I've noticed a lot of Trump supporters flying off the handle lately. And you do have to sort of sympathize with them. They started four years ago thinking they had elected a Real Man who wasn't a politician who would drain the swamp, save the economy and Make America Great Again! And for a few years they were ecstatic; their dreams were coming true.
But then cracks started to show. People close to Trump kept going to jail. The people closest to him became his strongest critics. Leaks and accidental releases of information started to paint a picture of a petulant child who seemed to govern by what he saw on FOX News, and who attempted to rule by angry tweet. But hey, the economy was doing OK, and so as long as they could point to that, they were happy.
Then COVID-19 came along. And as the New England Journal of Medicine aptly put it, Trump took a crisis and turned it into a tragedy. Thousands, then tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands died. The economy tanked. The deficit shot through the roof. Unemployment went way up.
Rather than draining the swamp, Trump has filled it with criminals, family members who use the US government to sell Chinese shoes, and pervy lawyers. He attacks US military heroes and "wishes well" to pedophiles and human traffickers. The US has become a worldwide laughing stock. We cozy up to dictators and abandon longtime allies, much to our enemies delight.
Now, two weeks before the election, once-proud Trump supporters are reduced to peddling pitiful excuses for his performance.
"You have to ignore the economy; it's not his fault! It's the Democrats. Sure, we lead the world in cases and deaths, but in terms of cases and deaths per capita, we're only in the top 10%! Yeah, Trump has secret bank accounts in China, but that's just . . . uh . . . doing business. Not like Biden, whose ties with China are not at ALL like doing business. Unemployment will get better, and like magic COVID-19 will go away."
"Obamacare? Yeah, he didn't repeal it. And he hasn't proposed a replacement. But it's really hard! And sure only 5 new miles of wall were built, and Mexico didn't pay for it, and in fact Mexico is selling sections of the wall for scrap - but at least he TRIED."
"He said he would release his taxes, and maybe he didn't, but a lot of them leaked out. So that's sort of the same thing. Right?"
"OK so he screwed up a lot of things but give him four more years and he will fix them all!"
Perhaps nothing demonstrates the lowered standards of Trump supporters better than the deafening cheering he got when he . . . was able to drink a glass of water with one hand. That's what Trump reporters have been reduced to celebrating.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden, a boring and uninspiring candidate at best and a second rate failure at worst, is polling far ahead of Trump. When he wins (which is likely) there's going to be a lot of resentment. And rather than directing their ire at the cause of the failure (Trump) Trumpies are going to focus their anger at . . . America. We've already seen Boogaloo Bois shooting cops, Qanon adherents killing people and trying to kidnap children, and "militia" members plotting to kidnap governors to "LIBERATE!" their states.
And Trump is encouraging this. He's complimented Qanon, defended people who murder protesters and told the Proud Boys to "stand by."
It's going to be a very ugly November. I hope the US survives without major damage.
But then cracks started to show. People close to Trump kept going to jail. The people closest to him became his strongest critics. Leaks and accidental releases of information started to paint a picture of a petulant child who seemed to govern by what he saw on FOX News, and who attempted to rule by angry tweet. But hey, the economy was doing OK, and so as long as they could point to that, they were happy.
Then COVID-19 came along. And as the New England Journal of Medicine aptly put it, Trump took a crisis and turned it into a tragedy. Thousands, then tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands died. The economy tanked. The deficit shot through the roof. Unemployment went way up.
Rather than draining the swamp, Trump has filled it with criminals, family members who use the US government to sell Chinese shoes, and pervy lawyers. He attacks US military heroes and "wishes well" to pedophiles and human traffickers. The US has become a worldwide laughing stock. We cozy up to dictators and abandon longtime allies, much to our enemies delight.
Now, two weeks before the election, once-proud Trump supporters are reduced to peddling pitiful excuses for his performance.
"You have to ignore the economy; it's not his fault! It's the Democrats. Sure, we lead the world in cases and deaths, but in terms of cases and deaths per capita, we're only in the top 10%! Yeah, Trump has secret bank accounts in China, but that's just . . . uh . . . doing business. Not like Biden, whose ties with China are not at ALL like doing business. Unemployment will get better, and like magic COVID-19 will go away."
"Obamacare? Yeah, he didn't repeal it. And he hasn't proposed a replacement. But it's really hard! And sure only 5 new miles of wall were built, and Mexico didn't pay for it, and in fact Mexico is selling sections of the wall for scrap - but at least he TRIED."
"He said he would release his taxes, and maybe he didn't, but a lot of them leaked out. So that's sort of the same thing. Right?"
"OK so he screwed up a lot of things but give him four more years and he will fix them all!"
Perhaps nothing demonstrates the lowered standards of Trump supporters better than the deafening cheering he got when he . . . was able to drink a glass of water with one hand. That's what Trump reporters have been reduced to celebrating.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden, a boring and uninspiring candidate at best and a second rate failure at worst, is polling far ahead of Trump. When he wins (which is likely) there's going to be a lot of resentment. And rather than directing their ire at the cause of the failure (Trump) Trumpies are going to focus their anger at . . . America. We've already seen Boogaloo Bois shooting cops, Qanon adherents killing people and trying to kidnap children, and "militia" members plotting to kidnap governors to "LIBERATE!" their states.
And Trump is encouraging this. He's complimented Qanon, defended people who murder protesters and told the Proud Boys to "stand by."
It's going to be a very ugly November. I hope the US survives without major damage.