Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:07 pm
I am fairly confident that most readers of any political persuasion already know that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is not very bright. However, I fear he has truly jumped the stupid shark this time.
Now what could ever prompt me to say this when he has been running around claiming all Mexicans are rapists?
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It was a combination of reading an “expletive-laden” interview he did with Robert Costa of the Washington Post, in which he swore his way through it while watching Fox News and cheering himself on as if he were commenting on an epic film hero come to life. Discussing himself, a peevish and rather clueless Trump told Costa “I get the biggest crowds. I get the biggest standing ovations.”
[Eyeing the television, Trump gets up to watch another Fox News segment about his Arizona gathering. “Jeanine Pirro, let’s see what she has to say about me,” he said as he settled into his couch. When a picture of the Mexican laborer accused of killing a San Francisco woman is put on screen, Trump said: “Look at that guy, look at what he did, killing that beautiful girl. [Expletive] animal.” He returned several minutes later to continue the interview.]
When he wasn’t watching himself with the eager worship of a child or an egomaniac, he announced proudly that seeing his huge crowds, he had come up with the phrase the “silent majority”. When Costa asked Trump if he was concerned that it would remind people of Nixon, Trump bellowed:
Nah. Nobody remembers that. Oh, is that why people stopped using [the phrase]? Maybe. Nobody thinks of Nixon. I don’t think of Nixon when I think of the silent majority. The silent majority today, they’re going to vote for Trump. Remember, many Republicans didn’t vote for Mitt Romney. He didn’t inspire people. They’re going to vote for me. And I’ll also get the Hispanics, you watch.
Oh, yes, he’ll “get” the Hispanics. It’s all in the bag for Trump. A gang of hardcore Republican haters loves him, and he — like Sarah Palin and Scott Walker and, well, basically the entire Republican Party — believes in the hype. He believes in the bubble. The epistemic closure strategy is working perfectly. Everyone in the bubble loves him.
At this point, Trump is becoming shades of the Monsieur Thénardier of this story, “brutal and abusive” and yet, also a clown. He is lawless and has declared bankruptcy too many times to count. He’s a petty little man who doesn’t realize he’s the butt of the joke. He’s cruel and vindictive but sees himself as more than he is.
And… it gets worse. While Costa captured Trump so perfectly that it’s impossible not to appreciate his objectivity, Trump in raw form is also interesting. Someone thought it would be a good idea to let Donald Trump tweet. And he does it a lot.
The news of drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman (“El Chapo”) escaping from Mexico’s Altiplano prison over the weekend went to Trump’s head and he took that heady sense of self to Twitter to share his basic approach to running for office, which can be condensed into “I told you so!! Neener Neener!” and while Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton would “negotiate” with Guzman, Trump promises us all he would “kick his a$$!”
“The U.S. will invite El Chapo, the Mexican drug lord who just escaped prison, to become a U.S. citizen because our “leaders” can’t say no!” <-- a Donald tweet. Never mind that in reality, illegal border crossings are at lowest levels in 40 years. Republicans could actually take some credit for this, even in their do-nothing state, given that their refusal to pass a jobs bill or invest in infrastructure has caused construction jobs to plummet and this lack of construction jobs may account for a small part of the reduction of illegal border crossings. Sure, Republicans aren’t doing anything for the U.S., but they are making this a place that isn’t attractive enough to want to bust into. Quite a record.
“Mexico’s biggest drug lord escapes from jail. Unbelievable corruption and USA is paying the price. I told you so!” <-- a Donald tweet. "Can you envision Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton negotiating with 'El Chapo', the Mexican drug lord who escaped from prison? ...." <-- a Donald tweet. "...Trump, however, would kick his ass!" <-- a Donald tweet. (Bonus points for speaking of himself in the third person. The royal We is up next.) Though, to be fair, even a stopped clock is right twice and all of that. "I hear that sleepy eyes @chucktodd will be fired like a dog from ratings starved Meet The Press? I can't imagine what is taking so long!" <-- a Donald tweet. We hear you, Trump. We do. But, Trump is so Trump, "Convention Center officials in Phoenix don't want to admit that they broke the fire code by allowing 12-15,000 people in 4,000 code room." Neener-neener! Kick his a$$! Next up: Trump will also kick ISIL's a$$! Take that, losers. Update: Apparently by "kick his a$$", Donald Trump meant "call the FBI and beg for help." TMZ reported that the Donald called the FBI to report what he perceived as a threatening tweet from El Chapo’s son. “The tweet was written in Spanish, with the rough English translation, ‘Keep f***ing around and I’m gonna make you swallow your bitch words you f***ing whitey milks***tter (that’s a homophobic slur).'”
Basically, a tweet like the rest of us get every day. Trump’s solution? Call the federal government and beg for help. Your small government conservative in action.
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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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