‘I alternate between embarrassment and anger, pretty much on a daily basis’
BY KEVIN KLATT, COACH OF THE WEXFORD EAGLES AMERICAN FOOTBALL TEAM
LET me start by saying that I am not a Liberal; nor am I a supporter of the US Democratic party. As far back as 1978, when serving as editor of the ‘Red Lake Falls Gazette’ in a small town in northern Minnesota, I wrote an editorial suggesting that people should vote for a candidate based on that person’s performance, not his or her party.
With that clarification, I can openly admit that, when it comes to President Trump, I alternate between embarrassment and anger, pretty much on a daily basis. What astounds me is how his supporters have bought into his lies – yes, lies – with such blind, unquestioning and unwavering fervour.
Take the Trump-Putin press conference as a classic example of everything that is wrong with the current president. Trump openly supported/bowed down to/ fawned over (take your pick) Putin.
In doing so, he made a comment that rocked the world, stating that Putin had denied Russia’s interference in the last US election and that he (Trump) believed him, saying ‘ There’s no reason they would interfere (in the election)’.
The backlash was instant and intense, and for a very short time, even Trump’s supporters were surprisingly quiet on social media outlets.
Trump’s own party branded his comments ‘ treasonous,’ as the President of the United States had clearly stated his willingness to believe the word of Russia’s KGB over that of his country’s own intelligence agencies.
That quiet did not last long, of course. Trump performed a classic climb down the next day, saying he ‘misspoke’ at the press conference and that he had meant to say there was no reason the Russians wouldn’t interfere in the election.
Of course, there was no apology to his own intelligence agencies, or to his country for the massive embarrassment and upset he had caused.
This episode shows everything you need to know about President Trump and his supporters.
Within a day, the Trump-ists were back on social media, talking about ‘Crooked Hillary’ and all of Obama’s alleged dirty deeds.
This is another classic response to any Trump faux pas. He (and his supporters) will deflect attention from any wrong he has committed by pointing to a supposedly greater wrong committed by a previous administration.
The lies he tells are shocking and never-ending. At the Helsinki press conference, he underlined his lack of collusion with the Russians by claiming that he had never met Putin prior to the election.
He had clearly forgotten the interviews he gave in 2013, 2014 and 2015, when he not only boasted that he had met Putin, but that the Russian president and he “got along great!”
He said they had been “stablemates” on an episode of 60 Minutes and that they had done very well that night. Of course, he clearly forgot that his portion of that episode was filmed in New York, while
Putin’s was filmed in Moscow. If they were stablemates, that must be one big stable.
And that stable currently houses the biggest donkey of all time.