Ashok Dhillon
Jun 25, 20209 min
Nothing about Donald Trump is quite real or true.
Trump is not as rich as he professes to be, he is not the patriot, nor the American, nor the Republican, nor the Christian that he pretends to be for purely political purposes.
Forbes has estimated Trump’s wealth at about $3.1 Billion before the pandemic and $2.1 Billion after the drop in valuations from COVID-19 virus economic hit. Trump has always claimed his wealth at about $10 Billion, which has been rubbished by all valuating agencies. It must be noted that he actively lies about his wealth, and fights to hide all his financial information including his tax returns, to safeguard the lie (the infamous ‘tax audit’ that never finishes).
Trump has seemingly sold himself to Russian money and influence, and actively promotes Russia’s interest within the US, and amongst the G-7 Countries (World’s biggest economies). Recently, he pleaded with the other G-7 Leaders that Putin and therefore Russia be allowed to re-join the G-7, after being booted out a few years ago. He was turned down flat by the other national leaders. Kowtowing publicly to Putin at every opportunity is not the patriotism that America needs.
At every political opportunity Trump claims to be a proud American patriot, but everyone who has known Trump, knows his true loyalty lies only to himself, which gets reaffirmed with every new book published about him by those that have known him well, and by those that have worked closely with him in the White House, like the famed Republican hawk John Bolton. Now that Trump’s former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, has damningly detailed how Trump sells out America’s interest repeatedly to other country’s leaders to curry personal political favours, in his latest book, the Republicans still supporting Trump have suddenly decided that their decades long ‘ferocious conservative hawk’ is suddenly a traitor and a pariah. When it comes to Trump the Republican lawmakers and supporters turn on their former ‘heroes’ when they put loyalty to America before loyalty to Trump, just as they are now turning on John Bolton.
Accomplished career officials like James Comey, and decorated ‘war hero’ Robert Mueller, and high-ranking career Generals that served in the Trump administration like General Jim Mattis (Secretary Defense), and General John Kelly (Secretary Homeland Security and Chief of Staff), who are all American heroes and ‘stars’ till they openly don’t agree with him, or call him out for doing that which is un-American, or dangerous for the security of the country, then, they suddenly become traitors and pariahs.
However, neither Trump nor the Republicans can bad-mouth, silence, or in any way belittle and demonize a truly ferocious far-right Conservative hawk and long standing media personality, the hard core Republican, Ann Coulter. Once a fierce Trump promoter, supporter and fan, who in 2016 wrote and published the book ‘In Trump We Trust’, and believed deeply in his promises and policies as he ran for President, over time got quickly and increasingly disillusioned by him in the White House as President. Then reality started to break through her starry-eyed expectations of him, till it all turned into open horror and disgust, which true to her nature she has not been willing to hide, and on the contrary, her unvarnished opinion of Trump is now open loathing of the man. To say that Trump deeply disappointed and enraged Ann Coulter by his actions, words and atrocious track record in carrying out his promises, would be to make a colossal understatement. From once being a super-fan, Ann has become a fierce Trump critic and adversary. Her latest twitter salvos against him are from her recent rant triggered by Trump’s opposition to Jeff Sessions for the Senate, but they are enough to convey her sentiments:
And these no-punches-pulled condemnations and criticisms of Trump as President are not from some crazed left-wing-nut job, but from the well-established, far-right Conservative super-hawk, and celebrated media icon, Ann Coulter. Trump’s abject failures as President are not the false constructs of a Trump hating left-wing-mob, but the reality, which turned Ann Coulter from being a fervent believer into an enraged fanatical critic. Lately, a number of America’s top Generals have also called-out Trump for his assault on the Constitution, and the danger he poses to America and its citizens. Trump, by undermining America’s Constitution (which he is quite unfamiliar with) for his personal and political interest, almost daily disproves that he is any kind of a patriot.
As for being a Republican now, it was an opportunity that Trump seized. He has been an Independent, and for 8 years in the 2000s he was a registered Democrat, and now he is a Republican. He is a pure opportunist, not a political, religious or social ideologue. He doesn’t give a damn about ‘Conservative values’, of fiscal restraint as he is happy running the biggest budget deficits (before the Pandemic), or Christian morality (his daily compulsive lying and his life says it all), or small government, or the rest of Conservative ideological aspirations, BUT, if it keeps him in power, he will do and say whatever it takes, regardless of the personal hypocrisy, or the cost to America, or to its citizens. To get re-elected, Trump will go so far as to promote division, hatred and civil war in America.
The devil’s pact that has been made between Trump and the Republicans is that he gives them what they want, everything for the rich - lower taxes, no public healthcare to speak of but expensive corporate bottom-line driven fiasco posing as healthcare; and deregulation that degrades the environment and empowers corporations and the financial industry only, at the cost of ordinary Americans; no investment in public education or social services, but all that hurts the ordinary and poor Americans, including stripping the food stamps program and nutritious food for children in school - and for this kind of cold-hearted stripping of the public-good, along with Right-wing stacked Courts, they the Republicans will support him unconditionally. This pact between a narcissistic, self-centred Trump and the money-bought Republicans, has damaged America and ordinary Americans deeply in his first term.
A recent Report undertaken by the Guardian found that millions of Americans can’t afford their ever rising water & sewage bills that have risen dramatically in the past two to three years, and about 80% over the last decade. These Americans are at risk of losing their homes because of outstanding water bills. As this is of course impacting the poorer segments of the American society the most, obviously, only the Democrats are interested in trying to do something about it. As for Trump, he continues to abuse the Democrats as ‘do nothings’, while he and the Republican-controlled Senate block everything they do try to do for the ordinary Americans.
As for being a Christen, Trump is laughable. From all accounts, before becoming President, he never took any interest in Christianity, a Church, or the Bible. Now, to lock the evangelical votes, he pretends and mumbles and fumbles through the most basic aspects of it, to the comic delight of millions. Trump’s playacting on being a Christian has produced some of the most memorably awkward moments for him (apart from drinking water from a glass (as seen in the photo to the right), walking down a ramp (with assistance), climbing up steps with toilet paper stuck to his shoe (second photo below, or simply dumping an umbrella before entering Air Force One plane (last photo).
Trump is certainly not the great businessman, nor the savvy negotiator, nor the leader he pretends to be (there are those in America that could buy him with their breakfast money, whose business acumen and wealth make Trump look like the imposter he is, hiding his financial information and his tax returns like a common criminal).
By no means is Trump the good husband, father or role model that would stand up to barest minimum standards required by any society. His past wives, including the current one, are often times downright hostile towards him; his relationship with his kids is fraught with eyebrow raising moments, especially with is daughter, and as for being a role model, well, his public statements, confessions (Hollywood Access Tapes), paying off porn stars and playboy models, and incessant lying, speak for themselves.
Trump definitely is not the President that he himself promotes daily. In the midst of an atrociously handled pandemic, on his watch, Trump’s dim-witted actions and statements has catapulted America, the richest and most powerful country, to be the foremost epicentre of the disease, with more infections and deaths of any country in the World! In spite of that ignoble ‘achievement’ in which Trump inadvertently made America the ‘Greatest’ in COVID-19 infection and deaths, he preens himself daily with self-congratulations of job well done, even as new infection cases and deaths keep rising, keeping the US well ahead of the other countries. [His ‘protégé’, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, is working hard to match him in irresponsible leadership, and willful ignorance, catapulting Brazil well ahead of most countries, and now is second only to the US in the number of total infections and deaths.]
America leads all countries with over 2,300,000 infection cases and over 120,000 deaths from the COVID-19 virus. In addition, these numbers do not reflect the reality, as the true numbers are estimated to be much higher by most experts and front-line health workers. Trump’s active campaign to down play the pandemic and reject his own medical expert’s advice has resulted in many Republican led States reopened earlier than they should have, and many of his supporters have rebelled against taking the most basic common-sense precautions that would protect them, with the result COVID-19 infections have surged in the US.
As far as his hardcore supporters go, it all really doesn’t matter how spectacularly he fails at everything, they just love him for representing them and their worst instincts - white supremacy, Nazism, armed militias, vigilantism, always more guns, xenophobia, right-wing bigotry in all its forms, racism, destruction of the environment, decimating of consumer protection, corruption in high places both in politics and business, horrifically exploitive and insanely expensive healthcare, bigoted religiosity, biased conservative courts, narrow mindedness, and fierce resistance to all human progress, including women’s rights.
With that hardcore base of supporters among the Republican lawmakers and the public, Trump fixated on being the President for them, and what they stood for, and not for the majority of Americans who represent the ‘popular (majority) vote’. In doing that, starting with putting down Mexicans, banning a majority of Muslims from entering the US, to persecuting those that sought refuge and immigration in the country, separating and caging children, breaking government promises to the Dreamers, to unlawfully breaking international agreements and treaties, abusing and alienating allies while kowtowing and sucking up to all dictators, especially Russia’s Putin, Trump made America the pariah State.
While accusing previous administrations of making America the laughing stock of the World, Trump is the only US President who has been openly laughed at in the United Nations Assembly, to his face, for uttering ridiculously false and self-promoting statements. That is just the way Trump is, and has always been, untruthful, embarrassingly boastful, prone to wild exaggerations, and steeped in daily failures.
His most recent political rally in Tulsa illustrates his greatest weakness, exaggeration followed by spectacular failure. For days Trump and his Campaign team boasted that ‘Over a ‘Million’ people were requesting tickets and most anxiously waiting to attend the rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma (a previously strong State for Trump). In reality, just 6,200 people attended the rally in the 19,000 capacity indoor arena, as reported by the Tulsa Fire Department (6,200 versus over 1,000,000). The outdoor stage built in anticipation of the ‘overflow’ crowd had to be torn down as too few people showed up. For Trump it was a humiliating reality check, and for his campaign staff, a most probable lethal faux pas. It is widely suspected that his Campaign Manager’s days are probably numbered. But that is the set pattern of the Trump Presidency. Wild claims followed by spectacular failures.
His failures on all fronts have become legend. He failed miserably to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in spite of indulging in the most ridiculous modern day ‘bromance’ in recent history, which was downright embarrassing to watch. His failure to curb China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia; ‘win’ Iran, Afghanistan; save Syria, Yemen, Libya; or bring ‘peace’ to the Middle East and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, has cost America its credibility internationally. His failure to bring ‘jobs’ back in any measurable numbers from abroad, revitalize industry, manufacturing, rebuild crumbling infrastructure, lift education, protect the environment, bring ‘healthcare for all, cheaper’ by destroying ‘ObamaCare’, revive the coal industry, give tax breaks to the middle class, drain the swamp, or even the most fundamental – ‘build a big beautiful wall and have Mexico pay for it’. All such promises were spectacular failures or lies.
Yet, according to Trump and his supporters, he is the ‘Greatest’ President in US history, ever.
According to the reality of his Presidency and us, not the alternate reality spun by him and the Republicans: NO, he is not a great President, just an ‘Imposter’.
According to the ever acerbic Ann Coulter, Trump is, “the most disloyal actual retard that has ever set foot in the Oval Office”. We could not have put that any better.