Beyond the obvious trepidations of an autocratic, race baiting presidential candidate with dubious business practices and an unlimited willingness for pathological dishonesty. The bigger concern with a Trump presidency would be the global chaos resulting from such an impulsive, thin-skinned Veruca Salt playboy occupying the oval office. Trumps campaign is a haunted house of narcissism, contradiction and exaggeration. He is the perfect compliment to an easily swayed electorate who applauds anti-science worldviews, subscribes to conspiracy theories and celebrates chaos. Trump supporters routinely confuse his thuggish personality for political candor and celebrate his willingness to kick the poor, the powerless and the marginalized when they’re down. It should therefore come of little surprise when his paranoia-cloaked devotees so desperately want to believe in the empty promises and quick fixes he’s peddling. Trump is a pampered son of privilege who, over the last thirty years has been a Republican, has been a Democrat, an independent and then a Republican again. He called for abolishing the minimum wage entirely and now remains open to raising it. His campaign cornerstone is deporting eleven-million immigrants, now even that’s to be determined. He advocates against corporations who ship American manufacturing overseas while he outsources his vast clothing line to third-world sweat shops. Trump campaigns against unfair trade deals but selects a VP who is a strong advocate for TPP and has voted in support of every trade deal that came before congress. And for the first time in over fifty years, we have a presidential candidate who refuses to release his taxes.
Nonetheless, in spite of a long history of contradiction, discrimination and hustling government money Trump devotees marvel at this modern-hoodlum version of the village idiot. They’re charmed by his garish notions of conflating capitalism with democracy and patriotism with white nationalism. But what Trump supporters are mostly attracted to is his inability for self-restraint and the resulting chaos that is Donald Trump.
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Discussion1 Comment
You have so completely defined the problem. Unfortunately, he could win and although I used to think that no one president could create long term problems, that was before “W” buried our chances for a peace filled middle east by moving into Iraq when and how he did. (I will never understand how quickly the extreme right chose to forget the mess that President Obama inherited. Just imagine how good a president he could have been if the Republicans had not stood in his way?)
Yes, Trump can win and yes, Trump could leave us weaker, poorer, further from the positive ideals that made us who and what we had represented to much of the world for so many years.
Please write more often, you are a gifted writer and a thoughtful human being
– and there just aren’t enough of those around anymore!