By Louise Mathews
I am writing this on Donald John Trump’s 80th birthday. About a third of the people are happy to wish him well. About a third of the people would like to see him six feet under. About a third of the people just get on with their lives and may be indifferent as long as prices come down.
To say that Mr. Trump is a divisive figure is an understatement. I do not believe that he set out to divide people. I think the strong reactions people choose to have split the populace.
I tend not to discuss the President unless I am speaking with someone I know usually supports his agenda. Passions run high when speaking about “45/47.”
We often shake our heads and ask, “What was he thinking?” He has a tendency to put his large foot in his larger mouth. Still, we believe that he has the good of the nation at heart. He makes mistakes. We get that. But the President is doing good things even as he has failures. What President hasn’t had failures?
Look at Lincoln and McClellan and the single bloodiest day in American history, Sept. 17, 1862. Look at John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Look at Woodrow Wilson lying in his bed while his wife ran the country. That may have happened during a more recent presidency as well.
President Trump doesn’t have to do this job and suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous pundits. He could be enjoying his golden years with his children and grandchildren, visiting the incredible properties he has built around the world.
Perhaps his ego prevented him from immersing himself in a pastoral retirement. Powerful men like more power. Perhaps he ascribes to the belief that a human is immortal as long as he or she is remembered. He certainly will be remembered. When he is gone from office and/or from this earth, people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome will collectively break into song and dance. Their tune will be more “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead” than “Happy Trails to You.”
I have a hard time understanding the TDS bunch. I was brought up to believe that voting was next to godliness. When the polls are open, I am there. In half of the presidential elections since I turned 21, the candidate that I supported did not win. I did not put on a pointy pink beanie and scream. Nor did I break things. I complained at home, and on one occasion paraded in Washington, D.C. as part of a taxpayer march. I understand that democracy means I will not always vote for the winner. It does not mean I must try to subvert the President I do not like.
Fiends who despise “the Donald” cite his record of cruel or salacious comments. One friend, whose husband served two tours in Vietnam, said she would never forgive Trump for his comments about John McCain. Others abhor his comments about women as well as reported actions. I do not approve of Mr. Trump’s past behavior. I lump him with Bill Clinton in that arena. Both have great personal failings which have led to prurience polluting national discourse.
People call Mr. Trump a fascist. As more facts are uncovered about the attempts to “get Trump” such as Russiagate and impeachments, the people can see which party uses fascist tactics. A Charlottesville rally, during which Trump’s comments were taken out of context resulting in cries that he is a racist, was staged by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and included payments to its extreme right foes. In time, the trials that Mr. Trump endured before his election in 2024 may also be completely debunked. He is a convicted felon under a law that was changed from a misdemeanor offense to a felony by the New York State Democrat controlled legislature shortly before Mr. Trump was charged in New York City. Has anyone else been even charged as a felon under this law?
If they haven’t lived there, most Americans cannot understand the New York City mindset which has led to Trump trials and conviction under the “made-for-him” felony. New Yorkers put up with tiny, expensive apartments, smelly streets, high-priced food, crime, and corruption on all levels of local government just to continue to view themselves as a special breed, more brilliant than anyone else anywhere else in the USA.
New Yorkers are envious. They do not like people who have more money than they do, and there are many people in New York City who have unbelievable amounts of money. Wealthy people are perfectly happy to have the hoi polloi hate Donald Trump as it takes focus off them, unless of course, you are Ken Griffin, and the mayor who exploits that envy shines a light on you. Whatever Donald Trump does, New Yorkers loathe him. Given the chance, they would convict him for breathing.
As Mr. Trump celebrates with a crowd enjoying a 60-million-dollar UFC fight card – not my cup of tea – I must applaud his efforts to clean up Washington D.C. Tonight I saw a video on the resurrected Union Station, which alone commands applause. Apparently, cleansing the capital city is only one clean-up underway as fraud investigations continue across the nation. It appears, too, that the Iran conflict and subsequent closure of a major oil route is coming to an end. Hopefully, as we emerge from that morass, Mr. Trump can bring back more sanity to this country that the majority of Americans thought was on an unhealthy path. May he have success in his final two years as President.
Louise Mathews retired from a career in community colleges and before that, theater. A 13-year come-here in Beaufort, she has been a dingbatter in North Carolina and an upstater from New York.