Wednesday 24 February 2016

Trumped in America



I don’t normally write about politics but I’m going to break the habit by writing two posts about the subject; one far away and one a lot closer to home.
I’ll start with something that I can’t change but has had me ranting with the incredulity of it all: Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Before I get my soapbox out, let me just say that American politics is usually of no interest to me at all. When it appears on UK news, I tend to switch off – sometimes literally turning the television off. 
But this man has had me ranting like there is no tomorrow. At first, it was a joke and I actually chuckled at his antics and outrageous comments. I mean, how could he be serious? 
I thought it was a comedic publicity stunt, which I wouldn’t put past Donald Trump. I mean look at the guy! He has mad hair and a mad attitude.

And I complain about MY bad hair ...
He's like a walking parody of a politician, an idiot who allows his mouth to utter his thoughts without going through his mental firewall.
You can imagine his advisors saying "I don't think you should call all Mexicans rapists, Mr Trump!" only to be slapped down with such political incorrectness that you almost have to laugh at the absurdity of it.
Almost! Before you realise that he actually really believes it,
And now, after his recent wins, it’s looking likely that this eccentric nutcase will win the Republican nomination and be just a step away from the White House with only Hilary Clinton standing in his way.
How on earth has this happened?
From what I’ve read, a lot of Americans are just as incredulous as I am, but the truth is that his popularity reveals that a large percentage of Republicans actually agree with him. 
Has America gone mad?
Here are some things that this lunatic believes:

A great big wall should be built between the US and Mexico – and Mexico should pay for it.

11 million illegal immigrants should be deported, despite estimate that finding them and deporting them would cost in excess of $110 billion.

Climate change is just “bad weather”.

The US should use waterboarding as a means of interrogation.

Muslims should be tracked by law enforcement with all mosques in the US being put under surveillance.

Muslims should not be admitted into America. 

I wonder what happens to American Muslims – put under surveillance, obviously.
Even the Pope, the head  of the Roman Catholic church, has had a go at him, and we have had a debate in the UK parliament as whether he should be banned from the UK because of his xenophobic views, based on a petition that gained 570,000 signatures. 
Of course, it was never going to happen because the nutter may become president and we’re not going to enter a cold war with America, based on one idiot’s views. 
I don’t actually know whether I have faith in the American people to do the right thing. It’s the jingoism that surrounds the US elections that seems to matter rather than the important stuff. “We’re going to make America GREAT again!” is a war cry that is almost laughable. I would laugh if a British politician said it – in fact, I think most of them already have. The bottom line is that Britain is great DESPITE the arses who currently reside on the government side of the House of Commons.
And I’m sure that America is great too, despite what Trump says.
Moreover, Trump is a big fan of the right to bear arms. Yet, it seems like every day we hear about gun crime in the US with psychopaths committing mass murder. America would be much better if a would be politician promised to do something about the archaic gun laws over there.
I don’t understand why it is so important to have the right to bear arms. Any politician could make America greater by attacking important issues like this. Certainly Barack Obama did.
In the UK, guns are strictly controlled and because of this our murder rates due to firearms is tiny in comparison to the US.
The logic is there for all to see.
Worse, on the news today, I heard a report that even most Republicans don’t want Trump to be their candidate.  
So what’s going on across the pond?
I am praying that America sees sense and Trump himself is trumped! I have faith in the American people. I have visited America many times and I am certain that common sense will prevail.
Anyway, enough ranting – it’s time to end this with a bit of fun at Donald Trump’s expense. 
How about a bit of trumpeting for Trump?
Follow this link and have fun and let's hope that all of this is just a blip! 

13 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Sigh.
I don't understand American politics and don't follow it.
But the rise of Trump is scary. Very, very scary.
For Americans and for the world.

joeh said...

He speaks of the cuff sometimes and it is easy to pick and choose his words to make him seem over the top. Trust me he is not a clown. He is a successful very intelligent man who wants to stop illegal immigration where some of his opponents want to just make illegal immigration...well legal. He does not think he can deport 11 million people, he wants to deport those that break the laws. He does not believe all Mexicans are rapists he is acknowledging that many illegals are a problem...there are gangs in this country that are not citizens that do really bad stuff! He does not want to open the doors to Muslims at this time, when terrorists want nothing more than to send bad people to our country to do really bad things. We need to be able to better vet the needy from the evil which we are now not. He is in favor of being careful and not making mistakes because we are worried about hurting feelings.

He is also not a traditional politician. He is a CEO and maybe that is what we need as a president, a successful CEO. He is also NOT Hillary Clinton who has never done anything successful in her life other than marry and successfully cover up for her husband who was a very good politician but also probably guilty of being brutal to women, an accused rapist whose accusers were threatened and treated unmercifully.

He is not Bernie Sanders who has never been successful at anything, is an avowed communist, is in debt, has never held a real job,but is full of promises that would bankrupt the country.

He is not Ted Cruz who is almost as dishonest as Hillary and is disliked by everyone he has ever met. or Marco Rubio who...well I don't really know much about Marco, he is a young pup who just seems like another typical politician.

Anyway,Trump is different, I'll give you that, but he is not a clown, and if you cherry pick goofy pictures of every candidate it is easy to make them look bad.

If you truly have faith in the American people, then accept that there is a reason for Trumps popularity other than we are racist ignorant fools that the media wants to paint those that are interested in what Trump has to say.

I am reminded of Ronald Reagan who was a "Joke" an "actor" inexperienced...blah, blah, blah. Turns out he was a pretty good president, even when he was starting to suffer from dementia.

Damn, I hate to get into politics, but there is a reason Trump is gaining traction, and it is not because there are millions and millions of racist ignorant people in the US. He gets in trouble with the press because he speaks in hyperbole and the press loves that, but most of us know where he stands.

River said...

Donald Trump is a disaster and if he gets elected, then God help America.
I'm wondering if he is just a publicity stunt for someone who is quietly campaigning in the background.

Chrissy Brand said...

scary times...

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi EC,

I understand the principles - but compared to the UK they are a little strange - maybe because it is such a huge country - but I agree - very scary.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Joeh,

I hate politics too (which is why I rarely write about it).

Anyway - thanks for a great comment.

My views:

I don't think for one second that he is a clown - I also acknowledge his intelligence. However, I totally disagree with his views. Okay - I acknowledge that the US is a different country and that, although we are alike in many ways, the UK and the US have political differences. Donald Trump highlights those differences with his rhetoric.

While I acknowledge that there are extremist Muslims, it doesn't mean that every Muslim is a murdering psychopath. You can't tar every Muslim with the same brush. Take, for example, the uproar when two Muslims shot a lot of people in San Bernadino - the event that prompted Trump's outrageous comments. Trump has never said a word about similar atrocities caused by white Americans in the past and actively supports the archaic gun laws that allow non-Islamic nutters to commit mass murder.

I also don't deny that he is a good businessman - but that won't necessarily make him a good president.

The fact that he supposedly speaks his mind might make him seem refreshing but the bottom line is that all politicians are dishonest. And I wonder whether Trump is being dishonest and that his views are even worse than the words he speaks.

I don't think he has a clue about politics - I am intelligent and I don't have a clue about politics. I can only judge on the answers to important questions and when Trump has been interviewed and asked serious questions he has been found out - simply because he can't answer them having not held any political office.

We all have opinions but my opinion of Trump is that he tells America his own opinions but has no idea about what is going to happen in the unlikely event that he is elected.

Like I said - even the republicans don't want him there.

Anyway, if he does get elected, then we will have something to discuss, Cranky Man.

Once again - thanks for a great comment and a great insight into your thoughts.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Grace,

Judging from what I have read about the American people's reaction, I don't think you are alone at all.

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi River,

I've wondered the same thing. Let's see what happens this year (to be honest I don't want to be interested at all but I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame).

:o)

Cheers

PM

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Chrissy,

Unless America sees sense, then yes!

:o)

Cheers

PM

Pandora Behr said...

Good post. THese be scary times - look at our politics - very scary.

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi Pand,

Very scary indeed.

:o)

Cheers

PM

JahTeh said...

I was fascinated by a documentary about his luxurious and expensive private plane. Before he boarded a minion would go through and brush the suede ceilings all the one way, or else. So he's a control freak and I think being President would drive him more crazy because being the business is all in the details which he won't have complete control of. Being President of his companies means making money, being President of the USA means giving away money so I can see sleepless nights coming up if he makes it until he declares himself Dictator then does whatever he likes. Somehow I can see Canada building a great big wall.

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi JT,

I watched the American Apprentice and he was quite ruthless at that point. Like you say, running a country is not like running a business so I imagine that if a miracle occurs and he becomes president, he will get a massive shock.

I too can see Canada building a wall - and volunteering to pay for it.

:o)

Cheers

PM