By Louise “Lou” Fischer–
With apologies to T.S. Eliot for appropriating a famous line from his poetic masterpiece The Waste Land, April is shaping up to be a continuation of the “Trump Crazytown” show that has been “on the air” since January 2017. The Waste Land is a long, complex poem about the psychological crisis and collapse of Western culture that accompanied the loss of moral and cultural identity after World War I. Its themes delve into war, death, trauma, disillusionment and the devastation of being educated and moral in a world that has forgotten its roots. At the halfway point of his first (and hopefully only!) term, President Trump is a moral blight on our country, dragging down values and destroying the very conventions this country was built upon (its “roots” if you are having trouble following the poetic metaphor).
In any other time in history, a president who brazenly appeases our foreign enemies, assaults the press, is a proven racist and misogynist, and runs his administration with rampant corruption, cronyism, nepotism and contempt for our justice system would command the biggest headlines in every newspaper since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1439 (337 years before the United States even existed). But in Trumpville, every scandal and pathological lie is superseded by bigger and more explosive carnage that results in the antithesis of “making America great” and just makes America humiliated in the eyes of the world.
The short list of destructive policies that we have to look forward to includes renewed attack on affordable healthcare, more crazy financial shenanigans to fund a useless wall that nobody wants or needs, increased restrictions on immigration and enforcement of deportations, and a shill of an Attorney General who was the only lawyer out of 1.34 million licensed attorneys in the U.S. to openly woo Trump: “Pick me. I believe in an expansive view of executive power and I promise to continue former AG Jeff Sessions’ legacy of hostility for civil rights and civil liberties!’ I fully expect more defamation of the late Senator John McCain because Trump is a bully and enjoys picking on people who can’t hit back.
70,000 mental health professionals and anyone in the world who has ever picked up a copy of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) believe that Trump suffers from a severe case of malignant narcissistic personality disorder. The hallmarks of NPD are grandiosity, lack of empathy for others, arrogance, manipulation and a constant need for admiration. It is also known as a marker for self-loathing. With this window into his psyche, there must be something to the self-loathing aspect—maybe a compendium of all of his dislikes, a “Trump hates this” list, would explain some of his most contemptible behavior. So, in no particular order, here is my version of the “Greatest Hits of Trump’s Hatred List.”
‘Former Presidents’ Category
Trump hates Obama; he spread lies about his country of birth, accused him of wiretapping Trump Tower and continuously insults his academic excellence. The fact that everyone else flat out loves Obama must drive Trump crazy. Trump has attacked Bill Clinton multiple times on Twitter, so it’s no secret that his antipathy toward Bill is equal to his negative feelings about Hillary. In a surprising twist, he has no love for George W. Bush, as evidenced by some not-so-nice tweets directed toward “Bumbler in Chief 1.0.” (Sorry, George. I know you’re a nice guy now, but you made a mess of Katrina, Iraq and the economy; your Presidency was 8 years of hell.) The only president he actually likes is Andrew Jackson, whom history reviles as a slave-trading (not just owning, but trading), ethnic cleansing (“Indian Removal Act”) odious human being.
‘Animals’ Category
Trump hates pets. He is breaking a long and storied tradition of presidential pet ownership that has included not only dogs, cats, birds and other small pets, but also horses, cows, goats, chickens, raccoons, sheep, a macaw, guinea pigs, kangaroo rats, a snake, a black bear and a one-legged rooster. His claims of “not having time” to care for a pet ring hollow. Last I checked, there are 96 full-time and 250 part-time members of the White House service staff, so I’m sure that someone could take Fido for a walk along the South Lawn or tend to the kittycat’s litter box. Other evidence includes documented contempt for the poodle belonging to his former wife, Ivana. Come on, who doesn’t love a toy poodle? And finally, Trump uses the word “dog” as an insult, such as “choked like a dog,” “sweated like a dog,” “dumped like a dog” and “fired like a dog.” It’s just as well he doesn’t get a dog, since he clearly doesn’t understand pet ownership and would probably try to fire it anyhow.
Christmas Parties
While he enjoys campaign rallies and prefers them to actually governing the country, Trump is known for loathing Christmas parties and escaping early. Even Jews love Christmas, although mostly for the Chinese food and movie theatre traditions. It makes sense for Trump to hate Christmas, because it’s not about him. The TV show Seinfeld introduced us to “Festivus,” there are already “Merry Trumpmas” T-shirts, mugs and even a #trumpmas hashtag, so what’s stopping Trump from just taking over the whole holiday and making it officially Trumpmas? A president can declare a one-time holiday by issuing an executive order, and even though congressional approval is required to add a holiday to the yearly federal calendar, it’s not like Trump sees Congress as an impediment to do, well, anything he wants.
Random Acts of Hatred
Trump hates poor people but loves rich people (tax cuts for the wealthy!), hates old people and anyone who gets sick (healthcare is a privilege not a right). He hates immigrants (family separation, “s-hole” countries) and minorities (“Mexican rapists,” documented housing discrimination against African Americans going back decades) but he loves white supremacists (“good people on both sides”). He hates transgender people (military ban) because it plays to his evangelical base.
Trump promised to “make America great again,” but so far, he has only succeeded in making America “hate” again. Since resignation is unlikely and impeachment is a political minefield, we will have to wait until November 3, 2020, for this 4-year-long “cruelest month” to end.
Louise (Lou) Fischer is a Former Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and has served as an appointed and elected Delegate for the State Democratic Party. She is a proud graduate of the Emerge California Women’s Democratic Leadership program, was a San Francisco Commissioner and has served in leadership positions in multiple nonprofit and community-based organizations.
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