First: Lies, lies, lies, yeah. If anyone calls Trump on his lies, he claims he was joking. Sometimes his staff claims he was joking, to try to soften the blow of whatever inane statement he made. Sometimes he comes back with a refusal to soften—or back pedal on—his words, even if it means contradicting his staff. “I wasn’t joking.” He’s even said, “I don’t kid,” while at other times protesting that “It was a joke.” Me think he doth protest too much…and I, for one, don’t think his jokes are funny.
Second: Complete and utter disregard for the lives of others. When the information on Corona Virus was known, he played it down. When the media pushed him, “why did you play it down?” he replied, “I always play it down.” He explained that he didn’t want to cause a panic. The members of Trump’s cult see that as a reasonable explanation. Reasonable people do not.
Third: Within his disregard for the lives of others, there is also a general, pervasive disrespect: a lack of respect for minorities, veterans, and women in general. (A gentle reminder here that women are veterans, too. And minorities. Ah, the intersections of identity). I will explore each of these further.
Let’s look at just a few examples of Trump’s hideous words and behavior, and his blatant disrespect for humans in general.
a. Veterans. His horrible treatment of veterans, with no admiration, appreciation or respect. He has called them losers. “I like winners.” To Trump, John McCain was no hero because he was a prisoner of war. Trump did not want a disabled veteran to be in the sight line of a camera because “people don’t want to see that. It makes them uncomfortable.”
Let’s not ignore the controversy over him not going to the cemetery visit outside of Paris. His version: wasn’t safe to fly. Press version: not true. (He sent someone else, Chief of Staff John Kelly, who is also a retired general, in his place.) Kelly traveled the 50 miles by car to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in Belleau, France. People who were there that rainy day claimed that Trump didn’t want to mess up his hair. Maybe. Maybe it was unsafe to fly. Maybe it wasn’t. You can be the judge; I wasn’t there. (Neither was Trump).
b. Women. He can grab a woman by the pussy. He can grab a woman by the ass. When asked what he has in common with Ivanka, he says, “I’d say sex” and offered the disgusting explanation of how if she weren’t his daughter, he would date her. No matter how beautiful someone’s daughter is, no parent should ever, ever say that. He then said that “I probably shouldn’t say that.” He’s right. When criticized, he said he was joking. Which is it, Donny Boy? You were joking? Or you don’t joke?
c. Minorities. About the Black Lives matter movement, he framed everything as a “riot,” even when discussing the peaceful protests throughout the country. (There were both.) Though not every event was peaceful, I’ll concede, Trump never made any attempt to acknowledge the pain of the African American community, be it historic or current. Trump never made any attempt to understand African Americans. Trump never apologized for the violence of the police that led to Floyd’s murder, as well as many others. When Trump did not know what Juneteenth was, his PR people suggested that he can’t be expected to know everything. Of course not, no person should be expected to know everything. However, particularly in a time of tensions, mounting anger and pain, a President should know about such a significant event in history. A President of a “free country.” People praise Trump for establishing an anti-lynching law. Again, I concede that was a positive thing. Should have been done ages ago. Then again, um, lynching is already illegal, because it is murder, so…
Trump’s treatment of Mexican immigrants to the United States is just one more clear reveal of his racism. “When they send their people, they’re not sending their best.” Calling immigrants rapists, murderers. Now, thanks to his inept handling of the Corona virus, a lot of people from Mexico don’t even want to come to the United States. It’s too dangerous.
d. The disgusting behavior of Trump as he mocked a reporter with a disability is enough (as if the others weren’t) to show Trump’s true colors. What is sad to me is how many of his supporters (or others) found it funny. Like “joking” about the sexual attractiveness of one’s daughter, this, too, is just plain wrong. So is saying the woman who accused him of rape wasn’t “his type.”
e. Trump has done little to support the causes of the GLBTQ community. At best, like much of Trump’s work, his record speaks for itself. Kind of. It’s sort of a mixed bag, I think. While some praise him as supportive, others complain that he has done nothing to support GLBTIQ rights. On the one hand, Trump appointed Judd Deere, an openly gay man, as Deputy Press Secretary. On the other, the Trump administration has reversed health protections for Trans people. In an article in the USA Today, the Log Cabin Republicans (a GLBT group that did not endorse Trump in 2016, but is endorsing him in 2020) stated “To be treated equally, fairly and justly under the law is our goal, and we know that ‘Inclusion Wins’ is a mantra we share with the president.” I like the mantra. I just haven’t heard it from Trump. Before the 2016 election, Trump waved a GLBTQ pride flag at a rally…but he also chose Mike Pence as his Vice President.
So, no, I will not be voting for Trump because of his disrespect for other humans: women, minorities, veterans, people in the GLBTQ community, people with disabilities, and, of course, within all of those overlapping identities.
Fourth: Money. They say that money is the root of all evil. They are wrong. Actually, the Bible says “the love of money is the root of all evil,” which is a little different. (1 Timothy, 6:10). Any way you slice it, though, Trump loves money. He talks about it. He lusts after it. He lies about it. Depending on whether you are the IRS or a lender, Trump has financial losses in the millions. Or is it gains? Depends on if he’s paying taxes or selling his snake skin oil as the best manager, the best business man ever. You’ll have to ask him. I’m not sure you can trust his answer, though. Please see number one.
Fifth: His international relationships. As someone with a background in communication, I believe, strongly, that our country’s leaders must be able to meet with, speak to, and create relationships with other leaders. They have to. I’m even okay with the notion of meetings “with no conditions.” That’s almost completely okay with me, just as long as there is one condition: civility. That said, there is a difference between meeting with and fawning over. There is a difference between polite respect and “hey, let’s hang out at my house and listen to records while we make out on the couch.”
When it comes to Trump’s relationships with other countries, he is all over the place. Not surprisingly, he has a tough guy attitude, sometimes, and a demure approach at others. His messages to the international community, particularly with China, are both contradictory and inconsistent. Let’s take a look, shall we?
a. On the one hand, through Trump’s lens, China is evil. On the other, we “have a great relationship with China.” (Mostly they are evil, though). In 2016 “I love China.”
In 2011, “We can’t allow China to continue to rape our country.” 2012: “Global warming was created by China.” As far as the evil depiction goes, the Corona virus is all China’s fault: “China virus.” “Chinese virus.” “Wuhan flu.” He has both praised China for its transparency about the Corona Virus and blamed them for their lack of it. (The Spanish flu, incidentally, originated from a man from Kansas, USA. True. You can look it up.)
Ah, but then again, Trump’s admiration for its authoritarian leader is obvious, particularly since Xi Jinping succeeded in abolishing presidential term limits, thus creating a government where he could stay in place indefinitely. Instead of expressing disgust, Trump was impressed by Xi Jinping: “He’s now president for life, president for life. And he’s great,” and “Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot sometime, too.” (Reuters).
b. When it comes to immigration from other countries or the African continent, well, you’re out of luck: Trump would be happy to see more people coming from Norway, but watch out if you are from Haiti or countries in the African continent, who, by Trump’s words, are “‘shithole’ countries.” (NBC, numerous other sources, and, yes, even Fox news). You can tell the President’s remarks are bad when the press can’t even use his own words without bleeps lines, stars, or what-have-you. Then again, that happens a lot with Trump. Just as an aside, his “tough language,” “locker room talk” is seen by some, particularly those in his base, as just “telling it like it is.” Miss Manners and (most) professionals in the business world disagree. It appeals to his base, though.
c. Admiration for dictators and thugs. Trump has praised: Brazil’s Bolsonero, Xi Jinping of China, Kim Jong-un of North Korea, and, of course, Vladimir Putin.
- Russia. Ah, Russia, Russia, Russia. Instead of decrying Putin’s behavior (whether for interfering in the 2016 election) or the bounty on the heads of America’s military, Trump has a strange fascination, even an admiration, for Putin. At some point in history, Russia went from “Enemy” to “Adversary.” Under the Trump Presidency, Russia is more like a “Friend. (Hey, wanna come over and listen to my record album while we drink cherry sodas?” Since his Presidency, Trump’s admiration for Putin (as well as plenty of other dictators and/or other evil people), has been well noted by the press, by thinking people, and by the evil dictators themselves.
For these 5 reasons (and more), I will not be voting for Trump. And neither should you.