This morning, the New York Times ran an editorial by Nicholas Kristof, titled “Gritting our Teeth and Giving President Trump a Chance,” the premise of which is one of the dumbest fucking things I’ve ever seen in that publication.
Firstly, giving Trump anything is a ridiculous notion. He’s just been given the White House. He’s been given everything he’s ever had, earned almost none of it, and lost most of it. Giving him even more, especially when the gift is something as valuable as what remains of our hopes for the future, seems asinine in the face of that.
Related: Calendar of upcoming Portland resistance & rallies.
That it’s the New York Times asking for such generosity is even more ridiculous. The Times was there in the early 1970s as he and his father wasted their chance to not be racist slumlords. The Times was there in the 1980s as Trump used junk bonds to inflate his wealth at the expense of the poor, spending said wealth on harmful frivolities like full-page ads calling for the execution of innocent black teenagers. The Times was there in the 1990s, watching closely as his businesses failed, his marriages failed, and the stories of his ignorant, ugly nature kept bobbing to the surface of the ruinous sewage left in his wake.
Donald Trump is a 70 year-old man who has very publicly squandered the multitude of chances dropped in his lap by virtue of his privilege. His persona and behavior remain unchanged. He has learned nothing from any failure he’s suffered. This is documented fact. The Times is one of the organizations that’s helped document it. They were right fucking there watching it as it was happening! In real time! We know who he is as a person, and why he behaves that way partially due to the Times reporting.
When Barack Obama took office in 2008, and “give him a chance” was requested of unhappy citizens then, there was an accounting of change within the man and his decision-making processes that could be pointed to. There were examples of personal growth, instances where work done for the benefit of other people could be readily seen. Many could (and did) disagree with the degree of the arc, but you couldn’t deny there was one. Certainly nothing at all like the flat line of selfish debauchery Trump has been slouching along for over 40 years.
Giving Obama a chance wasn’t just a blind act of goodwill automatically extended without regard for past history. There was meaning behind it, as there should be meaning behind all extensions of something so valuable as personal trust, a thing that we teach our youngest must be earned if it’s to have any worth at all. If extending Donald Trump that trust is made mandatory, it becomes meaningless.
That’s not to say I don’t have some trust in President Trump (the act of typing that out is still extremely disorienting, and likely will be for some time.) I trust that all the vindictive, hurtful intentions he announced while campaigning are things he will be pursuing. His personal history strongly suggests this. He and his administration will come for the press, for Planned Parenthood, for your Muslim sisters, your queer brothers, and any and all Mexican relatives in between. I trust that he will immediately test the checks and balances built into our government to see how best to abuse the powers of his office, as many a predecessor (including the most direct one) has done.
I trust that a Republican-led government, the members of which have been party to the greatest prolonged act of obstruction in congressional history, will finally remember the levers of government as something other than a place to lay their pouting bodies, and begin manipulating them. I trust that they will, in cooperation with the judiciary, find ways to enable their President’s abuse in exchange for his rubber stamp on whatever pork best serves their own self-interests.
I trust that for the first two years of his term he and our Congress will essentially regard us not as constituents, but currency. They will spend us. He will come for our most vulnerable, and they will let him, so long as they are assured his signature on whatever bill they want passed in return. We will be spent as part of a chain of deals with one of the most spectacularly awful businessmen of the modern age, a man most people have regretted ever dealing with almost immediately upon entering into business with him.
I trust in that regret skyrocketing nationally in contrast to the steep decline in our economy, as people—who decided to go along with this failed casino operator and his sexist, racist, xenophobic and homophobic nature for the sake of getting a little extra money in their bank account—watch him install in key cabinet positions the predatory financial elites and political lobbyists who are largely responsible for their prolonged economic hardships.
I trust that the above will be the story of our first two years under President Trump.
So no, I will not be giving him any of my hope, trust, or any chances I have in my back pocket. I will reserve those chances for the political opponents to the veteran congresspeople whose seats are vulnerable to flipping in two years. I will give them a chance to stop making terrible business deals with President Trump and to exemplify their titles as representatives of the people—not just “congressmen and women” or faceless/nameless “government officials and lawmakers,” but our representatives as citizens—and fight against his destructive ideals and his utterly inept business sense.
I will be reserving any and all chances I have to give politically for those who are on the midterm ballots, challenging useless incumbents because those chances are the best chances at ensuring a viable future for this democracy.
He’s had 40-plus years to make good on undeserved chances to prove he’s worth a single shit in any aspect of his tacky gold-plated existence, and he has failed to make good even once. I will not give him another. I’m giving those chances to those who will fight him.
On everything.
This is an excellent piece. Not only does it factually state just how big of an entitled, horrible man-child of privilege Trump really is, but it then frames the conversation by asking “why would any sane person trust such a man-child?”.
Bobby,
You make many solid and cogent points, but those only connect with educated and informed citizens. America is practically running on empty in that department.
That said, the Dems have a ton of soul searching to do. To lose to scum like Trump, Hillary clearly couldn’t connect with half of the country on any level. The Dems fucked up royally when they anointed her as their candidate and effectively squashed Bernie’s legitimate chance to win the nomination.
At some point, the left needs to understand that they can’t legislate true equality or inclusion. They did a horrible job explaining to poor white trash, that Trump (and his ilk) are largely responsible for their socio-economic standing and lack of opportunity. They did a horrible job of explaining to the same white trash that are cashing in on entitlements, and stand to lose quite a bit when Trump starts slashing social safety nets, funding for real education, and consumer protection services.
It all starts with quality education for everyone. And by quality, I mean teaching critical thinking, math, science, and true literacy. Institutionalized ignorance is America’s cancer, and it metastasized Tuesday night. But don’t gloat Dems. You’re also front and center on this issue too. Under the microscope of intellectual honesty, liberals don’t get a pass on neglecting educational standards just because they throw more money at the issue.
I can’t stand Hillary Clinton, but the educated and informed voter in me understood that I had to get past that disgust and support the only candidate qualified to be president. Anyone that believes Trump is qualified for that office is delusional. I think it’s safe to say that they voted for Trump because they want to see this country burn to the ground. It probably won’t happen, but now is probably a pretty good time for the right to start asking themselves why that is.
You just don’t hand over the keys to a 747 to someone who can barely drive a golf cart. But that’s what the right decided to do on Tuesday. In just a few short months, we’ll all start reaping what those voters and the incompetent and out of touch liberal establishment have sown.
Point of fact, the Republican Senators got together after Obama was sworn in and, led by Mitch McConnell, promised to do everything they could to make Obama a one term president. They did not give Obama a chance, why should we give Trump a chance?
Big surprise, another Portland weekly writer asserts their right to throw a temper tantrum and be an embarrassment to the real liberals.
Shouldn’t you be in your safe space now anyway?
OMG. Get a grip.
Consider this: Hillary was going to get us into a war with Russia. Oh yeah, she was. We bombed Syrian troops in our little illegal war and the Russians brought in surface-to-air missiles and threatened to shoot down US planes. Hillary continued to talk about installing a no-fly zones and the evils of Putin. There was war coming.
How about we avoided a nuclear war by not voting in Hillary the war monger. Yes, she says all the right democratic things to her audience back home. But the woman has blood on her hands in Libya and Syria. So does Obama. You cowardly people on the Left. You want to protect Muslims? You want to help refugees? How about getting off your asses and protesting our illegal wars and continued regime changes 15 years after 9/11.
I did give Trump a chance. Then he nominated Steve Bannon to be his chief strategist and senior adviser. I’m not giving Trump any more chances.
Careful albert, you’re talking about Jarhead’s imaginary best friend.