Saturday, January 13, 2018

S***hole President

Can someone tell me why Donald Trump is President of the United States?
One noteworthy takeaway from Michael Wolff's new book that I didn't spend much time on earlier is Trump's mental health.  Several aides have suggested that he deserves to have a thorough mental evaluation, and he seems so unhinged that involving the 25th Amendment and removing him from power might be a good idea.  Trump tried to show how engaged he was by hosting a public bipartisan meeting of members of Congress on immigration reform, and, at first glance, he seemed genuinely interested in and attentive to the various points of view.  The veneer of command began to unravel when he seemingly agreed with both Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy, both of California, on their positions regarding congressional approval of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that gives sanctuary to immigrant children brought to the U.S. by their parents on his week. Feinstein wanted a clean bill on the issue; McCarthy wanted border protection included.
Trump could have salvaged his fast-declining reputation by agreeing to a reasonable compromise worked by six U.S. Senators, including Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), that would feature more than $2.5 billion for border security and offer protection to DACA immigrants but not allow them to sponsor their parents for citizenship.  But when Trump found that the deal would replace the immigration lottery program with new visas to protect immigrants living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status - immigrants from places like Haiti, El Salvador, and numerous African countries - he responded, “Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?"
With all due respect to Einstein, this is the definition of insanity.
Trump just proved how racist and insensitive he is, showing no empathy or understanding on black and brown people whom we have traditionally welcomed to this country, with all of their talents and their abilities, and making America look like, well, a s***hole country - a country that would allow such a man to serve as its leader.  His ignorance of the people of other countries and his disregard for humanity is more than enough to disqualify him for the office.  He also said he preferred immigrants from ultra-white Norway, even though Norwegians, who enjoy amenities that many Americans lack, like guaranteed health insurance and living-wage incomes, would probably have no reason to to come here.  (And can you blame them for not wanting to?)
I give up.  Trump is destroying this country, and Republicans are letting him get away with it. I used to think that Republicans would allow him to be impeached, convicted and removed from office as soon as he did or said something outrageously disgusting.  But I can't think of one outrageously disgusting thing that he hasn't already done.

1 comment:

Mauigirl said...

I agree. It is so far gone I don't know if anything can be saved. I am truly discouraged.