Trump
supporters need to take a moment to consider the serious nature of what Donald
Trump is about to do right now - June 20, 2020 - in Tulsa OK.
Those supporters are about to become the indirect targets and collateral
damage brought about by the all-out efforts of Donald J. Trump to ignore the
warnings of scientists and health professionals in favor of holding a political
Rally. And, this isn’t the first time
that Trump has concocted and acted on events and activities that threaten the
well-being of his followers and others.
Trump’s failure
to act on COVID19 containment, his trashing of NATO, his threats and attacks on
women, minorities and immigrants, along with his lack of action on voter
suppression, police brutality and institutionalized racism – all of these actions
have the potential to do some collateral damage to his supporters and allies.
To say that
Trump supporters are short-sighted would be a nice way of putting it. Are they “his people?” Not if you look at his
record of cheating and non-payment of contractors and workers or his use of illegal
immigrants on his properties, or the people he entertains at his ‘luxury’
properties (rarely any from the working class).
How about his supposed on-line “university?” How many “followers” were cheated by that fake? and how much did they lose to his scheme?
How about
that threat to send illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities in large groups to
give those cities a taste of the criminality he has ascribed to those immigrants? Would a president who cares about a certain
group of voters even consider sending criminal types among his supporters with
the express purpose of penalizing all those who lived in those cities? His followers were not to be protected by him
in any way.
And right
now, Trump is about to repeat that disregard for his followers in Tulsa (and
others in that state and nearby states) inviting them to a mass rally that will
be made up mostly of supporter attendees who have been brainwashed not to wear
masks, maintain social distancing or take any other coronavirus caution. Having given themselves over to the
politicizing of these practices, they miss the main point. This president has invited his followers to
risk their lives to cheer him on. Think
not? then why do attendees have to sign a release/waiver that releases the
Trump administration from any law suits or damages in connection with anyone
who contracts the virus. In other words,
‘Trumpers’ are being invited to gamble their lives for this president, and if the
worst happens and they are killed by this virus, they lose life and their
survivors cannot do a thing about it.
That release/waiver
is proof that this fake president doesn’t care one bit about his followers. He is interested only in his own re-election,
not in their welfare.
Some of the
19.000 attendees expected at this Rally will become ill with the virus (at
worst, perhaps 1 in 5 or 20% = or about 3,800), and some will die (even 1.5% =
190 people). It is inevitable. And, it is tragic. We already know that six
of his advance staff for this event have tested positive for the virus! But,
Donald Trump does not care! He only cares about turning out a substantial
number of followers who will cheer him on!
TO THOSE NOW ASSEMBLING IN
TULSA, THE CORONAVIRUS AWAITS YOU!
And, don’t
forget his threat to peaceful protesters expected at this Rally. In warning them about being roughed-up if
they cause trouble, he is saying to all of us (even his followers) that our rights
depend upon him, not on the Constitution.
Another warning to followers: they are not immune from that kind of despotism;
it will find them and it will assault them when they least expect it. Trump cannot be trusted.
In like
manner, Trump seems not to care about one hundred twenty-thousand persons (he
has characterized it as a “small number”) who have died from the virus
throughout this country. His fumbling, bumbling
approach to this pandemic has more than established his attitude toward his
so-called “base” and the rest of us. Had
he acted more quickly to declare a national emergency and to act in accord with
that declaration, tens of thousands of lives might have been saved.
Now, the
virus is making a resurgence in states that ‘re-opened’ without adequate
guidelines, practices, equipment and PPE.
By walking away from the crisis and thereby claiming it is over, in
essence, Trump has once again ignored the protection of his followers among
thousands of others. He has abandoned
his “people” and they don’t even know it.
But, they will, because Red states are not doing well. The rate of infection and the death rate, as
well as hospitalization is rising quickly, as was warned by scientific experts
whom Trump and his cult followers do not care to comprehend let alone heed. He has given up, and his followers are not protected.
At the same
time, the Trump cultists are ignoring another threat to their lives and
well-being. The John Bolton book
apparently will speak to this in terms that make it perfectly clear. Trump is a threat to our national
security. And that means that we are as
a nation and a people in a dangerous situation.
Trump supporters are included in being affected by that danger. They will not be protected.
To put it
succinctly: all of us - including Trump
followers - are being put in danger by a president who is alienating our
long-time allies, and playing the fool for certain dictators of the world. He has pushed NATO to the breaking point over
“member dues” and at the same time shown himself to be a worshipper of Putin
(Russia), Il Jong Un (N. Korea), Erdogan (Turkey), Xi Jinping (China), to name
a few.
By inviting
at least Russia, Ukraine and China to meddle in our elections to keep him in
office, Trump has gone beyond the constitution and his oath. But what he has done is to once again lump
his supporters with others to sabotage our sovereign right to have our votes cast
and counted fairly. Fixed elections by
outside forces do not protect any particular group. It threatens us all with loss of our right to
vote. For instance, if a Trump supporter votes for someone locally who does not
quite meet Trump agenda, a hacked and electronically-altered machine can be
programmed to switch one’s vote at any level to someone intent upon upsetting the
agenda one originally had in mind. Such
hacking of our voting system does not discern political party. It is programmed solely to alter votes. Thus, a Trump supporter can lose a vote just
like anyone else. And Donald Trump has
made no provision to call these foreign hackers to account. Nor has he launched counter-measures
Elections
subverted by foreign forces constitute a threat to everybody. Trump cultists are not exempt! Besides, since when did they decide that
being manipulated by Putin or Xi Jinping was in their best interest? Trump has ceded control to the very ones he
has solicited to intervene. That ability
to control U.S. voters will not be forfeited anytime soon as long as Trump
plays the puppet.
Maybe one
more example will serve to illuminate the fact that this president puts his
needs above the needs of his followers.
Once again, it is his desire to enhance his numbers and ego while not
giving a damn about the well-being of others.
Surely, Trump’s flirtation (more like obsession) with medical
prescription is not lost in all the news since.
Recall for a moment:
Trump
suggested that there are ways to beat this virus: try ingesting some disinfectant that tends to
kill 99.9% of germs on tabletops and other surfaces. Apparently some tried it,
although searching such statistics produces few reliable results. But let it stand for what it is: Trump once again invited followers to lose
their lives with no provisions made to rescue anyone from this form of suicide.
Then, attempting
to top himself and to look “right” about another preventative measure he had
hinted at in one of his so-called Task Force reports, he went further to claim
that he (and many, many front-line caretakers) was taking a malaria medicine
known as hydroxychloroquine and it was working well for him. His own scientists and others made it plain
that this medicine could cause fatal heart arrhythmia and other serious side
effects such as retinal damage. In spite
of these warnings, Trump recommended its use to his base and others. Once again, he invited voters and his
supporters to take a chance with their health and possibly their lives, essentially
committing suicide. No special exemption
or coverage for anyone has been offered, whether a supporter or not.
At the
center of all this nonsense and chaos is none other than the living, breathing
symbol of defiance and authoritarian government: the wannabe King, Donald J.
Trump. What he has wrought in this scary
time is exactly the opposite of what is required. He is so incompetent that he doesn’t even know
how to act to protect his followers from his threats and bungles.
To continue
this theme, I would like to conclude this Blog in an unusual way: by providing
a list of behaviors, theories, conspiracies, and activities that have been put
forth by this fake president but that do not meet the tests of humaneness, decency,
fairness, equality and concern that should characterize a real POTUS.
Thus, from now until Nov. 3, 2020, at
the end of every Blog posting, I will attach a brief list of at least five of
Trump’s past and present blunders, threats, attacks, tweets, etc. that reveal
the pattern
of abuse, neglect and incompetence exhibited by this so-called president.
Today’s list
of five covers the year 2016 before his electoral victory, to indicate what his
voters were buying with their votes. Too
bad they didn’t pay more attention, so they could have avoided the fall-out
that is coming their way!
Trump threats and bungles in 2015-
2016:
1) May 27, 2015 – Continuing to build on the debunked “birther”
conspiracy, Donald
Trump said Barack Obama could have claimed Kenya as his birthplace for special
treatment from colleges. Trump said, “There
are three things that could happen. And one of them did happen. He was perhaps
born in Kenya.”
2) June 16, 2015 – In his speech
announcing his candidacy for President of the United States, Donald Trump
said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots
of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.
And some, I assume, are good people.” “I
will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico
pay for that wall.”
3)
October 7, 2016 – In
the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, Donald Trump bragged to
Billy Bush about grabbing women by their genitals without consent. In the video published by the Washington
Post, Trump said, “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you
do it, you can do anything.”
4)
2016 – during the year, at least 20 women
came forth to accuse Trump of sexual harassment, an impeachment charge that was
leveled by a Republican Congress against President Clinton in 1998.
5) November 18, 2016 – One week after Trump’s election, 100 foreign
diplomats gathered at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. to drink champagne and tour the
building. This indicated a conflict of interest that could have violated
the Emoluments Clause of the
Constitution, which forbids our government officials from accepting
“any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King,
Prince, or foreign State.”
