The essential Joseph Epstein is always a welcome guest at the Stately Manor. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Professor Epstein perfectly captures the Squire’s considered position on our current President.
Professor Epstein, you have the podium:
My son … nicely formulated the Donald Trump problem for thoughtful conservatives. “I approve of almost everything he has done,” my son remarked, “and I disapprove of almost everything he has said.”Second the motion. I approve of the Neil Gorsuch appointment, the moving of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the removal of often-strangling regulations from much commerce, the opening of the Keystone pipeline, the tax-reform law, and more.
I disapprove of the bragging tweets, the touchiness, the crude put-downs of anyone who disagrees with him (“Little Marco, ” “insecure Oprah, ” “Sloppy Steve, ” and the rest), the unrestrained vulgarity. America has had ignorant, corrupt, vain, lazy presidents before, but in Donald Trump we have the first president who is a genuine boor.
… A boorish president of the United States presents a problem. The presidency, like the monarchy in England, has a symbolic along with a practical aspect. The president is meant to represent the nation at its best.
… To flip my son’s formulation, I approved of almost everything Mr. Obama said, and I disapproved of almost everything he did.
Add to the list of Trump’s good policies his support of the police, arming qualified and willing teachers, school choice (Betsy DeVos), getting tough with Korea, blasting ISIS out of business, and secure borders/immigration reform. The Squire does part company on The Wall, the greatest boondoggle since the Maginot Line.
For those of us who worship Winston Churchill and admire JFK, however, words matter. They must, to a certain extent, even to this White House, or otherwise why the turnover in the Communications Office? The current press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, performs admirably in what must be the most demanding job in Washington, cleaning up after her boss like the elephant keeper at the zoo.
The Always Trumpers delude themselves that Trump’s trash talk somehow drains the swamp. Generals Mattis and Kelly drained a helluva lot more swamps; they spoke softly but carried big sticks. Trump’s talk —and tweets — serves only to step all over his applause lines. Breeds alligators that come back to bite him.
Blaska’s Bottom line: Imagine a President Pence!
19 responses to “Donald Trump: irritating boor with the Right policies”
He is who he is. For his first year in the presidency, I’m thrilled. The cavils are of no weight.
He calls a spade a spade. With the media going all in on him with yes sometimes Fake or Unverified stories over and over and over again. This modern president is using social media tools to rebuke things as they arise. His real speeches are phenomenal. I wish he spoke more to the people in the oval office like Reagan but televised speeches are ignored because people turn the channel or look at sources of entertainment. I will take his sometimes inaccurate and sometimes petty tweets over being talked down to by Obama.
Yup, petty and inaccurate, the marks of a true leader. Where have we gone?
Yes, please do give me the lectures of Obama the previous 8 years and the Hillary glare into the camera as she tsk-tsks about what peons we are. I’d much rather have Trump’s World Wrestling Federation manner. At least it’s entertaining.
Trump’s achieved 64% of his agenda?? His tweets are oh so terrible, but they seem to be a distraction, don’t you think?
If he had to go on Television to refute every “fake news or unverified sources” story about him, the television would have him on from 7 am to 10 pm talking to the “gotcha press.” His tweets have become less frequent but typically more thought out then right after the election, and transition. That 280 or 140 characters will allow. The news cycles so fast and they want to set the agendas, he fights back to set his agenda.
He is all those things people say about him, but we have seen and heard from people about his other side. His tweets are mainly to attack the press and their sycophants. He has always been attacked by the press his entire life, he is a fighter. Fighter’s miss sometimes but he keeps coming back relentlessly. He hits knockouts as well. Keep Delivering and the Tweets will not matter in the end.
“His tweets are mainly to attack the press and their sycophants.”
That is absolute nonsense. He gets personal with his attacks, just take a look at what he has to say about anybody that disagrees with him; Flake, Sessions, Corker, McCain, etc – and those guys are in the same party. His comments about McCain were reprehensible beyond measure.
Is he a fighter? Heck no, he is a draft dodger. Thin-skinned, self-promoting egotist, heck yes.
Just ask ISIS.
I miss having a leader who is articulate, thoughtful and serious. If you felt talked down to by Obama, that’s more on you. I don’t mind having a leader smarter than me, even if he’s black. I don’t look to a leader for entertainment, I look for a steady hand and someone who can give me confidence in him by stringing together thoughts and sentences above a 3rd grade level. Trump changes his tune more that a jukebox. Finally, I want to know our leader has the nation’s best interests at heart, not the family business bottom line. He’s petty, greedy, dishonest and corrupt.
But you like Hillary.
And folks, that’s a wrap!
No rebuttal FOR Trump, eh?
And I really don’t mind a leader smarter than me, even if it’s a woman.
A very low bar.
Dave. Humor. Kinda.
“And I really don’t mind a leader smarter than me, even if it’s a woman.”
Or anyone else for that matter…
Bobo and baldo (thetwintowersofrefractoryminds) have been soundly defeated by expat, and it only required four words.
Better step up your game if you want to hang with the big boys.
And that’s a wrap!
Here’s three for you: in your dreams.
That’s seven words.
Abob:
Looks like counting isn’t his strong suit.
And what 4 words would that be??