It’s not just Trump, it’s also his base that is truly despicable
They gave Trump his power
There is an adage in politics that we should only criticize the politicians but not their followers. The concern is what we saw in 2016 when Hillary Clinton rightly said Trump’s supporters were a “basket of deplorables” which was then politically weaponized to animate Trump supporters.
But the reality is that politicians seeking office have no power unless they have supporters. And in the case of Trump, it’s long past time we discuss the threat posed by the people who have seen Trump’s vileness yet still love him. In fact, that is a big part of why they support him.
The latest installment of Trump sinking to new lows came when he was campaigning in South Carolina in advance of that state’s February 24 GOP presidential primary. Trump—who first alarmingly stated that he would encourage Vladimir Putin to do “whatever the hell they want” to our NATO allies that didn’t meet NATO’s military spending guidelines-- then turned to his GOP presidential opponent Nikki Haley.
That is when Trump did something we’ve never seen from a major political party candidate: Use the active deployment of a spouse in our military as way to ridicule a presidential candidate. Trump—who never served in the US military—told the crowd that Haley had visited him at Mar-a-Lago along with her husband Major Michael Haley, where the former South Carolina governor allegedly assured him that she would never run against him.
Trump—who is currently out on bail in connection with his criminal charges in Georgia—then declared to the crowd, “Where’s her husband? Oh, he’s away. He’s away.” Trump then leaned into the mocking, quipping, “What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband?! Where is he?! He’s gone. He knew. He knew.”
What exactly Major Haley in Trump’s mind “knew” is anyone’s guess-especially given Trump’s recent mental gaffes such as bizarrely claiming Nikki Haley was in charge of security for the US Capitol on Jan 6 when at the time she didn’t hold any position in government. Some suggest Trump was insinuating that the Major left for full time deployment –his second in his career—to “escape” Haley.
Perhaps it was just that Haley had so gotten under the thin skin of Trump by repeatedly calling out his mental gaffes—even going as far as handing out mental competency tests to voters at a recent rally—that he was just looking for a way to hurt her. But whatever the reason, the former president was using the service of Haley’s husband in service of our nation to mock her.
Haley responded swiftly to Trump’s attack on her husband--who has been described as her “rock”--by posting on social media, “Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about.” She added, “Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief.”
Haley also addressed the comments at a rally in her home state. There, she told the audience about Trump’s comments, “If you mock the service of a combat veteran, you don’t deserve a driver’s license, let alone being president of the United States.” The former US ambassador to the United Nations then challenged Trump to show if the nation if he has any guts, saying, “Donald, if you have something to say, don’t say it behind my back; get on a debate stage and say it to my face.”
Even Major Haley—who typically does not make comments to the media—responded on social media to Trump’s words by posting a meme that read, “The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack.”
Trump has a long history of ridiculing veterans and those in the military if he doesn’t like what they have said about him. We saw that with Trump’s infamous comments about late GOP Senator John McCain during the 2016 campaign where he stated, “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” Then there were Trump’s more recent comments appearing to accuse former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Miley of treason and threatening execution because Miley had given reassurances to his Chinese military counterpart that the US was “100 percent steady” in the days after the Jan 6 attack.
However, this is different. Trump attacked the spouse of a candidate who is serving full time in our military because his wife had been critical of him.
Will Trump lose support for his attack on Haley and Major Haley? We know the answer. In fact, GOP Senator Marco Rubio told us that point blank Sunday morning while appearing on CNN when he was asked about Trump’s comments attacking Haley and her husband. Did Rubio say there is no place for using active military service women and men as a prop for political attacks? Nope. Instead, Rubio defended Trump saying, this is simply part of the nastiness of American politics, noting that Haley has called Trump a “grumpy old man” so it’s okay that “Trump gives us as good as he gets.” (Rubio also defended Trump’s threat to our NATO allies.)
What we have seen since Trump slithered down the escalator at Trump Tower to kick off his 2016 campaign has been a tsunami of revolting remarks. The list is long from Trump mocking a disabled reporter to smearing with lies Gold Star parents.
One of the most jarring examples came just a few months ago when Trump despicably mocked Paul Pelosi--who suffered a skull fracture after being brutally attacked in his own home. How did the GOP audience respond the ridiculing of an 83-year-old man who was almost killed by a right-wing attacker? They laughed and cheered.
We have long heard that with Trump “the cruelty is the point.” But it’s not cruelty by Trump in a vacuum. He serves it up because his base loves it. And he serves it up because by celebrating cruelty and the dehumanization of all who oppose him, Trump readies his base for violence—as he has done in the past.
Again, it’s not just Trump—his base is just as dangerous and despicable.
Agree. I’m tired of hearing how we have to “understand” these MAGA’s.
They are cruel, despicable, selfish racists. Have they no one in the armed services? Have they no one who’s disabled, no minority or gay friends?
Apparently not.
I, for one, am done trying to understand them. I want nothing more to do with them. My only hope is that they go the way of the dinosaurs sooner rather than later.
The deplorables are a creation of three major groups 1) corporate leaders who have become morbidly wealthy 2) extreme religious leaders seeking personal wealth as,they prepare for the Second Coming and 3) the NRA fueled by SCOTUS who worship the Second amendment.
The average worker is financially losing ground while the 2%ers do everything in their power to increase stock prices and bonuses. These oligarchs have decided that they deserve to use their wealth, no matter who actually did the hard work for it.
People feel defeated because the mythical “American Dream” is a fantasy. But oddly enough they don’t hate their favorite symbol of wealth Trump, even though he certainly is a fraud and a con who HATES them. They rever him because he is their carrot on a stick and their savior. Every other leader has failed them and the mentality ill orange one “speaks their language f hate and division. Just like Trump, they feel that someone else is always at fault.
Culture changes are overrunning their beliefs. Church attendance is down while “evil” has consumed the country. They are literally trying to save a society that only existed on black and white tv. Sheriff Andy and his all-white cast are no more. We’ve opened up our doors and hearts to more diversity and that makes them very unsettled.
America’s gun obsession is derived from fear and sadness. Bullets make them stronger and they feel they can protect themselves when “they” come to get them. The world is a scary place for them - where they feel all the societal and cultural changes are wiping and their beliefs out. It’s self-preservation for MAGA.
Reverence for the old ways like confederate flags, women who know their place, parents who always know better, communities that move at a slower pace with no gays or trans people and and a country where gas is $1.29 a gal and you could actually afford steak for an after church barbecue.
These people feel like no one hears them, no one cares about them and the world has become scarier. Trump (for reasons the rest of us cannot fathom) was seized up as a chosen one. MAGA cult has crossed the line into a place where their ignorant beliefs and hatred are their manifestations of strength and power. Stopping the cult leader Trump will be a big step in reducing the chaos.
But in my humble opinion sending Trump to jail won’t turn the tide on our country’s division. It will just give us one less front to battle. We have to all step up and become activists working together for love, peace, equality and equity.