Friends, I recommend to you today this thought-provoking article by Victor Davis Hanson. It reflects on the remarkable staying power of Donald Trump. For four years he has been hammered relentlessly, so much so that Trump-hatred has become an obsession for about half the country. And yet...he survives, even prospers at times! Hanson suggests that pillorying Republican leaders has become de rigueur on the Left. Any Republican, even one more "polite" and conventional than Trump, would be savaged day in and day out. He would be called a racist, a "Nazi", a dictator, and worse! Liberals would even fantasize about killing him. All this, sad to say, is now NORMAL in America. The question is, however, how would the Republican leader in question respond to these assaults? Would he smile and carry on? Would he turn the other cheek? Would he mouth some pleasantries about "compassionate conservatism"? Would he embrace elements of the Democratic agenda in order to seem more moderate? This is the conventional playbook, after all. Trump, however, plays by different rules. When someone throws a punch at him, by God he punches back! Could that explain the fact that he's still standing after all these years, and after so much adversity? It bears consideration, I'm sure you'll agree.
https://amgreatness.com/2019/09/15/trumped-out/
I wonder does he ever get tired of all this or does he just sit back and go, "Gotcha'". I bet he truly did not know what he was getting into.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how he does it, really I don't. He has faced so much adversary, hate, spitefulness etc.
Nick, Trump gets pilloried because he brings it on himself -- whether it be the 12,000+ lies he has engaged in, or his failed trade deals, or the unprecedented turnover in his administration, or his corrupt self-dealing.
ReplyDeleteIf Trump would cut the crap, he'd be in a position to be re-elected. As it is, he has never hit 50% approval rating in the polls, and currently sits at 38-39%. If Trump got off Twitter, and reined in his b.s. when he engages the press, he'd be far better off.
Dr. Waddy and Linda and Rod: In my opinion the salient strength of President Trump is summarized in a remark from a good friend of mine who lives in the tiny Pennsylvania North Country hamlet of Austin: "he says what I want to say!" The real America knows this and will not desert him. He has faults, just like us.
ReplyDeleteThis resolute man has guts of iron and as such he is the left's worse nightmare. Rain opprobrium on him and he will shake it off and grin. He knows from which his strength derives, the great American geographical and patriotic interior and they return his devotion to them. RINOS are far too timid and apologetic to comprehend this. We would welcome their return but without them we will manage, yes we will. The left and its often well meaning but completely misguided cadres? You WILL be overpowered.
Linda, I know just what you mean. I doubt very much that I could endure the endless barrage of attacks that Trump faces. Politics has gotten UGLY. My sense is that Trump deals with it remarkably well most of the time -- he doesn't lack for ego, after all -- but sometimes it gets under his skin and he lashes out. So be it. As Jack said, he's human, like us. Pride, spite, self-pity -- these aren't virtues by any means. They're faults, but they are the faults of a man who is comfortable in his own skin, not a poseur. What you see is what you get with Trump, and that has to be refreshing on some level. The contrast with someone like Hillary Clinton could not be more stark. I would also say that, most of the time, Trump reacts to his critics in the best way possible: by laughing them off.
ReplyDeleteRod, it's good to have you back in the mix! I would take issue with your characterization of the polls, though. Trump's average approval rating is more like 43-44%, but you're right that he's always been underwater. But let's be honest: could it be otherwise when most of the press covers him negatively 90% of the time? You tell me, Rod -- is 90% of what's going on in this country BAD? I think not. Trump-haters have made a decision to accentuate the negative, and Trump himself is powerless to change their perception. As for "corrupt self-dealing," I'd like to see some documentation of that charge. I hope you're not referring to the Turnberry nonsense.
Jack, there's no denying that Trump has connected with the GOP base in a way that no President has since...well, since time began. Rod, you would have to admit that Trump's combativeness, which the press and the establishment despise, the MAGA crowd adores. You can't please everyone...
Dr. Waddy and Rod: We have embraced, not fully but increasingly, the sober reality that the left seeks our complete destruction and the end of all we stand for; no less than that! Sorry, we reject any denial of this ; we have seen too much. Trump is of our mind; therefore, we support him.And that is how definite it is!
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