There is light at the end of Trump’s vile tunnel vision
AFTER only 16 days in the White House, we seem to be tweeting our way towards ‘Trumpocalypse Now’. World leaders like Theresa May find themselves hand in hand with Donald Trump, having to bow to his inferior knowledge and then be branded ‘Theresa the Appeaser’ on return from the White House to her own parliament.
The British prime minister seemed to sleepwalk her way through a much-hyped meeting in Dublin this week that turned into the visit that never was.
But brace yourselves, 16 days down – there are only 1,440 to go before the next US presidential inauguration!
So get used to alternative facts, midnight tweets, media bashing and fingerpointing press conferences.
Perhaps we need to find as many positives as we can lest we drown in a swamp of negativity, self-hatred, doom and gloom. So here is my list of the top five positives so far from the Trump presidency that has managed to unite disparate politicians from Mary Robinson to Leo Varadkar in condemnation of his executive orders: 1 Donald Trump has single-handedly managed to save Twitter from extinction. This would have had a devastating impact on Ireland as the social media company has a big presence here, employing more than 200 people. 2 By his constant attacks on the ‘mainstream media, The Donald has managed to remind people of how important and invigorating this pillar of our society has been. 3 Some of Trump’s novelty ‘executive actions’ might come in useful here. He insists he will only sign a new regulation if two are eliminated! He argues every new regulation means a new tax. Imagine if we tried that here. Small businesses would be thrilled! 4 Thanks to Trump great American novels such as Sinclair Lewis’s forgotten masterpiece from 1935,
Can’t Happen Here, predicting the rise of a Trump-like character are back in our bookshops. Lewis wrote ironically: ‘And everybody laughed and sweetness reigned.’
If you haven’t read Philip Roth’s superb novel from 2013, The Plot
Against America, now is the time. You’ll laugh and cry! And remember, without Trump we would not have that other great American It cultural icon, Alec Baldwin, doing his hilarious impressions. 5 Many of the street protests that Trump has ignited are goodnatured, galvanising and generating many new alliances – personal and political. When a protester holds up a hastily written poster proclaiming: ‘Two thirds of Trump’s wives were immigrants, proving once again we need immigrants to do jobs most Americans wouldn’t do!’, you realise that as long as The Donald is in office, satire will thrive!
So don’t succumb to Trump fatigue. There is hope among the ruins. Wherever people gather there will be fun joy, solidarity and learning.
Don’t worry, it’ll be grand!