I think it’s fair to say to those who regularly read this blog that I am no fan of Donald Trump. Never was, never have been, never will be. I have written reams about his behavior, his unfitness for the Oval Office, the lunacy of him even being a major party candidate for president.
But, now, he’s just pissing me off.
A tape appears – with his voice on it – describing, in what he thought was a private conversation his male macho bragging about how he has his way with women who don’t want him to. He described sexual assaults including when he’d just “grab their pussy” and there were no consequences. After all, he was a “big star” and who would complain. He could get away with it, he said, to laughs from Billy Bush.
Then, we start hearing women go public – on the record, on tape – describing exactly the behavior Trump bragged about, and he says they are lying. And, as of this writing, says he has proof of their lying, but has yet to disclose that proof.
He described his behavior and these women told stories confirming his behavior.
He called his braggadocio just “locker room talk” and, by now, you all have heard men who say they never sat in a locker and described how they would criminally sexually attack a woman nor did they hear anyone else do that. But Donald did. For the record, I never heard anyone say in a locker room they sexually assaulted women or fantasizing about doing so.
After successfully avoiding the question in Sunday’s debate, Trump finally stated “no, I did not” when asked by Anderson Cooper if he ever actually did sexually attack a woman. Anyone with a brain above their waist knew it was only a matter of time before women broke their silence and unveiled the ways he attacked them. He basically asked for it with his debate answer. He assaulted them years ago and rubbed it in Sunday night. What did he expect? They'd continue to stay quiet?
He, of course, has his defenders even in this area. Rose Tripp, GOP national committee woman from New Mexico, was quoted in the New York Times saying, “he who is without sin can cast the first stone.” Committeewoman Tripp, I am not without sin – but I have never talked like Mr. Trump did in a locker room or out. And I certainly never behaved like him. Nor has any man I have had in my company.
Trump dismissed those who came out to tell stories of his sexual attacks as using “false smears.” Trump inadvertently admitted his guilt here. How? A “smear” is defined as to “damage the reputation of someone by false accusations; slander.” A “false” smear then would be a true statement. I think he was reading from the teleprompter he said he’d never use when he said that so it was a thought-out phrase.
Oh and there’s that woman who said Trump groped her in first-class on a plane, quite in public. Trump’s defense? Would he actually do that with witnesses around, or words to that effect? To which I say, if a woman was going to make up a story about you groping her, wouldn’t she say it was in private so it would be at worst ‘he said, she said’ and not be subject to a witness coming up to say it didn’t happen?
I mean, Lord, Trump. I know that you can lie much better than that. You have, and you are.
He also says these women are doing it for their 15 minutes of fame. Gee, exactly how women want to get their fame – admitting to being groped by Donald Trump. In his mind that apparently is a major compliment. Hell, he even says he wouldn’t have groped one woman who has alleged assault against him because, hey, have you seen her? “I don’t think so,” he told a rally to huge cheers. Lord!! That means if she was, to you, more attractive, you would assault her?
Trump also issued his typical threat of a lawsuit against the New York Times for its story on one woman who testified against him in public. The Times’ lawyer countered with the basic argument against libel which is “truth is a defense” and he did it in non-lawyer language that even Mr. Trump could understand. He won’t sue, of course. He seldom does because that would mean him giving a deposition, under oath, which personally I doubt he’d take seriously anyway (which doesn’t bode well for him crossing his fingers behind his back if he ever should take the oath of office).
Many folks are supporting Trump because that’s just how much they hate Hillary Clinton. So they aren’t supporting Trump, they are opposing her. That’s sad. Not that she is a perfect candidate. She is far from it.
But she also does not blatantly lie about everything. I do not believe one word Trump says. I do not believe any of the promises he is making to the American people because he will break them as easily as he lies. I also don’t agree with some of the policies he’s actually talked about. In fact, neither does the GOP.
Has Clinton lied? I believe so. But Trump truly knows no bounds. Are the Wikileaks bad for Clinton? I guess, but most of the ones I’ve heard about are mostly insiders talking inside baseball about strategy. And if you’ve ever been in those conversations, you know they are all over the place and often are just talk. Not all, just some. Just saying.
Trump’s back to being “unleashed,” throwing people out of his rallies, threatening to, in effect, repeal the First Amendment (as if he would have the power), to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton (as if he would have the power). To throw her in jail, like any two-bit dictator does. To build his “big, beautiful wall.” His lack of knowledge knows no bounds. He insults African Americans, Jews, immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, women. He said the New York Times is out to get him because, gosh, did you know the owner of the Times is a “Mexican”? I did not know that. Nor do I care, Mr. Trump.
That’s not why reporters from legitimate news outlets do stories. In fact, having lived in a news room for 10 years of my career, I can tell you that if our owner/publisher told me to slant my stories, I would have done the opposite out of spite. I covered a union negotiation (and I was a negotiator for my own union, by the way) and as I walked along a sidewalk outside the building where the negotiations were being held, I was spit on from a fourth-story window by a union negotiator because I represented a paper whose editorial policy was anti this particular union’s positions. Spit upon. Fact was, I disliked my publisher at the time more than he did.
But that spitter was, metaphorically, Donald Trump. Believing conspiracy theories without asking the question, without paying attention to the truth.
This is the world according to Trump. And that is not a world we want to live.
But, now, he’s just pissing me off.
A tape appears – with his voice on it – describing, in what he thought was a private conversation his male macho bragging about how he has his way with women who don’t want him to. He described sexual assaults including when he’d just “grab their pussy” and there were no consequences. After all, he was a “big star” and who would complain. He could get away with it, he said, to laughs from Billy Bush.
Then, we start hearing women go public – on the record, on tape – describing exactly the behavior Trump bragged about, and he says they are lying. And, as of this writing, says he has proof of their lying, but has yet to disclose that proof.
He described his behavior and these women told stories confirming his behavior.
He called his braggadocio just “locker room talk” and, by now, you all have heard men who say they never sat in a locker and described how they would criminally sexually attack a woman nor did they hear anyone else do that. But Donald did. For the record, I never heard anyone say in a locker room they sexually assaulted women or fantasizing about doing so.
After successfully avoiding the question in Sunday’s debate, Trump finally stated “no, I did not” when asked by Anderson Cooper if he ever actually did sexually attack a woman. Anyone with a brain above their waist knew it was only a matter of time before women broke their silence and unveiled the ways he attacked them. He basically asked for it with his debate answer. He assaulted them years ago and rubbed it in Sunday night. What did he expect? They'd continue to stay quiet?
He, of course, has his defenders even in this area. Rose Tripp, GOP national committee woman from New Mexico, was quoted in the New York Times saying, “he who is without sin can cast the first stone.” Committeewoman Tripp, I am not without sin – but I have never talked like Mr. Trump did in a locker room or out. And I certainly never behaved like him. Nor has any man I have had in my company.
Trump dismissed those who came out to tell stories of his sexual attacks as using “false smears.” Trump inadvertently admitted his guilt here. How? A “smear” is defined as to “damage the reputation of someone by false accusations; slander.” A “false” smear then would be a true statement. I think he was reading from the teleprompter he said he’d never use when he said that so it was a thought-out phrase.
Oh and there’s that woman who said Trump groped her in first-class on a plane, quite in public. Trump’s defense? Would he actually do that with witnesses around, or words to that effect? To which I say, if a woman was going to make up a story about you groping her, wouldn’t she say it was in private so it would be at worst ‘he said, she said’ and not be subject to a witness coming up to say it didn’t happen?
I mean, Lord, Trump. I know that you can lie much better than that. You have, and you are.
He also says these women are doing it for their 15 minutes of fame. Gee, exactly how women want to get their fame – admitting to being groped by Donald Trump. In his mind that apparently is a major compliment. Hell, he even says he wouldn’t have groped one woman who has alleged assault against him because, hey, have you seen her? “I don’t think so,” he told a rally to huge cheers. Lord!! That means if she was, to you, more attractive, you would assault her?
Trump also issued his typical threat of a lawsuit against the New York Times for its story on one woman who testified against him in public. The Times’ lawyer countered with the basic argument against libel which is “truth is a defense” and he did it in non-lawyer language that even Mr. Trump could understand. He won’t sue, of course. He seldom does because that would mean him giving a deposition, under oath, which personally I doubt he’d take seriously anyway (which doesn’t bode well for him crossing his fingers behind his back if he ever should take the oath of office).
Many folks are supporting Trump because that’s just how much they hate Hillary Clinton. So they aren’t supporting Trump, they are opposing her. That’s sad. Not that she is a perfect candidate. She is far from it.
But she also does not blatantly lie about everything. I do not believe one word Trump says. I do not believe any of the promises he is making to the American people because he will break them as easily as he lies. I also don’t agree with some of the policies he’s actually talked about. In fact, neither does the GOP.
Has Clinton lied? I believe so. But Trump truly knows no bounds. Are the Wikileaks bad for Clinton? I guess, but most of the ones I’ve heard about are mostly insiders talking inside baseball about strategy. And if you’ve ever been in those conversations, you know they are all over the place and often are just talk. Not all, just some. Just saying.
Trump’s back to being “unleashed,” throwing people out of his rallies, threatening to, in effect, repeal the First Amendment (as if he would have the power), to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton (as if he would have the power). To throw her in jail, like any two-bit dictator does. To build his “big, beautiful wall.” His lack of knowledge knows no bounds. He insults African Americans, Jews, immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, women. He said the New York Times is out to get him because, gosh, did you know the owner of the Times is a “Mexican”? I did not know that. Nor do I care, Mr. Trump.
That’s not why reporters from legitimate news outlets do stories. In fact, having lived in a news room for 10 years of my career, I can tell you that if our owner/publisher told me to slant my stories, I would have done the opposite out of spite. I covered a union negotiation (and I was a negotiator for my own union, by the way) and as I walked along a sidewalk outside the building where the negotiations were being held, I was spit on from a fourth-story window by a union negotiator because I represented a paper whose editorial policy was anti this particular union’s positions. Spit upon. Fact was, I disliked my publisher at the time more than he did.
But that spitter was, metaphorically, Donald Trump. Believing conspiracy theories without asking the question, without paying attention to the truth.
This is the world according to Trump. And that is not a world we want to live.
RSS Feed