Much to my surprise, Trump actually did something right this week. The downside is that he did his usual amount of things wrong, and as for the thing he did right, there’s every chance/likelihood that he will think better of it and maybe even claim that the “fake news” fabricated it.
1). Empathy in chief. Sympathizing with those in need or in dire emotional straits is one of the first things we learn as human beings. If a mother is sitting on her living room couch and sobbing, her pre-verbal toddler will come over to her and hug her to try and provide support. It’s simply ingrained into our psyches.
But not in Trump’s case. An alert newsman snapped a picture of his notes that he was using in order to try and display empathy for the parents whose children had been torn away from them. “What do you most want me to know about your experience?” was one note. “I hear you” another note assured the apparently blind listeners who didn’t notice the notes.
Trump literally could not be counted on to remember even fundamental questions. He had to be reminded to say that he was listening. The most powerful executive in the United States is so self-absorbed, so narcissistic, that he has no idea how to speak to grieving parents. How in the hëll can someone live for seven decades and not learn simple, personal interactions? Has he never had to console anyone? Obviously not. At the most, he’s probably hired people to step in and speak on his behalf to anyone who was ever aggrieved.
How can he be prompted to say he hears you?!? . It’s three stinking words!!! He can’t remember three stinking words? If he didn’t have the note, would his mind drift off and then when snapped to attention he would say, “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” To assure someone that he’s paying attention has got to be the most minimal duty a president would have to undertake and he can’t even do that!!. This man isn’t simply lost as a president. He’s lost as a human being.
2). Teachers shooting off their mouths. . The worst possible answer to people slaying students is to arm the teachers. So naturally that is what Trump endorsed. Not all the teachers, mind you. Just the ones who could be trusted with guns. Because after not having the money to provide even basic school supplies so that teachers have to pay for paper and pencils out of their own pockets, Trump and company want to start arming teachers. Because the next time police come charging into a situation where an armed man is gunning down students, what they really need to deal with are a couple dozen educators waving guns around, because that will make it oh-so-easy to determine who exactly they should be shooting at.
Yet Trump insisted that if teachers are armed, they would have shot the hëll out of the recent shooter in Florida. Maybe. Or they would very likely have wound up hitting other students or teachers and added to the death toll. If they had a hand gun and they’re facing a guy with a machine gun, they’d likely have one chance to shoot down their enemy before he opened fire and turned them into Swiss cheese. You want to bet your life on the aim of a terrified teacher? Good luck with that.
Of course, Trump then later turned around and said he’d hadn’t advocated arming teachers, right before his address at CPAC reiterated the notion. In fact, let’s chat about CPAC for the moment.
3). CPACing them in.. Trump gave an overview of his greatest lies at the conservative gathering, kicking off with the assertion that his administration had “the most successful” first year in the history of presidential administrations. This is, of course, a bald faced lie. His administration has done almost nothing, and the achievements they can point to are going to be screwing people over for years to come. He slammed the Democrats, of course, accusing them of providing blockage to his endeavors when in fact the GOP has been refusing to work with their left wing counterparts. He asserted that he was still going to build his wall that the Mexicans will never pay for, and claims that the Democrats refuse to do anything about DACA even though it was Trump who threw DACA under the bus in the first place. Yet his supporters continue to embrace his lies and tell themselves everything is okay when it very much isn’t.
4). I can’t wait to see the protests. Trump has settled on the day for his idiotic military parade: Veterans Day. His plan is to have a military processional begin at the White House and thread down to the Capitol. I am positive that this will not go unremarked upon: I fully expect hundreds of thousands of protestors to be lining the streets shouting down Trump and his waste of taxpayer money to provide a display of strength that is unprecedented, that nobody asked for and that nobody wants.
5) Sanctions. So Trump decided that this was the perfect time to implement sanctions against North Korea. Because when North Korea is beginning to develop a dialogue with their neighbors and is participating in the Olympics, that’s exactly when to punish them. As opposed to Russia which the Senate and House decreed should have sanctions placed against them and Trump is disinclined to implement them. After all, why punish them just because they helped rig the election to put him in office? What point would there be to that?
Did he do anything right?. For the first time in quite some time, yes, he did. He actually seemed willing to do something about eighteen year olds buying guns and opening fire with them. He advocated raising the age for gun ownership to 21, because it was pointed out that it’s insane to say that kids can’t buy liquor but the can purchase rifles. He also wanted to eliminate bump stocks that transforms semi-automatic weapons into basically machine guns. Of course, this announcement prompted two things: First, sales on bump stocks have skyrocketed, and second, the áššhølëš in charge of the NRA are putting their feet down and are acting in opposition to both notions. Instead they are advocating putting guards at schools, “hardening” them, a new verb that Trump immediately picked up and reiterated. Because Ronald Reagan was surrounded by seven secret service agents when he was shot, so obviously having armed personnel on site is guaranteed to prevent gun assault. Despite Trump’s assurances that the NRA would fall in line, they have in fact stated that they oppose raising the age limit of gun ownership. Nor do they support the banning of bump stocks. So the question is, will Trump really act in opposition to NRA wishes or will he fold? My guess: the latter, because that would be consistent. Which is a shame. He could actually do something positive with his presidency if he’s willing to stand up to the NRA, but it’s unlikely that will happen.
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