Give Trump a chance (jk)
I hear Trump did a talk last night, and did a fair job of reading the script. I hear that a surprising number of people are announcing that this means he is “presidential” and that we should “give him a chance.”
This makes no sense to me. He’s had hundreds of thousands of chances, his whole life. People give him a chance all the time. He’s had nothing but chances. He had chances after the election, and more chances after the inauguration. Why should we be giving him more of them now? It’s not as if he’s left us in any doubt about what kind of person he is. He barfs out evidence every day. Why would his ability to do something children learn to do in first grade be a reason to give him yet more chances? Especially when he already has those chances anyway – he’ll have them for four years, unless he’s impeached or otherwise expelled.
Also – that whole thing with the war widow? I haven’t watched it and hope to be able to avoid watching it forever, but anyway – how revolting can you get.
I’ve been bracing for this. Kind of expected it to happen at the inauguration, but then Trump managed to fall short of my already minimal expectations for him.
The media really doesn’t want to be at war with the White House. Most reporters and editors like to think of themselves as giving “both sides” an equally hard time, holding everybody to account, yadda yadda yadda. Which is why, during the campaign, we were treated to 5,000 stories about EMAILZ, to “balance out” the stories they were writing about Trump insulting the Khans, Judge Curiel, admitting to repeated sexual assault. . . .
Over the last month or so, many outlets have started to realize that maybe there’s something going on here with the repeated blatant lying and drumming up of hatred that maybe it’s ok to spend more time criticizing the administration than praising it. But their natural instincts are hard to resist. They’re dying to go back to their view-from-nowhere “critics say that Trump’s plan to make a bridge to Mars for just $1 million using illegal immigrants is both inhumane and unfeasible, but supporters praise the president’s creativity and budget-consciousness.”
And the bar for “presidential” is set really low. As long as you “look the part,” i.e. male, tall, preferably white, you just have to give a speech without saying “fuck” or tripping over yourself on the way to the podium and you’ll be called “presidential.” Of course, if you’re a woman, they’ll critique your clothes (“that pantsuit!”), your voice (“so strident!”) and declare that you failed to meet some amorphous standard (“just not a strong leader, I’m not sure why!”).
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1457778200907303/?type=3&theater
This isn’t about giving him a chance. This is about giving the people who voted for him (and the rest of the republican crew) a chance. No thanks.