Friday, February 17, 2017

Anti-Semitism Question Directed at Trump is Answered With Boasting About Election Win

President Trump's administration thus far, not fully four weeks in office, has been incredibly polarizing thus far, and the controversy that this new regime has generated. There has been unprecedented opposition right from the beginning. A foreign head of state stood the president up, cancelling a meeting. Already, a high-ranking member of the administration has resigned in disgrace, and there are numerous scandals looming. The administration has been pro-active, although several of their actions have already been seriously challenged in the courts, particularly by civil rights groups. They have opponents within his own party. There are already whispers of possible impeachment, and there has been at least one Republican who seems to take this possibility seriously, as well.

To most, it seems disastrous.

Yet, Trump is describing his presidential administration in glossy terms, and suggested to the whole world that things are going swimmingly.

Here, specifically, is what he said:

“I open the paper and I see stories of chaos, chaos. It’s the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite not being able to get my cabinet approved.” 

Yes, you read that right. Trump is describing his administration thus far as being "like a fine-tuned machine". Indeed, that was his description for it,

The president was also asked a question by an Israeli reporter concerned about what seems like a spike in anti-Semitism in the United States since his election.

Here, specifically, is the question that was posed to the president:

"Mr. President, since your election campaign and even after your victory, we've seen a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States. And I wonder, what do you say to those among the Jewish community in the States and in Israel and maybe around the world who believe your administration is playing with xenophobia and maybe racist tones." 

This is how President Trump responded: 

"President Trump: Well, I just want to say that we are, you know, very honored by the victory that we had -- 316 electoral college votes. We were not supposed to crack 220. You know that, right? There was no way to 221, but then they said there's no way to 270. And there's tremendous enthusiasm out there. I will say that we are going to have peace in this country. We are going to stop crime in this country. We are going to do everything within our power to stop long simmering racism and every other thing that's going on. There's a lot of bad things that have been taking place over a long period of time. 

"I think one of the reasons I won the election is we have a very, very divided nation, very divided. And hopefully, I'll be able to do something about that. And I, you know, it was something that was very important to me. As far as people, Jewish people, so many friends; a daughter who happens to be here right now; a son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I think that you're going to see a lot different United States of America over the next three, four or eight years. I think a lot of good things are happening. 

"And you're going to see a lot of love. You're going to see a lot of love. OK? Thank you."

Huh?

Sorry, but does this even really qualify as an answer?

It is an important question, too, because one of the major criticisms repeatedly leveled against Trump and his administration has been that it is not only polarizing, but that it has entrenched hatred and division within the population, and that people are not only growing more comfortable with their prejudices, but are increasingly bold in declaring their prejudices. Not surprisingly, this had led to a spike in hate crimes, as well, and hate organizations seem to be appearing everywhere.

So, this was an opportunity for Trump to definitively denounce these hate groups, and to show, indeed, that he was what he claimed to be: the president for all Americans.

As far as I am concerned, he failed abysmally at that task, and by not answering the question about anti-Semitism, by skirting around the answer, he leaves still more questions unanswered, and raises still more alarm bells.

What a disaster this guy is, as well as his supposedly "well-tuned machine" that supports him!






Here are the articles that got me on this topic to begin with:


Donald Trump insists presidency is 'fine tuned machine' after extraordinary 75-minute press conference in which he attacks press by  Barney Henderson  and Harriet Alexander in New York and David Lawler in Washington,  17 February, 2017:




President Trump Was Asked About Anti-Semitism. He Responded by Talking About His Win Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 15, 2017:



Donald Trump was asked a question about anti-Semitism. His answer was about the electoral college. by Chris Cillizza February 15, 2017:


1 comment:

  1. We are living in an unacceptable state of affairs. Please can't we impeach this muppet???

    ReplyDelete