Results from the Nevada GOP caucuses show Donald Trump with more than 45%, nearly twice the percentage vote of each of his runner-up rivals, Marco Rubio (24%) and Ted Cruz (21%).I do not understand how anyone could entrust our nation's future to one whose vocabulary consists of superlatives and digs.
My husband is wrapping up writing a book on Providence in American history with a chapter on Abraham Lincoln. Trump and Lincoln--polar opposites in their characters and their perspectives of the presidency. I only wish we could produce a Lincoln-esque candidate with the humility to deferentially serve God and the United States people, driven and able to absorb the intricacies of history, international relations and domestic policy.
Instead,GOP front-runner Donald Trump has demonstrated expertise in braggadocio. He exclaims in speeches that he did very well in school, is rich, very rich, and plans to use The Art of the Deal as his presidential guidebook. He emblazons his name in two-story letters on skyscrapers. He blithely insults women, Mexicans and his fellow candidates.
Jimmy Kimmel capsulized the Trump approach in a Dr. Seuss book parody that he read on-air to the approving real Donald.
Most voters share my incredulity with this Trump phenomenon. A January Gallup poll found 60% of Americans view Donald Trump unfavorably. (The same poll found 52% viewed Hillary unfavorably.) Who are these people supporting Trump? How come I've never met any?
But it's numbers that explain why a vote for Trump is a vote for Hillary: Even with her 52% unfavorable rating, Mrs. Clinton is amassing enough delegate votes to win the Democratic nomination. People who like Bernie just haven't come through in the primaries and caucuses--at the moment Hillary's sewn up 503 delegates, while Bernie earned a paltry 70. Apparently promising free stuff--like free college tuition, free preschool, and free medical care--isn't bringing in the delegates.
So, as Hillary's totals rise, Bernie's support weakens, and we can assume she'll be the Democratic nominee, just as everyone always said.
If Republicans divide on the other candidates and propel The Donald to nomination, his negatives "trump" Hillary's. More people are offended by Donald's racist-sounding anti-immigrant rants and his rudeness to Meghan Kelly than love his unplanned bursts of feeling and optimism. So, if he's the Republican nominee, the party shrivels as members defect and Independents cast their votes for the more predictable, and therefore least dangerous of the two offerings.
It's great fun to watch debates where the frowning Comb-over King lets loose his assurances we'll be the best country and fix everything. But when it comes down to our safety and the delicate diplomacy needed in this fragile world, it's clear Americans just don't want an apprentice.
Hello Diane--you are really a wonderful writer. (Even if I disagree with you!) "Who are these people supporting Trump"? Well, I am one-you knew that. A bit like the Upper East Side matron who said at the end of 1980 "how did that dreadful man win; I don't know a single person who voted for him!" I have met large numbers of people including seriously religious Jews and Christians who are happier supporting Trump than any of the other options. You just haven't met enough of the obviously large part of the population that has come to loathe and fear politicians and government. These good Americans are't supporting Trump because they identify with his "superlatives and digs". They are supporting him in spite of them. Your final paragraph is a real beaut; so well crafted. But so is the rest of your piece. How this will play out nobody knows but for now, good people have different views about who could best steer America back onto the road. So happy you are keeping this blog going with your terrific articles and pictures.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
~RDL
I've never really met a Trump support either Diane. The friends who I thought I had come to know who surprisingly seem to want to vote for such a crazy man, apparently I never really knew. It's disheartening when people you thought you've met can be such strangers still when you see their true nature.
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