“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!
