This was supposed to be my first blog entry after the World Cup, but somehow, it slipped through without my noticing.
But this is an important one, because it illustrates how President Trump (such a depressing combination of words, I know) says things that he can always claim he does not mean literally, that he was joking, or that the words were taken out of context. Yet, what he actually says has potentially huge ramifications, and is horrifying.
This story was brought to my attention by my brother, so here's a shout out to him. Indeed, this is a chilling story that all Americans should notice and, frankly, be vehemently opposed to (at least if they care about things like freedom, democracy, and liberty). Somehow, though, it seems that Trump supporters, once again, have turned an all too convenient deaf ear and blind eye.
Surprised?
Nah, neither am I.
Okay, so I wanted to keep away from political posts during the World Cup. We have to give ourselves a break every now and then, and let's face it: the state of world politics since about...oh, the summer and especially the fall of 2016, with Brexit and then especially with the election of Donald Trump into the White House, has been grim and downright depressing.
It was a nice break, and I think I was successful in not posting anything about Trump, or any of the other nonsense that obviously made headlines. But now, it is time to get back to it, right?
Sigh.
This kind of feels like a Monday morning. The first morning back after a long and wonderful vacation. Summer vacation, as a child, and the first day back in school, perhaps.
Ah, well. What can you do?
There is one story that, to me, defined the essence of the problem with Trumpism, and Trump's unique and quite indirect comments that seem to essentially threaten the institutions of our democracy - what remains of it, anyway.
No exaggeration to suggest that this is how fascism begins.
But this is an important one, because it illustrates how President Trump (such a depressing combination of words, I know) says things that he can always claim he does not mean literally, that he was joking, or that the words were taken out of context. Yet, what he actually says has potentially huge ramifications, and is horrifying.
This story was brought to my attention by my brother, so here's a shout out to him. Indeed, this is a chilling story that all Americans should notice and, frankly, be vehemently opposed to (at least if they care about things like freedom, democracy, and liberty). Somehow, though, it seems that Trump supporters, once again, have turned an all too convenient deaf ear and blind eye.
Surprised?
Nah, neither am I.
Okay, so I wanted to keep away from political posts during the World Cup. We have to give ourselves a break every now and then, and let's face it: the state of world politics since about...oh, the summer and especially the fall of 2016, with Brexit and then especially with the election of Donald Trump into the White House, has been grim and downright depressing.
It was a nice break, and I think I was successful in not posting anything about Trump, or any of the other nonsense that obviously made headlines. But now, it is time to get back to it, right?
Sigh.
This kind of feels like a Monday morning. The first morning back after a long and wonderful vacation. Summer vacation, as a child, and the first day back in school, perhaps.
Ah, well. What can you do?
There is one story that, to me, defined the essence of the problem with Trumpism, and Trump's unique and quite indirect comments that seem to essentially threaten the institutions of our democracy - what remains of it, anyway.
No exaggeration to suggest that this is how fascism begins.
What makes Trump dangerous is how casual he makes it all seem, with his obviously informal rants and tweets, or like when he "jokes" that the US should think about appointing presidents for life, or when he suggests that he wants his people to stand and respect him like the North Koreans supposedly respect Kim Jong-un. Now this, where Trump is suggesting, in casual language and not through any official policy (yet), that critics of him and his administration had 'better just take it easy.' If that's not a veiled threat (and one that he can easily deny or claim to have been taken out of context), then I don't know what is.
We are seeing the steady and clear erosion of democracy and our Constitutional traditions, and Trump fans are applauding and stomping their feet every step of the way.
What true patriots.
Here, specifically, is what the president said, and how he said it:
"I hope the other side realizes that they better just take it easy. They better just take it easy because some of the languages, some of the words you – even some of the radical ideas, I really think they’re very bad for the country."
Trump told Bartiromo, "Some of the things said are terrible. And, you know, it's our people are so incredible." He also praised his supporters.
"You know, there's probably never been a base in the history of politics in this country like my base."
Well, that much at least is true. There truly has never been anything seen in this country's history like Trump's base. Where he and most of the country, and indeed most of the world, would strongly disagree is whether or not that's such a good thing. When Trump says things like this, it sure does not feel like it.
Trump says critics of his administration 'better just take it easy' with language, 'radical ideas' By ALEXANDER MALLIN Jul 1, 2018:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-critics-administration-easy-language-radical-ideas/story?id=56297174
Your observation that he manages to deflect a lot of criticism with claims that outrageous comments on his part were intended as a joke is spot on. I'm convinced that he uses that approach to continually test the waters to determine the boundaries of what he can get away with: "There wasn't a whole lot of pushback; I may actually be able to implement this at some point", or "There was a lot of pushback; looks like I'll have to claim I said that in jest." The danger of course is that this could well prove to be part of Trump's long-term legacy: future presidents seeking to augment their powers beyond constitutional provisions may very well be tempted to apply the same cynically calculating strategy. Worse, anyone possessing a greater degree of intelligence, tact and emotional maturity than Trump would likely be far more adept at undermining and subverting democracy than he is. It's a sobering prospect.
ReplyDelete