"What Trump Meant to Say" -- Making Excuses for Incivility

“He’s just rough around the edges…” “What he meant to say was…” “He didn’t mean it…” “I don’t agree with what he said…what he did…but…”

Are you welcome in President Donald Trump’s world? You think so? Well, be careful not to question or oppose any of his policies, or he may direct his stock line “You're fired!” in your loyal direction. You see, Trump's sense of self-worth is sustained by public adoration and his sense of values is set to respect only those things that serve him.

I recently read an article written by Tricia Spencer for the Huffington Post. In the piece, she calls President Donald Trump the “Pied Piper of Division.” This title is well-deserved.

After all, Donald Trump used the “divide and conquer” strategy to build a base that somehow takes pride in being without a moral compass. He finds it impossible to remain civil, and yet his crowd is quick to make excuses for his every unwarranted behavior.

Let's explore some of Trump's indecent actions:

• He physically mocked his opponents, the disabled, and anyone with different viewpoints he frankly did not understand.
  
  
• A five-time military deferrer who once equated his challenge of avoiding sexual STDs to being a soldier fighting in Vietnam, he still insisted he knew more that the U.S. military generals.

• He derided nearly every ethnicity, religion, ideology, or belief that was outside of his realm of his comprehension or beyond his capacity for compassion.
  
  
• He brought his true views and his treatment of women front and center with ugly, personal derision and inexcusable sexist remarks.
  
  
• He managed to divide his own party, sending scores of lifelong Republicans bolting from the fold and wondering about any party loyalty.
  
  
• He put many questionable people in key advisory and cabinet positions, then after touting his own great sense of loyalty, he fired them or forced them to resign.
  
  
• He refused to support inquiries into the hacking of the election while making Putin his trusted friend.
  
  
• He continually practiced bullying and name-calling. With his juvenile “hurt me and I will hurt you more” revenge mindset, he sanctioned revenge and even violence.
  
  
• With chants of “build that wall,” unfair immigration orders, and personal racist business dealings, he promoted his prejudiced policies about who is fit to belong in America.
  
  
• He has declared his support for the use of torture and advocated wholesale discrimination against a religious minority, Muslims.
  

Oh, by the way, the man who took such pleasure in calling Hillary Clinton an untrustworthy liar during the presidential campaign proves himself to be Fabricator #1. The truth is here for all to see ...

“Politifact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning, non-partisan 'truth' watchdog group, documents, that as of this writing (October 16, 2016), Trump lied to the American people nearly three times more than Clinton, and his most egregious lies outpaced hers 8 to 1. Labeling her the liar was the Trump camp’s biggest, most successful lie of all. Politifact even awarded Trump’s body of lies its 2015 Lie of the Year Award.”

(Tricia Spencer. “Donald Trump’s Political Legacy: Pied Piper of Division.” Huffington Post. October 31, 2016.)

If you haven't noticed, Trump likes to punish people who disagree with him. He sues journalists, bans members of the press from covering him, kicks political leaders from their posts, and verbally tongue-lashes everyone who doesn't shout his praises. His small mind houses an ego that constantly spouts insulting tweet-fart after tweet-fart. He enjoys this blabbering power play.

Lastly, I dare you to tell me you haven't witnessed the Leader of the Free World in meltdown. Complete lack of control. Did you witness the latest at Trump Tower in New York? Trump unloaded about the fallout from the protests by the alt-right activists, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville ...

“Gesticulating with his right hand, Trump blasted what he called the 'alt-left,' protested that he had already condemned neo-Nazis and parroted far-right talking points on the Confederacy.

“On the substance, it was a performance that quickly emboldened white nationalist groups and appeared certain to heighten racial tensions and fear in the country ...

“But the tone and the spectacle of Trump's unchained performance was equally stunning.The unapologetic, stream-of-consciousness style of delivery left no doubt at all: This was the real Trump, not the scripted version who appeared in the White House on Monday and tried to clean up his initial failure to condemn white supremacists after the death of a counter-protester in Charlottesville.

“His anger emerged in a torrent, as he obliterated any benefit of the doubt he earned on Monday, thought piling on thought, in a style the nation has become accustomed to from his Twitter feed.”

(Stephen Collinson. “A Trump Meltdown for the Ages. CNN. August 15, 2017.)

This display certainly raised questions about the suitability of Trump's temperament for the presidency. The overall impression of Trump's performance was that of a president out of control. Even his new Chief of Staff John Kelly expressed disbelief at Trump's emotional outbursts.

Those of you who insist Trump is a great leader and a moral voice of the nation must answer this question: Is this president a present danger? And, you must not speculate as to what Trump is “really meaning” as he makes his daily faux pas. He wanted the job, and it is evident he was not qualified to take the office. Perhaps you should ask yourself why Donald Trump decided to run.

Trump has been serving less than eight months, and he continues to show disregard for whomever he chooses. Why? Is Trump simply depressed? Can't he stand the immense pressure of the office? Or, is he terminally narcissistic with a completely flawed sense of fairness, justice, and judgment? I know what I believe.

Make America great again? In his mind, the Donald is“great” in all respects. To the country, his judgment of his own importance is precisely what is so troubling. If you continue to make excuses for him, you only add to the widening gap of political division. Moreover, you condone the danger. He is very suspect, and if he remains unchecked, he, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, may lead unsuspecting innocents to their demise.