It seems like almost everyone is on to Donald Trump. He finally gave a speech that was designed to be presidential. And his speech in the Middle East was actually presidential.
Except that virtually nobody believed a word of it. He said reasonable things about Muslims. But Muslims are not so stupid. As one Muslim university professor put it “[The speech] will be met with deep skepticism in the Muslim world because Trump has been hostile and offensive to Muslims.”
Back in the US, politicians from both parties didn’t believe Trump either. After all, Trump was praising Saudi Arabia and enlisting them to fight terrorism. Trump seems to ignore that Saudi Arabia was the homeland of the majority of the perpetrators of 9/11. More recently, in 2015 Saudi Arabia beheaded more people than ISIS.
Trump’s base, who lapped up Trump’s blatant Islamophobia during the campaign, was aghast. Trump’s longtime friend Roger Stone said the speech made him “want to puke”. When Trump called Islam “one of the world’s great faiths” you could almost hear the base implode. Trump even seemed to scared to utter the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism”, despite the fact that he had berated Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing for years. Trump’s most loyal supporters started calling him “President Cuck”.
The media was mostly unimpressed. The only effusive praise came from Breitbart, Steve Bannon’s old rag.
This is hardly a surprise. Trump has spent his life telling people just what they wanted to hear. He lies to everyone, and finally, in Trump’s clumsy attempt to appear presidential, they all saw him for what he is — someone who only has regard for himself and not even the slightest regard for the truth or the country. Reality TV is still TV, and isn’t actually real.
How bad is it? Even Trump’s wife reportedly swatted away his hand when he tried to touch her.
10 Comments
He is a showman and obviously his skills have worked on a large number of people. Bully CEO’s into regurgitating old press releases about hiring workers in the US, chuck a few harmless missiles into syria and the impression voters get is that he is bringing jobs back into america and that he’s decisive.
But what does he have to hide that he has to ask all the intelligence chiefs to refute collusion with russia?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-asked-intelligence-chiefs-to-push-back-against-fbi-collusion-probe-after-comey-revealed-its-existence/2017/05/22/394933bc-3f10-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html
Hopefully, we will find out.
I suspect the hand swatting had nothing to do with anything that we know about. That was a woman who was pissed and not going to act like she wasn’t. Someone on TV was talking about the plane only having one bed and which one got to use it. Either she was forced to share it or she sat up all night in a chair. Either way, she was pissed. I also heard that they didn’t tell the president that the trip was as long as it was until a couple of days before and he wanted it shortened, but they said it could not be shortened. So I’m wondering if no one told Melania that either. She needs several changes of clothes a day for all the events and if she didn’t have time to get a wardrobe together that would probably have pissed her off as well.
I think she might have promised to not divorce him until this is over and might be having some regrets about now.
He seems to marry women who will put up with a lot for the lifestyle he provides. Unfortunately that’s the way life is for many women.
Wildwood – you may be right, but there’s also this. Seems there’s something more going on than just being pissed about this trip.
http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/sad-melania.gif
I didn’t mean to imply that it was just the trip. I think it is long standing and possibly the long flight just brought it to the fore. I was under the impression that she would be moving to the White House as soon as school let out. It will be interesting to see if that actually happens. I know I would be grumpy after a flight like that and I love my husband, but I also recognize that hand slap. It says, don’t touch me, don’t mess with me, just leave me alone. And he did. But she probably heard about it once they had some privacy. Since the whole world is talking about it, (the slap heard around the world), I imagine he is not happy that it happened. And if she is as pissed at I think she is, she doesn’t give a damn.
We can only hope this con man is figured out by enough people before he does more lasting damage. Unfortunately I think most of the GOP are still too cowardly and/or cruel to stand up for the poor or middle class on healthcare and tax reform, which (barring war) is what is likely to hurt the most people.
“More recently, in 2015 Saudi Arabia beheaded more people than ISIS.”
I think this comparison is too simplistic. ISIS beheads pretty randomly. Saudi Arabia has capital punishment for certain crimes based on islamic laws. In most cases it is detailed trials, and in case of murder the family of murdered may forgive the murderer (free or for money).
Now there can be cases where people were framed into those crimes, due to their political dissent. So definitley it may have been abused in some cases, but not all.
Hassan, I dont approve of the death penalty in this country and I certainly don’t approve of beheading. Any beheading is wrong and one excuse for it is no better than the other.
WILDWOOD, I know how many people feel about capital punishment here. I don’t expect that to change. I was just making sure to distinguish it with random beheading for no crime.
The issue of morality is always going to be debatable. It is always going to be divine decreed morality vs human rational morality. So beyond the scope of discussion here I think.
Hassan a distinction to me that does not exist. Wrong is wrong. But you are right in that this is not a discussion that will change any minds. My definition of morality is my own and it does not include the death penalty in 99% of cases. I seldom say 100% because there is the possibility of something so bad and so solidly proven that I could be convinced death was justified.