those are his demographics. How many of his
followers are white supremacists? How many are homophobic? How many are
misogynists? How many are immigrants? How many are Christian or any other
religion? Again, I don’t know. Half?
35%? We do know that he has their support.
They,
his supporters, either identify with his vulgarity or simply pass it off as him
being Donald Trump. They view him through rose-colored glasses and see him as a
man that speaks to their fears. He can part the ocean, turn the tide. They seem
to believe that he has to have depth but we just can’t see it. He might be a
bully but he seems to be willing to bully the ones that they fear.
Trump
said “I would bomb the shit out of ‘em (ISIS) and his followers cheered. The fact that our nation and others are
already bombing “the shit out of ‘em” and have reduced entire cities to rubble
is immaterial. He said it and, “Well, that's Donald Trump." Their guy said
it. Trump was born to privilege and luxury the average white person can’t
identify with but nevertheless would find desirable. What he says is what they identify with. The
fact that his wife has some nude woman on woman pictures in her past is really
just icing on the cake for some of the guys.
So
here in the real world we have a for real live Chauncey Gardner only he happens
to be a billionaire, he has millions of followers and is positioned to be the
next President of the United States. It isn’t a laughing matter.