Rejecting the "Trump-era Normal"

“We are not going to succeed as a country unless we’re united. In the past, once the presidency was won, our new president would try to unify the country and make everyone feel represented. Not Mr. Trump. He seems to be trying to divide us”. I posted this sentiment on Google Plus today and that’s the way I see it.

Recently, I posted this to Google Plus: “Some things happening on Capitol Hill are just not right! We don’t have to accept what some folks call the new normal in Washington. Let’s remember that.”

Let’s talk some more about this so-called “new normal”- which I call the “Trump-era normal”.

Trump’s constant attempts to divide Americans based on archaic concepts of race and cultural differences are “played out” and are not a normal path to take for an American president. However, sadly, it does represent the Trump-era normal.

Many of us feel alienated from the Trump-led administration. We nervously wait while wondering when the next Trump bomb is going to explode, due to the erratic and irresponsible words and actions of a man who acts more like an underworld kingpin, than the president of the United States.

Recently,Trump played a high-stakes game of Missle Russian Roulette with the North Korean despot, Kim Jung Un. Since becoming president he fired Sally Yates, Preet Bahara, and James Comey, all of whom were uniquely positioned to pursue him legally. Trump has often shown little regard for some of our best allies around the world, while he sidled up to known strongmen like Putin of Russia, and Duterte of the Phillipines.  Notably, he heaped praise upon Kim Jung Un and Vladimir Putin, while putting down our own past leader, Barack Obama. These actions, and more, are not normal for a president of the USA. But again, they represent the Trump-era normal.

Donald J. Trump very rarely accepts responsibility for his own flawed decisions or mistakes. It’s always someone else who is worse or has done worse things than him. Bill Clinton did worse things or said worse things. Barack Obama did this, Hillary did that. This behavior is more reminiscent of the preteen on the school yard than the president of the free world. This is not normal for a true leader. However, it is the Trump-era normal.

In the era of the Me-too movement, the likes of Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Charlie Rose, Tavis Smiley, John Conyers, Roger Ailes, Anthony Weiner, and more have been brought to justice or lost their jobs for sexually related indiscretions. Yet despite the many allegations against Mr. Trump, he is still employed as the president of the USA. There are legal issues pending against Mr. Trump, but so far there have been no sexually related legal judgments or penalties placed against him after several years.

The number of serious accusations and lawsuits made against Trump are enormous-unprecedented for an American president. Still he swaggers around spouting his signature rhetoric to his admiring supporters as if everything is fine. However, the majority of Americans writhe in pain, and clench their teeth daily because of his oftentimes impulsive and questionable actions. Many of his impulsive and questionable actions can be said to be not normal, but they are Trump-era normal.

But, why should we expect anything else from Donald Trump? You will recall that when he bulldozed his way onto the political scene, he deliberately set-the-stage for his rise to power. We all remember how he alienated the press and called the press purveyors of “fake news”.  He said that congresspersons on Capitol Hill were know-nothing, do-nothings. He made bogeypersons out of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. When he negatively invokes their names in his rallies, the crowd goes wild. He has his supporters in the palms of his hands, so that when he states half-truths and even lies to them, somehow they believe him, and continue to rally to his cause. His behavior on the stump at some of his rallies appears more reminiscent of Adolf Hitler, than Abraham Lincoln. This is not normal for an American president. However, this is the new-normal for President Donald J. Trump.

Trump’s crony, Devin Nunes, hijacked the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia Investigation and came out with findings (really bogus findings) favorable to Trump. After silencing the Democrat minority, the Committee found “no evidence” of aTrump collusion with Russia. The Democrats claim that the “majority Republicans” did not allow them to present certain witnesses and did not fully question witnesses in a real truth-seeking effort.  It appears that the Nunes-led Committee wanted to force a conclusion favorable to Trump. They were never interested in “uncovering the truth”. This is America. Such things should not be allowed. This is not normal for us. However, yes, it is the Trump-era normal.

Trump’s handling of Charlottesville, DACA, Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the NFL protests, and more, was not normal, enlightened, and sensitive leadership for an American president, but under Trump it represented his new normal.

The Trump-era normal may be good for Trump’s questionable agenda, but it is not good for America.  It diminishes our status in the eyes of the world, and decreases our respect abroad. We must reject the Trump-era normal and return to the values that have historically made America great.

If we have to Dump Trump in an effort to reject the Trump-era normal, then so-be-it!