Today is the dreaded day.
Donald Trump will stand in front of Chief Justice Roberts—where the likes of Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, and FDR have stood before him—and be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.
It’s really hard for me to watch Donald Trump become President of the United States. In fact, it’s hard for my brain to form the words “President Donald Trump.” I don’t see him as presidential. I don’t see him as a leader. I don’t even see him as a mature adult. So it’s a strain for my brain to form the words “President Donald Trump.”
It’s difficult for me to watch, but not because I am a sore loser. I am often accused of being a sore loser when I criticize Donald Trump. It’s hard for me to watch because it is difficult to watch a race baiting, misogynistic reality TV star—who is less qualified for the job he applied for than I to become an astronaut—become the most powerful person on the planet.
The President of the United States must be, above all else, a statesman—a skillful, experienced, respected leader both at home and on the global stage. The man he replaces was an eloquent, inspiring, and dignified statesman. President Barack Obama held the office with class and character. His wife Michelle Obama was a magnificent First Lady, who emerged as a powerful and inspiring leader in her own right. I appreciate that many of Trump’s supporters disagree with his policies, but I am at a complete loss when they call him classless or a disgrace. I can find no basis for such an accusation other than they find it disgraceful that the office was held by a black man.
In his eight years in office, President Obama had fewer personal scandals than Donald Trump had during his campaign for the office. Donald Trump is so far removed from the realm of statesmanship that statesmanship is an unrealistic expectation of him. If you are waiting for Donald Trump to display statesmanship, I wouldn’t hold my breath. My hope for Donald Trump, the President, is that he can move beyond the immature and adolescent-like behavior that he exhibited, not only during the campaign, but since winning the election as well. I hope he can let go of all the name-calling, the whining, fibbing, and petty Twitter feuds. I have friends with twelve and thirteen year old children that get more out of their kids than we do from Donald Trump.
Another point of contention I have with Donald Trump and another reason it is difficult for me to watch the inauguration, is the way he talks. This is a point of contention for me, not because I’m an oratorical snob, but because speech is a window into the speaker’s mind. When we listen to someone speak we see how their mind works. And apparently Donald Trump’s mind works in 148 characters. Teleprompter Trump is hard enough to watch, but get Trump off of a teleprompter and it becomes unbearable. He is completely incoherent. He talks in short, erratic outbursts that may or may not be related to the previous tirade or the topic at hand, which leads me to believe that he is uniformed. And it is frightening to think we have elected not only a uniformed person, but someone that is suspicious of information.
Be that as it may, Donald Trump is our President and we have to move forward. So the question is how? I have no allegiance to Pres…Presi…uhhhhh, sheesh: President Trump. I have an allegiance to my country. My job as a citizen is not to support him, but to stand up for the values that make this country great and to strive for a more perfect union. Trump supporters keep saying, “Now is the time to come together.” Well, what brings us together? It’s not Donald Trump. It is the egalitarian and democratic values enshrined in our Constitution. So long as President Trump works to advance those values and not his personal interests, we will be fine. He will have his detractors and partisan politics will continue to thrive, but we, as a nation, will be fine. But if Trump continues to scapegoat religious and racial minorities, if he continues to fan the xenophobic flame, then well-meaning, patriotic people on the left and the right will continue to speak out because that is how you strive for a more perfect union.
It’s really hard for me to watch Donald Trump become President of the United States. In fact, it’s hard for my brain to form the words “President Donald Trump.” I don’t see him as presidential. I don’t see him as a leader. I don’t even see him as a mature adult. So it’s a strain for my brain to form the words “President Donald Trump.”
It’s difficult for me to watch, but not because I am a sore loser. I am often accused of being a sore loser when I criticize Donald Trump. It’s hard for me to watch because it is difficult to watch a race baiting, misogynistic reality TV star—who is less qualified for the job he applied for than I to become an astronaut—become the most powerful person on the planet.
The President of the United States must be, above all else, a statesman—a skillful, experienced, respected leader both at home and on the global stage. The man he replaces was an eloquent, inspiring, and dignified statesman. President Barack Obama held the office with class and character. His wife Michelle Obama was a magnificent First Lady, who emerged as a powerful and inspiring leader in her own right. I appreciate that many of Trump’s supporters disagree with his policies, but I am at a complete loss when they call him classless or a disgrace. I can find no basis for such an accusation other than they find it disgraceful that the office was held by a black man.
In his eight years in office, President Obama had fewer personal scandals than Donald Trump had during his campaign for the office. Donald Trump is so far removed from the realm of statesmanship that statesmanship is an unrealistic expectation of him. If you are waiting for Donald Trump to display statesmanship, I wouldn’t hold my breath. My hope for Donald Trump, the President, is that he can move beyond the immature and adolescent-like behavior that he exhibited, not only during the campaign, but since winning the election as well. I hope he can let go of all the name-calling, the whining, fibbing, and petty Twitter feuds. I have friends with twelve and thirteen year old children that get more out of their kids than we do from Donald Trump.
Another point of contention I have with Donald Trump and another reason it is difficult for me to watch the inauguration, is the way he talks. This is a point of contention for me, not because I’m an oratorical snob, but because speech is a window into the speaker’s mind. When we listen to someone speak we see how their mind works. And apparently Donald Trump’s mind works in 148 characters. Teleprompter Trump is hard enough to watch, but get Trump off of a teleprompter and it becomes unbearable. He is completely incoherent. He talks in short, erratic outbursts that may or may not be related to the previous tirade or the topic at hand, which leads me to believe that he is uniformed. And it is frightening to think we have elected not only a uniformed person, but someone that is suspicious of information.
Be that as it may, Donald Trump is our President and we have to move forward. So the question is how? I have no allegiance to Pres…Presi…uhhhhh, sheesh: President Trump. I have an allegiance to my country. My job as a citizen is not to support him, but to stand up for the values that make this country great and to strive for a more perfect union. Trump supporters keep saying, “Now is the time to come together.” Well, what brings us together? It’s not Donald Trump. It is the egalitarian and democratic values enshrined in our Constitution. So long as President Trump works to advance those values and not his personal interests, we will be fine. He will have his detractors and partisan politics will continue to thrive, but we, as a nation, will be fine. But if Trump continues to scapegoat religious and racial minorities, if he continues to fan the xenophobic flame, then well-meaning, patriotic people on the left and the right will continue to speak out because that is how you strive for a more perfect union.
