Regular readers of this blog–for that matter, even occasional readers–could hardly avoid noticing that I’m no fan of Donald Trump. When I read through the comments, it’s pretty obvious that most of my readers are equally repelled.
Sometimes, however, it is hard to put into words the (numerous) reasons so many usually civil and thoughtful people become tongue-tied and sputter when asked to identify the characteristics that most appall them–which is why I’m sharing one of the best descriptions I’ve encountered. (If I did embroidery, I’d make it into a wall hanging….)
It’s from an Englishman, and the British do have a way with words.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.
Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
The writer goes on to say that Trump is not merely a spoiled child of wealth, but “A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.” There’s an image I won’t soon forget!
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
I have taken the liberty of quoting most of the post, because it is so perfect–it captures virtually everything I find despicable about Trump and incomprehensible about the people who–despite it all–support him.
Some even, apparently, like him.
That’s the worst part of all of this–the fact that so many Americans can look at the damage being done, not just to this country’s policies, norms and institutions, but to the very ideal of decency, by this fatuous, empty, self-absorbed facsimile of a human, and not recoil in disgust.
I want to ask them: are you raising your children to behave like this?
For that matter, if you were drinking in a bar, and someone at the other end of that bar was bragging ungrammatically and embarrasingly like Trump, wouldn’t you assume there was something really, really wrong with the guy, and edge away?
The last poll I saw gave him a 38% approval rating. It’s shaken my faith in my fellow-humans.
A second MOC on the GOP side of the aisle has called the Frankenstein monster-in-Chief unfit. GOP Senators remain silent. 70+ U.S. Militarily officers warn against an aggressive move against Iran. 62% of us disapprove of this monster. He and the feckless GOP Senate must be replaced.
His high approval rating means the critics don’t know anything, but we already knew that. How many times have movie critics and viewers disagreed widely? 😉
Trump is perplexing at all. Most of us knew who he was and how he’d act. His idea of “swamp” and our concept of “swamp” was very much different.
However, his fracturing of our institutions should be applauded. Want to find out what additional damage Frankie can do to our fraudulent house of cards, elect Joe Biden.
Joe will lose badly, but the fundraising emails will come fast and furious…
We are run by spineless puppets who get their marching orders with a check attached. If the dumbass wanted to help Americans with China, cut the tax breaks to Walmart. Force Wally to increase their minimum wages, so their employees don’t need welfare.
The producers or manufacturers were forced to enter China’s market to produce consumer goods at rock bottom prices. And, since Americans couldn’t even their minimum wages adjusted for inflation, we need cheap plastic disposable shit from Asia.
Have to keep those global wages down, so investors and CEOs benefit.
Let’s cut the shit on Trump and look at where our systems are fractured, flawed, and all-out fraudulent.
That’s much more important than following a crass fella who offends the British.
Thank you for lifting my spirits with your essay, the first thing I read today. Somehow or other, Richard Armour’s book, “It All Started with Columbus” came to mind. I used to read it to my history classes because humour (sic) always helps explain and aid in remembering history. But, there is nothing funny about a bully, and I don’t see how this Jabba the President and his Retrumplican party can be studied that way in the future.
I have been baffled by Trump’s supporters even though countless paragraphs have been written trying to explain why a large chunk on the population finds him tolerable or even admirable.
I have come to only one possible answer for this: maybe the grotesqueness that is Trump makes damaged people feel better about themselves. It’s the old “if a guy like that can become president, then I must not be so bad”.
His every word and action validates racist thoughts and cruel actions on the part of his supporters. He normalizes hate and feeds fear. He is the patron saint of those who feel wronged by the world and need to blame anyone but themselves. He is the poster child for the perpetually disgruntled and his obnoxious behavior gives a free pass to every old, straight, white male who feels the world has passed them by.
If Trump would or could do things that helped advance humanity, I could overlook his extreme failings as a human being. But he has no goal beyond advancing the causes of extreme right-wing ideology: Ensuring that White, Christian men regain their uber power. His concept of “Make America Great Again” means to move us back to a time when anyone not White or Christian were no more than slaves.
This past week Trump has blathered and ranted his mindless lack of knowledge of the basic job of the President of the United States; that of being intelligent and a humanitarian before this country and the eyes of the world. I have never understood any support for him on any level and I find it extremely insulting and ignorant of those who are classifying Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the same low level that Trump operates from. She is calling him out at every turn; she is outing his flaws and his mental instability to his face, something the hundreds of white men in the Senate and the House do not have the balls to do. She is leading the pack of villagers with pitchforks and torches to run him out of the White House and being insulted by her own party and the media rather than garnering support to rid the government of all evidence of him and his administration.
The reference to Frankenstein is appropriate as is every word from the quoted Englishman; so why are so many classifying Speaker Nancy Pelosi with him and painting her with the same brush? No wonder the Democratic party has a growing list of presidential wannabes; they are supporting their own agendas…which is the foundation of Trump’s history and his administration…he has no redeeming qualities.
What is the difference between Trump’s declassifying this country’s Intelligence documents; putting them in the hands of one of his current puppets and Snowden’s release of thousands of E-mails? I am greatly relieved he is out of the country on this Memorial Day weekend which is to celebrate the lives of all military men and women; he would only find a way to insult their service and their memories. Please remember what this holiday signifies.
Happy Memorial Day!
A 38% approval rating??? A 38% of what? All Americans? All Republicans? All those of voting age? All those who voted in the last election?
Back during Obama’s term when I lived in southern Illinois there were no cell phones there due to no cell phone towers. Everyone had a land line. There wasn’t a week that went by that I did not get a phone call from some polling entity. While some of the calls were for commercial products, the majority were political. How screwed up were those polls back then as that county was as far to the right as possible. Polls? Oh, give me a break.
And to quote Sec Rex Tillerson “.. he is a F***ing Moron”
But why do the Reps still hang so tight with Jaba?
A guess: The Russians have been doing Recon on our gov for decades – we know that.
WHAT do they have on these guys? It may be some big stuff.
I can guess with some of them…
…Illicit Sex with men? …Dirty Money deals similar to Trumps? Cash for Laws?
I think they have dirt on the Rep high command and they are USING it.
It seems to be keeping them in line – for now.
The low level Reps seem too dumb to care about our government falling apart.
Team Players I guess.
I worry that this administration will leave that other 62% of Americans too serious and earnest. It seems that satire has no meaning to the earnest and that saddens me.
Until reading today’s blog post it had not occurred to me that trump never laughs, but I quickly recognized that to be true. How very inhuman of him.
He is the biggest of school yard bullies until someone insults him and then he becomes the thinnest skinned, loudest whining little bitch ever. As the President of this country he can’t fire or sue citizens or members of the media for saying things that hurt his feelings and that is something that he has never had to deal with before. He is such a little little man.
I have no respect for any members of the government (or my neighbors) who defend and protect this terrible excuse for a human being that is causing so much damage to our country every day in every way possible.
Theresa; I began researching polls on AOL news sites, they were usually 500 to maybe 1,000 who happened to answer their phone in specific areas of states. Meaningless numbers from unidentified sources primarily done by right-leaning groups. I’m with you; 38% of WHAT?
The many surveys I participate in; both on line and those mailed to me, never appear to post their results…and they all ask for money which I don’t send. Probably why we don’t see their results. I now delete most of those on line and trash those that come in the mail; the cost of mailing today is rising but it keeps the U.S. Post Office in business for which I am grateful.
all kinds of people grew up watching tube,and trying to be like the characters in some sort of dream world.reality t.v. your fired,now mind ya,i watched a few minutes of this drivel,and turned the channel after even a few lines. my whole being looked at graft and greed,and some clown making a mockery of the world,and some people conning the world,or,getting a education in the art….. trump,seriously,long before all this,my disgust for a low life piece of trash was seen. peopel who con people for investments,never helped anyone but himself,or his like buddies who had the money, and pretended on t.v. to be king of the garbage dump. now take people who live in thier little world, where they get to see the glory of someone like trump on t.v. kick people to the curb. we treat neo nazis like a plague,and slamthem, we forgot the mindless rest who antagonize people in the same socio-economic life. thats trumps base. glory to us who can change it all for a moron and chief. god,guts and guns! no one on mainstream media ever went to NYC and did some street interviews prior to trumps glory. and asked,who is trump?
probably every union person would have said some colorful thing about him,and like me,it couldnt be aired. sure im a trucker,my own specialized vocabulary is ready to shut down a conversation,and leave a mark,but i dont fight with gloves on.(even in a physical brawl) i grew up in like streets of newark,n,j, in the 50/60s and we at least knew who was screwwing who,and made a point,everyone else knew.if this class of people who whore for this freak are at 38 percent,we have done a fine job of seeing the dumber get dumber. of course,if this goon wasnt promoted as having any credibility,(or credit) by mainstream media, we would see him as the prick he is. if your not part of a solution,your damn well part of the problem. America didnt come this way in a few years,we have been this way for centuries. and now its stewed by the likes of social media and irresponsable anyone,who feels our nation is sort of play toy,for anyone to kick,for thier own personal needs..
the new yorkers 6/3/19 cover is probably the best sum up of this admin contempt to America, it will be framed at home when it arrives i will pose with it in hand,and will be sent to my so called representives of NoDak, state and fed. with the words,”where do you squat? ”
i really enjoy being the working class,i get to use my finger randomly,and with disgust at what is happening…
best wishes, this memeorial day,and please remember,who gave some or all,and whos next..
I often share your blog postings to Facebook and do so without comment. I wrote a lengthy preface to today’s blog when I shared it. My hope is that the people in my life who call themselves tRump supporters will read this. Sadly I seriously doubt it will change the mind of anyone supporting him though.
This was what I prefaced your post with: I wish FB had a way to bold and enlarge text because I would do this with this headline. I think everyone should read this as it is an apt description. If tRump were not president or a self-proclaimed millionaire and just happened to be an average Joe living in your neighborhood or a co-worker on the job, “Is he a person you would include in your social circle?” I can easily answer that question. I know it has affected my interactions with long time family friends that have proclaimed themselves to be tRump supporters. When I do encounter them somewhere it’s, ” Mike we haven’t seen you in a while or you never come over anymore.” I just let it go without an explanation. Some of these people are people I love dearly and have a deep respect for. I cannot for the life of me understand haw any decent human being can support such a vile and despicable man.
Until I read this I hadn’t noticed that tRump never laughs either.
Trump supporters are masochists who not only wallow in their own bigotry, but revel in being bullied in addition to have the bully-in-chief feed their misery.
From a clinical standpoint, all the lacks and characteristics published by the Englishman describes perfectly a malignant narcissistic personality disorder. Taken to the next level – which is a small step indeed – it describes a psychopath. Not all psychopaths are outright killers, but they are compelled to destroy as much as they can.
Then, in case anyone had any doubts or a need for even more evil than Trump himself, there’s Stephen Miller to fill in those blanks.
Here’s another image (NY Times) for us of Trump in slippers entering the ring at the finale of a sumo wrestling tournament:
“On Sunday, President Trump plans to attend the final match of an annual summer tournament in Tokyo, where he will present a custom-made trophy to the winner, drawing international attention to the country’s national sport.
The four-day presidential visit to Japan comes at a time when sumo, with its ritualized spectacle of oversize men grappling in carefully coifed topknots and loincloths, has come under intense scrutiny for discriminatory practices, hidebound traditions and bullying scandals.”
I have nothing to add to the piece Sheila has quoted today, other than to observe that the Englishman she quoted is right on in his description of Trump, a sick man who is getting sicker, and at our expense. In a narrow sense I can feel sorry for Trump considering the horrible Otherworld he is pathological forced to endure, but I object strenuously to his destruction of our world whatever the pathology of his. He has to go and I have come to believe that we must begin impeachment proceedings now – right now – lest his aggressive ignorance leave us nothing to save.
Trump brings out the worst in himself and others.
Except for this blog, I am a reader of fiction and I’m amazed at how often Trump is mentioned in novels. Sometimes it is in reference to “you’re fired!” Usually it is just as an example of someone very wealthy. I always check the date of publication when I come across his name. So far, all were written before 2016. Authors of fiction who refer to him in the future, in any way, will be revealing something about themselves. Only a fictional character could describe this era as “the good old days!”
Power corrupts good men. More so the weak, the ignorant, the inhuman.
We knew this was coming but it’s worse than we thought and getting more so.
Thanks Sheila!!
Truly a great piece and a very honest one.
If the Brits, justifiably, feel this way about the Mango Mussolini I can’t help but wonder what the other peoples of Western Europe feel about him. I have to qualify that comment though – I mean those that haven’t been driven into the far right, fascist camp yet by of all people, Steve Bannon and his rancid ilk.
All of this reminds me of a line from an old but very great film called “Seven Days in May” which came out in 1964 and is centered on an attempted military coup in this country – “Right now the government of this country is teetering back and forth on top of the very point of the Washington Monument, ready to fall of and break into a million pieces on the sidewalk”. I’m paraphrasing the quote by actor Edmund O’Brien but you can get the import of what his character, a U.S. Senator, said in the film. That’s where we’re at right now. Donald John Trump and those that enable him have brought to this very sad and dangerous point in our country’s history.
“We the People” are the only ones, ultimately, that can fix this and we must find a way to fix this.
Andy Austin, “I have come to only one possible answer for this: maybe the grotesqueness that is Trump makes damaged people feel better about themselves. It’s the old “if a guy like that can become president, then I must not be so bad”. Andy, it breaks my heart but I believe I agree with your above comment. Although I know people who I believed actually just wanted change and would eventually see the real monster in power, but sadly, even those (normally sensible and thoughtful people) still on that bandwagon leave me totally amazed and confused. Yep, wanting change and making it happen can be good reasons for some actions but to stand by and watch the rule of law whittled down to almost nothing stymies and saddens me. What do any (all) these supporters think the outcome will be for them when and if that rule of law no longer exists for those in power? And Jack Smith, you put us right there in the moment again. patmcc, I have had nightmares about what we are going to find out about those very very quiet Republican Congresspeople and their connections to (who knows what and who?) JoAnn Green, as usual, you are right about the pitiful man some call president. If he were in the country this holiday someone would be insulted…let’s just hope he doesn’t kill whatever’s left of our dignity in Japan.
And yes, we need to remember what this celebration is all about…..our armed forces and their unfathomable sacrifices. Thank you all for serving.
Sorry Sheila, again I neglected to thank you for giving us the chance to participate in this great group.
So you have a lot of liberal university grads, trained and indoctrinated to be globalists blather against who will be known as the GREATEST PRESIDENT EVER. I don’t care what the Brits think. Don’t care what the libs and dumbocraps think AMERICA is moving forward. AMERICAS economy is higher than ever.no thanks to nobama,MAGA! No globalisation, let freedom ring.
Thank you, Sheila! Today’s piece is just SO good! Those Brits do have a way with words, don’t they? It does sadden me to think that the man (no name, but we all know) revels in the fact that we are all still talking about him, just him, and therein is his only delight.
As 2020 approaches we need to keep in mind that the Constitution is Trump’s mortal enemy but people like Dan are ours to overcome.
If we do our job at unification of believers in our Constitution, the threat to freedom will be ended but the problem solving challenge just begun.
Hey Dan! You haven’t been reading any real numbers lately, have you? Start by going to back issues of any rag you choose starting in 2009. Then, get back to us with your careful and unbiased analysis.
So, you’re part of the name-calling elites, eh? Don’t worry about looking into any mirrors. You won’t see an image. No, our economy is NOT higher than ever unless you include the marijuana industry expanding across the nation. Poor people remain poor. Minimum wage workers still have to work three jobs to pay the rent and eat. The infrastructure is crumbling. GM is still leaving Lordstown.
Your medications coupled with Fox News have turned you into a closet idiot. “Dumbocrats?” Really? Sure America is moving forward. So did the Pied Piper’s rats. They moved right to their own oblivion. You, sir, are a delusional denier of every truth and an acolyte of every lie.
Maybe you need an intervention too.
It doesn’t surprise me that Trump has such strong support. He is carrying out every dumb thing I’ve heard the home town contingent say over coffee and cigarettes for years. And their support isn’t going to change because they think he is one of them. He is part of their identity, regardless of the fact that he would screw them in a nanosecond. Trump is well known in NY for not paying his bills and I always wondered why he always had no end of craftsmen willing to sign up. I think this might be the reason – well, and his waving money at them.
Hear that, Dan? He would screw you in a nanosecond.
Greetings Vernon. Thank you for responding to Dan’s remarks. He is either rich and lives without working for a living or he is blind to the economic hardships of our working citizens.
Irvin – retired citizen, Korea Veteran, DEMOCRAT since 1954!
I had remarked to friends that he never genuinely laughed and his smiles are merely smirks. What a miserable manchild he is to hide his misery and insecurity with childish insults and nicknames. I am one of the 60+% who will never understand how any empathetic person could support “individual number one.”
I don’t know anything about Dan’s circumstances but clearly if he had enough power he could impose the world that most benefits him on all of us.
That’s what Trump promises him. Power.
This was forwarded to me by a friend and I’m so glad he did. This is the best description I’ve read on Trump in the last 2 years. There have been many that are close but this one is spot on. As an American, I constantly ask myself how can 30% of us actually support this disgusting person as a leader of our nation. Thankfully the majority of us dislike him….a lot. The next election is our only hope of ridding ourselves of the worst president in our 243 years. Personally I’m hoping he continues to eat fast food with lots of saturated fat.
Another display of trump’s shamelessness, declaring a fake emergency to bypass congressional approval to sell billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia – thus proving that he is no more “pro-life” than the man in the moon. Where is the outrage. We know what these weapons will be used for.
Nothing else need be said.
Thank you for sharing this, Sheila.
All the things you just accused Trump of you just did in the article. Especially hurling insults.
Wow! Dan and Ken! Great economy? You can make that argument, if you simply ignore facts. 102 consecutive months of private sector job growth. Unprecedented! 102 months? Since the narcissist has been in office thirty months, where did remainder come from? The narcissist’s success comes from riding the coattails of his predecessors. He does not possess a single redeeming characteristic.
Last October, I attended a screening of Mel Brooks’s “Young Frankenstein” and it got me thinking of a remake – with Mitch McConnell as Dr. Frankenstein, Lindsey Graham as Igor and the current occupant of the White House as The Monster. Could be played either straight or as a farce.
Everything his detractors have said here are – falsehoods.