The World According to Trump

Apparently, we all tend to view the world from our own perspective and often try to make reality conform to that perspective.

And then, there's Donald Trump. He has created an "alternative" universe for himself and his cult.

In Trump's world:

"I am the Chosen One."
The Christian Crusades were Europe's proudest moment.
Hitler's Mein Kampf was the acme of civilization.
Russia is our friend.
The United States Constitution is obsolete.

The Eight Beatitudes are fake Christianity.
Jesus was blond with blue eyes and spoke English.
Mexicans are "animals" and "bad hombres."
The First Amendment was a colossal mistake.
Bone spurs come and go as needed.

Greenland is for sale.
Paris is part of Germany
Belgium is a beautiful city.
The state of Colorado borders Mexico.
Minneapolis is one of the fifty states.
"I am a stable genius."
"I slept with Princess Diana."

Weather maps enhanced with a sharpie are convincing,
We should rid ourselves of hurricanes by nuking them.
Climate change is a hoax.
Scientists are a threat to our country.
Puerto Ricans are not Americans.

Friends are disposable once they've served their purpose.
Treaties and International agreements are made to be broken.
Our allies are expendable.
Gold Star parents* are whiny and pathetic.
The Nineteenth Amendment --Women's Suffrage -- a really bad idea.

Fox News is a real news organization,
Bribery and extortion are the "American Way."
Charitable foundations are a good way to pay legal bills.
There is one god and only one god -- money.
Bankruptcy is the consummate way to avoid paying your bills.

Homelessness started two years ago.
Ivanka created 14 million jobs last year.
We and Turkey have a great relationship with the Kurds.
Windmills cause cancer.
NATO is passe'.

"People are flushing their toilets 10 times, 15 times.." ??? In Trump's world?
"...laws allow a baby to be born from his or her womb in the 9th month. It is wrong."
George Washington seized the airports.
Forest fires can be prevented by raking the forest floor.
There is too much "negative press covfefe."
(I'm tired.)

As you know, I could keep going with this list of Trump's augmented reality, but frankly, dear reader, you deserve a break from this nonsense. Also, I am confident that you could add many more examples of Trump's delusional reality.

Notice I have not included cases of outright lies--statement diametrically opposed to the facts. The Washington Post has done a good job keeping a tally of those lies.

Unfortunately, all of this nonsense is emanating from the President of the United States. Not only has he lowered the bar for all future presidents, but he has also ruined the credibility of the United States of America. What ally will be willing to trust us? Ask the Kurds.

*Parents of a child who served in the Armed Forces and was killed in battle.

Humorless and Friendless

When my friend, Buck, and I had lunch together at Nick's Diner, the conversation took an unfortunate turn and we ended up discussing our current president. Since Buck is a conservative Republican and I am a progressive Democrat, we have had many political arguments over the years; but since 2016 we have agreed more often than not. We both are appalled and embarrassed that Donald J. Trump is the president of this great country.

Buck is fond of reminding anyone who listens that Trump is not a true conservative as many Republican conservative columnists have made clear. Our waitress, Salina, approached the table as Buck was complaining about the trillions of dollars Trump was adding to the deficit.

"May I tempt you gentleman to a dessert?" she asked.

This, of course, was a perfect set-up for Buck. "As you can clearly see, there is only one gentleman at this table and it is not that radical sitting across from me."

Salina turned to me, "It's my pleasure, I always wanted to meet a radical. I'm not interested in gentlemen." I gave Buck a thumbs-up, and he snorted in his iced-tea.

After we asked for our checks, we were back to Trump, and I asked, "Policy aside, why do you dislike the guy so much?"

"As a bard once said, let me count the ways." A pause. "First, I can't abide a man with no sense of humor. The man can't begin to comprehend, let alone appreciate, humor. He refuses to attend the Washington Press Corps Roast because he doesn't get it.  The idea of honoring someone by making jokes about him is beyond Trump's comprehension. Have you ever heard him say something humorous? And of course, satire is too complicated for him. He thinks he's being humorous when he tweets that so-and-so is 'a bitch.'  That's it; name-calling is his version of humor."

"I'll not point out that earlier you did a bit of name-calling.  But I understand your point about a sense of humor. I can't help but recall that was a criticism of Hitler.  That aside, I sense you have other issues with Donald?"

"We don't have enough time for me to list all of his personal character flaws,  but there is another factor that is a real red flag and that is that he has no friends. Everybody has friends, you say? Well, name one true friend of Donald Trump. People, of course, say they are his friends because that is to their benefit, but when push comes to shove, they know he will throw them under the bus and move on. A person that repeatedly does that has no friends. Trump has no friends. Even people with conflicting ideas become friends. Take Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill, or Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia.  But Trump has no friends, not even people who agree with him."

"What," I ask, "about Vladimir Putin? Trump claims they're friends and he seems to repeatedly make decisions that ultimately help Russia and Putin.",

"They're not friends. Neither is capable of friendship. In Trump's case, it's all about money and fame.  In Putin's case, it's all about power and his ability to manipulate Trump. That's not friendship. A puppeteer and his puppet are not friends."

As we were walking to our cars, it occurred to me that DonaldTrump accomplished what I had never envisioned: Buck and I are in agreement on a political issue.