There is nothing about Donald Trump or his personality that is even remotely admirable or likable.
Last edited Fri Jan 8, 2016, 06:26 PM - Edit history (2)
Or redeemable.
Nothing.
You might recall the Seinfeld episode where George and Jerry are discussing Jerry's nemesis/neighbor Newman with utter contempt, when George pauses and says, "Well, he's merry." Against all that he believes about Newman, Jerry is forced to concur: "He is merry, I'll give him that."
In the world of partisan politics, at times we are forced to admit that even the worst of your opponents might have some sort of admirable qualities when one puts everything else aside. Yes, Reagan traded arms for hostages, turned his back on the AIDS crisis, and was otherwise a clueless empty suit in the Oval Office....but he did have that vague Old Spice scented grandfather fogeyness about him where we'd all expect for him to pull out a quarter behind the nation's collective ears. George W. Bush plunged the nation headfirst into Iraq and the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, but there was the whole folksy faux cowboy thing about him that probably wouldn't have been so disconcerting had he not been the most powerful man on the face of the earth. And there was always a sense of classic tragedy behind Nixon's paranoia and feelings of inadequacy.
But that's all in the past. And now you get to this man, the current beast we have to deal with:
And for the life of me, I cannot think of one single quality or attribute about Donald J. Trump that comes off as likeable or admirable. I just can't.
He's ugly, both inside and out, but will insist that he's anything but that. He's not funny or original in his thinking. He's been a horrible husband, a horrible businessman, and really horrible about everything he's ever done in his horrible little life. His self-flaunted riches and fame are the result only of a situation he was born into and not in any way the result of anything he's actually had to work for. He's stupid, with his limited vocabulary that he only seems to use to bring other people down. He fails to put forth any ideas that could at least be praised for their ingenuity or specificity. He wants to kick old ladies out of their homes so he can build tacky casinos on their land. He breaks promises to pay for the medical care of his deceased brother's infant grandchild out of spite against said deceased brother. He gleefully cheers the loss of people's jobs at Macy's because Macy's previously had the gall to discontinue his cheap clothing line. He's a reality TV show star--need I say more?
And now he's using the bully pulpit to self-aggrandize himself in his own little Cluster B narcissistic bubble, and the fuel he's using is hatred and paranoia and whipping people up into witch hunt like frenzies against immigrants and refugees, Hispanics, Muslims, women, and anyone who doesn't genuflect before his own graven image.
So with all that in mind, I can't say but I'm rather non-plussed at the fact that this man has any sort of popular support, that anyone with even a limited amount of intelligence would consider him suitable for the Presidency. For some reason, I'd like to think there's something in the collective human mind that would make us automatically reject such an awful, horrible, terrible human being.
And yet, he survives. And he thrives.
The only other political figure in modern American history where I remain at a complete loss in trying to think of anything remotely positive or admirable about would be Dick Cheney.
But even he played a great Darth Vader. Trump, on the other hand, would be lucky enough to be Jabba the Hut.
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Trump, however, is even more loathsome than W, who was stupid, self-absorbed, lazy, and probably drunk most of the time. But I don't remember that W went out of his way to be cruel, insulting and overtly racist and sexist like Trump. I wish Keith Olbermann was still around to do his Worst Person In The World segments - Trump would probably win almost every time.
If W was a national embarrassment, I don't know what you can call Trump. He's way, way beyond embarrassing.
