Day: 8/26/2018

Daffy Donald Trump Mistakenly Tweet-Brags His 52% Approval, But That’s His Disapproval

Posted by on August 26, 2018 at 10:06 pm. 2 Comments :

With everything that is going wrong for Donald Trump lately, it’s clear that the pressure is taking a serious toll on his already sorely inadequate comprehension skills. The average person would be feeling the heat if confronted with disastrous scenarios like having your campaign chairman (Paul Manafort) and personal attorney (Michael Cohen) convicted of multiple felonies. And add to that your friends (David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer) and close associates (Allen Weisselberg, CFO of your business) being granted immunity by federal prosecutors in order to testify against you.

Donald Trump

But for someone who has severe mental deficiencies in the first place, the consequences are magnified geometrically. That’s the state that Trump finds himself in now, and the result is frightening. On Sunday evening he posted a tweet intended to excite his glassy-eyed followers and to pump up his gargantuan ego:

The media doesn’t need to make Trump look evil. And let’s just set aside that he felt it necessary to disseminate this self-exalting message on the day that saw multiple people get shot in Jacksonville, Florida. Trump said nothing about that. It’s also the day after the passing of Sen. John McCain, who Trump neglected to pay any tribute to for his decades of service to the nation. Instead he played golf at one of his resorts and had his press secretary release a statement that he was “monitoring” the Jacksonville situation. Which means he was watching Fox News.

However, what’s really astonishing about trump’s boastful tweet is that he couldn’t even get the numbers right. Yes, the poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News (who are, in his opinion, fake), did find that ninety percent of Republicans have a favorable view of the President. Trump may like that, but it should be a serious embarrassment to the Republican Party. What Trump failed to report accurately was his overall approval rating, which he said was fifty-two percent. The only problem with that is that’s actually his disapproval rating in the poll. His approval is only forty-four percent.

If this is the level of accuracy that we can expect from our president, then America is in deep, deep trouble. Especially coming from someone who thinks there were millions of people at his inaugural address (there weren’t). Or that three million people voted illegally (they didn’t). Or that he won the women’s vote in 2016 (just white women). Or that U.S. Steel is opening six new plants (actually it’s zero). And this could go on endlessly with all of the lies that Trump regularly tells about his imaginary accomplishments.

Unfortunately, this isn’t really that funny. If Trump can’t get the simplest numbers right about polls or the attendance at his cult rallies, how can he be expected to get the numbers right about the economy or the quantity of nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the United States and its enemies? This sort of cognitive infirmity poses serious risks for our nation. And it’s just more proof that Trump is unfit to be in any position of leadership.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Paying Tribute: Would Anyone in Trump’s Republican Party Be Remembered Like John McCain?

Posted by on August 26, 2018 at 11:26 am. 3 Comments :

Saturday saw the passing of one of the most storied and respected members of Congress in this generation. John McCain was an irascible political pugilist who managed to nurture close friendships with almost everyone with whom he did battle. And he did battle with everyone. His maverick status may have been an overwrought marketing scheme, but he did have a tendency to skirt partisan divides more frequently than most of his colleagues.

Donald Trump John McCain

Consequently, he earned the respect, admiration, and affection of his congressional peers. The remembrances expressed in the past twenty-four hours have been uniquely non-partisan, especially by today’s Trumpian standards. Naturally, McCain’s passing brought out kind words and loving thoughts from Republicans who regard him as an elder statesman. But he has also been lauded with effusive praise by President Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, and many more from the ranks of Democrats.

The tributes generally include recognition of his valiant and selfless service to the nation as a Navy officer and a public servant for more than thirty years. They cite his courage, integrity, honor, perseverance, collegiality, fairness, and above all, putting his principles and his country before himself or his party. And those saluting him specifically used those words to described his enduring legacy. The only prominent Republican who failed to do so was Donald Trump, whose curt tweet offered only obligatory condolences, but said nothing at all about the man or his life’s work.


Compare that to the more fully realized sentiments of the man who defeated McCain for the presidency:

All of these accolades may seem customary under the circumstances when a notable public figure meets his destiny. But on reflection, it’s hard to imagine the same measure of esteem being shown toward any of McCain’s GOP pals were they to expire. Does anyone think that Mitch McConnell would be eulogized with words like courage, integrity, or honor? What about Paul Ryan? Or Jim Jordan? Or Chuck Grassley? Or Kevin McCarthy? Or John Cornyn? Or Mike Pence? Or (do I have to say it) Donald Trump?

What ever one thinks of McCain’s politics, he actually does represent a bygone era of bipartisanship that the GOP has been chipping away at for years. And with the emergence of Trump, the demolition crew has really stepped up their efforts to shred whatever fragile veil of unity has managed to survive.

As a result, it may be a while before America sees another passing of a Republican who garners such near universal praise. Maybe some of the GOP leaders in Congress and elsewhere should start to think about their own legacies and whether they would like to be remembered as heroes or narrow minded zealots.

This applies especially to those who can look the other way as Trump exacerbates partisan divisions, incites racial hatred and misogyny, puts the wealthy and corporations above everyday citizens, and worst of all, kowtows to foreign dictators and sells out the nation to our enemies. Support for that sort of anti-American agenda is unlikely to win over the hearts and minds of grieving Americans once you cast off your mortal bounds. Something to consider.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.