Liberals, feminists, African Americans and assorted other groups have been averse to Donald Trump since day one of the presidential campaign. The former are not willing to give the president-elect an opportunity to prove himself. Trump has not backed away from criticism that has cascaded upon him and continues to resort to tweeting to express his anger with those that are attacking him.
As is the case with most confrontations both sides are culpable to some extent for the dire situation that is evolving. Trump has not yet begun to govern and his critics are convinced he will not be good for them or for the country. They say the justification of these feelings is evident in the incendiary way he purports himself.
The critics are jumping the gun. Trump has delivered to Americans a set of agenda items for his administration that energized his base and enabled him to win the election fairly. He has earned the right to govern the country in spite of his volatile temperament. You don’t have to be Mr. Nice Guy to be a good president.
Trump’s base expects him to keep his promises. These include reining in illegal immigration, protecting our homeland, increasing jobs, abrogating Obamacare, killing ISIS, improving the reputation of the U.S. , cutting taxes, etc. If he is successful he will receive great adulation. If he fails to make advances in these areas for any reason everyone including this writer will flay him. The good news is that Trump is hiring men and women who are expert in all the fields that need action. They are strong people who are perfectly capable of moderating his aggressiveness and making him a good president.
The crybabies are lining up. Their actions are un-American. They are discounting the fact that Trump won the election fair and square. All the crap about the Russians being responsible for his victory is nothing more than garbage you can read in cheap novels. Moreover there is no proof of foul play on the part of Trump or his supporters. The Russians may have tried to interfere, but to insist there was a conspiracy between Trump and Putin is nonsense.
Last night on Hannity people who were protesting after a speech made by Al Sharpton (I can’t believe anyone actually listens to this guy) were saying that they were not willing to give Trump a chance under any circumstances. In fact they mocked the thought because they “know” he will be a terrible leader.
Last week certain members of Congress joined the protests and the name-calling. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) questioned the legitimacy of the Trump presidency. It should be noted that Lewis, who is revered for his affiliation to Martin Luther King, Jr. also questioned the legitimacy George W. Bush. Lewis refused to attend Bush’s inauguration as he has with Trump.
As anticipated Trump attacked Lewis and said he should be spending more time serving his needy constituents in Georgia rather than stirring up his colleagues in Congress. Unfortunately the tweet was issued during the time that we honor MLK.
Why should Lewis be protected after attacking Trump? After all he’s a politician and is responsible for his words just like the president. The outrage over Trump’s response has been over the top and unjustified.
Now a large number of congressional Democrats are boycotting the inauguration and spurning our democratic traditions. Moreover congressional disregard of a time where our nation has always come together (after a presidential election) is disgraceful and setting a bad precedent for losers in the future. It will also create more animosity between the two major parties. By the way the Clintons will be attending, to their credit.
People are continuing to say that Trump is unprepared to be president. True, but most other presidents were not ready either. Consider Barack Obama. He was a small time organizer and a U.S. senator for a short time (most of which he was campaigning for president). He did exactly what critics are saying Trump will do. President Obama did not hire experienced aides and tried to govern without any input from experts or the opposition party. How did all that work out?
As a matter of fact Trump is assembling a very qualified group of cabinet members including generals, lawmakers and business people. As indicated earlier they will be leading his most important initiatives. Trump is taking a cue from Ronald Reagan who put together a world-class cabinet, a principal reason why he was such an effective president. Trump has an opportunity to achieve the same greatness.
I have been an advocate of Trump since his election because he won the election and will be president for at least four years. His ability to perform will far outweigh the protestors who are doing everything possible to make him fail. Is this consistent with American ideals? In the 60s protestors marched against inequality (including Rep. Lewis) and an illegitimate war that killed 50,000 of our brave soldiers. Today people who think it is fashionable to disrupt our country base their protests on uninformed prognostications.
Protest is legitimate and protected by our right of free speech. But it works both ways. In response to nonsensical disruption President Trump should respond. He should not stand aside and allow others to distort the truth about what he is doing and what is important to America.
I will stipulate that more civility (by opposing sides) will enable our country to achieve its true potential. Name-calling and Internet messages sent by the president-elect and his antagonists (in Hollywood and elsewhere) are not productive.