The rhetoric grows more irresponsible, the claims more preposterous, the implications more dangerous. Unity for our country? Who is doing more to drive us apart than our president?
“Knock it off. Give him a chance,” my Trump acquaintances say. Well, I’m trying, but every time I cut him some slack, a new tweet, some rallying cry to his supporters, some blatant disregard for constitutional guarantees undermines my resolve.
Obama wiretapping his office; no evidence. Judicial overreach of “so called” judges; what about separation of powers and respect for the law? More than three million illegal voters; again, no evidence. Comparing U.S. intelligence agencies to Nazis; wildly reckless.
And perhaps most frightening of all: “fake news,” stories with “made up” sources, reporters called scumbags, liars, and “enemies of the American people,” journalists barred from press briefings, repeated insults, charges, and deliberate misrepresentations – and even threats – hurled against the New York Times, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, The Los Angeles Times, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The Associated Press, etc., (and even Fox News when it doesn’t share his views); what about respect for the freedom of the press to report the news as they uncover it? Or, for that matter, to disagree or criticize?
National unity? Shouldn’t it begin at the top? Yet the vilification of those who disagree with him grows ever more strident. And there’s been a history of credibility issues: a thousand Muslims in New Jersey cheering the collapse of the twin towers; the birther theory; his repeated promises to release his tax returns; his claims for the “biggest turnout at an inauguration” in the history of the presidency; his shifting positions on any number of issues and promises; his repeated claims of “unfair treatment.” What are we to make of all this? How can we trust a man for whom promises, “facts” and “fairness” seem to be matters of what best serve his purpose of the moment?
“Stop criticizing the man,” I’m told. But how am I supposed to manage that when almost daily we’re met with a new lie, a newly altered “fact,” a newly convenient “truth”?
“There’s too much disunity in this country,” I’m told. “We need to work together.” Well, I agree that’s true. What we disagree about is the source of much of that division. For despite my sympathy and support for the employment and economic needs of many who voted for him – quite legitimate concerns – the man they’ve elected as president is the great divider, a man for whom hate, lies, controversy, manipulation, dissension, threats, and dangerous rhetoric are strategies for achieving his own agenda.
Unity, cooperation, compromise, respect – I’m ready for them. Mr. Trump, however, apparently is not.
Dick Matthews
Phillips
Well said. Respect is earned.
President Trump just slapped down a child killing dictator in Syria. The last seat warmer in the White House lacked the intentional fortitude to tackle tough problems. How do you like them apples? In case you missed the message, respect is being earned.
The photographer Panton (Antoniou) was on PBS Newshour yesterday re his work photographing the likes of Clinton, Putin and others and preparing them for the “shoot”
“I worked with Donald Trump quite a while ago, but even back then, there was this chaos and madness that surrounded him.
I remember saying to him: “Donald, how do you weather the storm? It’s madness around you wherever you go, whatever you do, whatever you say. There’s this sort of frenetic energy.”
Suddenly, this quiet calm came over him, and he said, “I am the storm.””
…………….that’s scary enough for me
Peter – I don’t think Trump slapped down anyone. He did what Hillary wanted to do against Syria, and he criticized her for that. But more to the point. When Obama wanted to strike Syria, he did what he was supposed to do – he requested approval from Congress. The Republicans in Congress said NO, and Obama respected that. Trump did not go to Congress, and in essence acted unilaterally in a way that probably won’t hurt Syria much at all. But do you really prefer a President who acts like he’s above the law to one that works with Congress as the Constitution intended? To be sure, in the case of Obama I agreed with the GOP Congress in denying him that power. I also agree with Rand Paul and others in both parties who believe Trump abused his power by not going to Congress. In any event, the US hasn’t had a good track record with these kind of military actions. I suspect these military strikes demonstrate American weakness (we can’t do anything effective) than strength. I think he’s trying to divert attention from his low poll numbers and many scandals…wag the dog…
Scott,
The CIC is allowed to take action he deems necessary when circumstances warrant. There is more than enough historic presidency to support his actions. Congress is still required to declare war. I’m not convinced the obstructionist snowflake parade in DC has the brights to know when action is required. Remember the pant suit queen and Benghazi, no action costs American lives. It’s a brave new world for the libs, they had better buckle up it’s going be a rough ride in their safe space for the next 8 years. Have a good evening.
I agree so much with Peter…. Dick I very much dislike your comments and editorial. Too bad there’s no truth to it.
Dick Matthews, you have a very good sense of why many of us are not Trump supporters.
As Gen. Allen (Ret.) said on The News Hour tonight, ” Military action without a political context is very dangerous.”
I stand corrected Re: Gen Allen’s statement: “without a political context is often ineffective…”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/will-trump-foreign-policy-evolve-u-s-strike-syria/
There are none so blind as those who will not see. Don’t waste time or words on them, they’re unworthy of either. They will never admit the good of anything Trump does in either term. We may hope that in time Trump’s successes will at least cause their rants to lessen in volume, as they will be criticized more widely for them. Job creation/enabling and deportation of illegal felons are proceeding nicely, and the banning of unvetted “refugees” will soon be authorized. We don’t need to worry about unvetted refugees, but we DO need to worry about unvetted TERRORISTS! The leftie/Soros protests/riots have already petered out due to the negative public reaction to them. Gorbush was one more nail, there will be many more.
Concerned Citizen,
This editorial is spot on! He is not a Fox News personality. trump reads the enquirer for news. Where is he right now in the midst of all this? Golfing! I bet he planned the strike so it wouldn’t interfere with his weekend to Florida that we pay for.
Its kind of funny how people want to stick their noses in other countries business. We have to do something about whats going on. Yet when someone does something about it they stepped over the line. If Trump had done nothing about this he would be a spineless worm like everyone called Barry, but he does have one so now he’s a bad guy. Just to be clear president Trump has only been in office a few months most of the things going bad now isnt his fault. I mean O blamed Bush for everything bad all eight years of his presidency. President Trump’s poll numbers will rise as soon as the cry babies open their eyes and close their mouths and stop criticizing every little thing he says or does as xenophobic or hateful. The people of this country voted him in over the lieing deceitful alternative. Many readers wont like what I have said but that’s the beautiful thing about the FIRST AMENDMENT!!!!
@no fox news you seem to be upset about our President going golfing. Was you upset like this when Obama was golfing? Just wondering where you heard he was golfing ? I see him on t.v. at a press conference yesterday ,didnt look like a golf outfit to me!!! Perhaps it was an unreliable news source !!!
Just sit back and watch… trump has already kept more promises in 4 mo than Obama did in 8 years.. He will make this country strong again..I don’t need to watch ANY news to figure this out.
A couple of things:
When Congress refused to authorize an attack on Syria after over a thousand were killed in a gas attack in 2013 Mr. Obama found a way to deal with Syria and there were no further attacks. 2 days after Nicky Haley our UN ambassador stated that Assad could remain in power the attack took place. Coincidence, maybe. Mr. Trump criticized Mrs. Clinton during the campaign for her more hawkish stance on Syria and promised to avoid intervention in the Middle East. . Since Mr. Trump became President over 1000 civilians including many children have been killed by US military action. Gas attacks are horrific but being blown up by a bomb is as well. Dead is dead.
Oh…you crying libs are cracking me up.
You support the likes of Pelosi , Clinton, Weiner. The party that cheated Sanders out of a chance. The crooked campaign of crooked Hillary flopped . You offered a criminal with connections. And now you are whining????
Hillarious..keep the comedy rolling.
“Deal with it” : Your thinking is an example of what’s wrong with America. Instead of thinking of issues and different positions, you want to call the other side names and accuse them of “whining.” Emotion, bravado, like you’re cheering on the Bruins or the Red Sox and the liberals are the Yankees. That mindset has taken hold, people no longer think, he choose a “team,” mock the other team, and shut down their minds. Rather than reasoned discourse, we get name calling.
As for Trump golfing and taking vacations – no problem. It costs the tax payer a lot, but that’s OK, that’s part of being President. But if you were one of those people who criticized Obama for golfing (though he did it less often) and his less expensive vacations, then you’re being hypocritical. Trump criticized Obama for doing what Trump is now doing, by the way.
The country’s done pretty well under Obama, Jesse – record job growth, turned around an economy in free fall, got us out of Mideast wars. We’ll see what Trump does; I just hope that he learns to tell the truth. Lying on little things like inauguration crowd size is ridiculous. He has quieted down the last couple weeks, I’m hoping that he’s learned.
Peter, I disagree with you about Presidential power to order air strikes. I know some people believe that he has that power – that’s a debate in foreign policy circles. I think Obama was right to go to Congress. At that time, it was what Republicans said was necessary. Some like Rand Paul are consistent, but many seem to think only Democrats should go to Congress first. Also, you’re another one who seems to fall into the emotion and name calling bit. There are smart conservatives and smart liberals. There can be reasoned debate. Calling people “snowflakes” only shows that you are shutting out discussion because you want a “them vs. us” kind of sporting event mentality. That’s OK if it makes you feel good, but it makes discussion meaningless.
Amen buddy. The hypocrisy of the right too. When Obama wanted to do something about Syria he actually sought Congress’s approval as the President is suppose to do and, of course, was turned down. No way are we going to bomb Syria they said. Now look at them. When you see the old tweets from Trump himself going on about about how wrong it would be for Obama to do anything about Syria and let them take care of themselves even though back then they had gassed their kids and citizens too. We needed to make our own country great and let them take care of themselves he said. The old tweet from Hannity saying our arrogant President is playing golf while talking about wanting to take military action in Syria. Now he’s praising Trump all over the place for doing that very thing. This whole administration and the white supremacists he’s in bed with and the nepotism going on. It is all disgusting and scary and God will take care of all of them. They are evil.
There appears to be no consensus on our current CIC. Go figure…..
Peter – more on Syria. Trump warned the Russians, who warned the Syrians, so it was not a surprise. Bombing from the airfields by Syria continued today, as the Syrian military was not really inconvenienced. So it doesn’t appear that the US action did much. Do you really want Trump to take out that dictator? Do you remember how Bush taking out Saddam led to perhaps the biggest foreign policy fiasco of in recent US history? This isn’t a game. I think if President Trump is serious he should go to Congress. Trump said in 2013 that Obama should not bomb (he tweeted it), and opposed Obama’s effort then. If he changed his mind, then he needs to make his case to Congress and the American people. I’ll keep an open mind. I’m very skeptical and in general think the US loses more than it gains when it engages in these kinds of military endeavors. But I’ll listen carefully.
Scott,
Put on your common sense glasses. Obummer was a disgarace for our country. He failed us in foreign policy by not projecting strength. Think Benghazi. He failed us economically by not moving our economy forward. It took President Trump one week to rocket the stock market to new highs. obummer had 8 years and failed to launch. If you have a job, investments or a 401k you should be praising his election. Socially, obummer brought us the disgust of homosexual marriage and transgender bending rest rooms, truly an insult to any one morally grounded in Christian principles. Think he would have ever been elected on that platform? How about illegal immigration and the growth of welfare nation? Do you like supporting illegals and their kids at the expense of real Americans?
Do you like seeing the police threatened by createns in places like Chicago and Detroit? All part of the obummer race card campaign to divide America . Think al sharpton the tax evader would get air time without his pal taking up AC in DC? I and many other of our neighbors and countrymen look forward to President Trump cleaning up this mess. If you are a snowflake better buckle up, it’s going to be a rough ride for the next 8 years. Have a good evening.
Interesting how “Deal With it” does not “deal” with a single issue raised in the letter. Lying, broken promises, unproven allegations, vicious attacks on the press, Trump’s complaints about unfair treatment, attacking judges and the courts, none of that gets a single word. Is all that “whining” or are these serious matters that should concern all Americans, conservative and liberal alike? Let’s stop calling each other names and address the issues.
Obama left with approval ratings over 60 percent, as high as Reagan’s. He is seen as one of the best Presidents in recent history. That isn’t just my opinion. You of course can call him names, but facts don’t back you up. I guarantee you the stock market under Obama will out perform what it will do under Trump.
When Obama took office the Dow JOnes was 7949. When he left office it was 19,732. Do you really think it will better than double under Trump? What other President had such stock market gains as Obama? That’s growth of over 250%! Your view on homosexual marriage is obsolete and dying. It is rooted in bigotry, not Christianity. Most Christians I know support gay marriage, as do most Republicans. I suspect you won’t let it go, but the culture has moved on, and your view has been rejected.
You have a dream that somehow Trump can turn back the clock to the America you remember from 30 years or so ago. That ain’t going to happen. The President has limited power, the culture is what drives the country forward. Right now, Trump may be the best thing to have happened to the Democrats as it has energized them and given them a lot of momentum. Politics swings like a pendulum. But progress continues!
Scott,
You continue to miss me he point, try to keep up. The stock market is surging because off shore cash, that left the US while your failed hero was warming a chair in the White House, is returning. The smart guys take their money out of country when you have something like what we tolerated under obummer. Being black and from Chicago doesent make you a statesman or a economic genius. Our balance of trade was pitiful under dear leaders reign and our GNP growth was limp at best. This guys claim to fame was a health care and in case you missed it, the wheels came off that car, it failed. It did however saddle younger Americans with costs that they should not have to shoulder. Do you really need a health plan with gynecology services if you are a 21 year old male. Hopefully not.
Furthermore, forcing perverse social arrangements on a Christian society was and remains very much out of line. You don’t normalize perversion by forcing its acceptance. Truly a slippery slope that will return to haunt you. Being driven by culture is laughable. Somewhat akin to 6 year olds in a candy store, they don’t generally make sound decisions but is fun to watch and it’s part of growing up. Much of the America you castigate at bigots, don’t see it your way, we haven’t moved on. The Democratic Party you know now lies in ruins. Your best case scenario is a an aged socialist. The establishment product waddled off the stage in a clownish pant suit, forever relegated to the trash heap of failed politicians. The three way split ensures conservative leadership for many administrations to come. How do you like that future? President Trump wasent an anomaly, he was a result of failed socialist idas.
I have dreams that envision our nation as successful and prosperous. I don’t see a welfare socialist state because that is is not a sustainable model. I don’t see safe places sheltering snowflakes, I see The exchange of ideas in a balanced environment not a liberal university system that censored all but the approved party line. It’s a new world and I’m liking it. Enjoy the day, it’s nice out.
@ Scott I dont think you have all the facts right. We ARE in more mid east countries under turmoil than when Obama took office this hasnt started in President Trumps four months. Your view on the stock market is probably correct but so many people are tired of wall street not a lot of people pay attention to it. The economy around this state hasn’t gotten any better the last eight years. Our national debt has more than doubled. My grandchildren who are quite a few years from being thought of will still have this debt held over their heads. This country needs to step back and get a grip on society!! We cant pay for everyone who wants to live the American dream ! That part is supposed to be their responsibility not every tax payer. People want to prosper but noone wants to work for it they want it handed to them. The entitlement society we live in can not thrive and it won’t.
Jesse – I’ll agree that everyone needs to work, and entitlement isn’t good. My argument about social welfare is that it should be connected with community service. The rich set up the recent financial debacle by wanting something for nothing. That isn’t good for the poor either. I think there are ways left and right can compromise and figure out how to make a more effective less “entitlement” based system.
Peter – the stock market skyrocketed under Obama. It isn’t doing any better under Trump. But I’ll agree with you on some of the broad points – just not that it’s the fault of the Democrats or that Trump is somehow going to solve it. Debt to GDP was 30% in 1980 (federal debt). It hit 60% by 1990. Now it’s 100% (much of that during the Bush years – and debt under Obama was caused in large part by the recession). Total debt, not just government, went from 120% of GDP in 1980 to 400% by 2008. Now it’s down around 350%, but that’s still historically extremely high, unprecedented really. That’s not just government, that’s business, private citizens, states…our whole country, rich and poor, have gotten addicted to a something for nothing mentality. That is changing – I am heartened by young people today, who are hard working and understand the danger of debt. But it’s not a left vs. right issue, it pervades the culture. It started under Reagan (but Democrats controlled Congress) in the 1980s, that’s also when credit card debt took off. We’ve had a 35 year debt-driven bipartisan party. It actually started to improve after 2009 and the financial crisis caused by the big banks. Hopefully we’ll continue to improve, but it requires both parties – our entire culture.
I see in the future ” Elect Erb ” signs all about the countryside. I don’t always see eye to eye with you Scott but you present your case in a civil manner, which to me is the most important thing in solving most issues.
I’ll consider Trump’s faults as soon as these brainwashed libs will acknowledge the corruption of the Clinton’s and the Democratic party.
I’M READY WHEN YOU ARE.