‘The village idiot takes the throne’
Re ‘From this day forward it’s going to be only America first,’ Jan. 21 Portraying himself to be a colossal “success,” after filing seven bankruptcies, could only be possible in the U.S. This was Donald Trump’s claim to fame. So when no bank would lend him money for his grandiose but precarious projects, he borrowed from the Russian oligarchs who have stolen hundreds of billions from Russia. He owes them big time in more ways than one.
Trapped in a life that is one big lie, he has no choice but to continue his bare-faced deceptions to himself and the public. Now in his final act, he’ll pretend to be the leader of the “free world.” D. Scott Barclay, Georgetown As Bruce Cockburn wrote in All Our Dark Tomorrows of Dubya’s ascent to the U.S. presidency, “The village idiot takes the throne.” Chris James, Ajax Describing Trump’s bombastic inaugural speech promises, like recovering lost jobs and eradicating ISIS, one might paraphrase Oscar Wilde: It is the unspeakable in pursuit of the unattainable. L.G. Eaglesham, Owen Sound God bless America? Indeed. God save America! Colin Vezina, North Bay Nothing brought into focus the essence of Trump’s speech as his guileless appeal to the patriotism of his audience. It brought to mind the astute observation of Samuel Johnson (1709-1789): “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” Peter A. Murphy, Brampton So the crowds were half the size of those for Barack Obama’s inauguration? No worry! After Trump’s “Only America First” speech, the celebrating crowds in the Kremlin and The Forbidden City will make up for it. James Rayner, Etobicoke Now I’ve seen it all — Donald Trump swearing on a stack of bibles. Ron Freedman, Toronto To quote Bob Dylan: “A Hard rain’s gonna fall.” Douglas Cornish, Ottawa