Try not to lose your mind when Trump comes to Central Florida, Scott Maxwell writes.
President Trump is coming to town next week.
Consequently, a good portion of Central Florida has already lost its mind.
This is what happens at the mere mention this president’s name: Some people immediately lose the ability to reason.
The late conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer called it “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” He was originally referring to Trump critics who lose the ability to think rationally or argue cogently. But it came to also refer to Trump supporters who behave similarly.
Over on the Sentinel’s Facebook page, most any post about Trump’s plans to kickoff his re-election campaign at the Amway Center Tuesday quickly morphed into a Dumpster fire. Logic, civility and spelling were casualties.
“Barf on Deranged Donald.” “Who cares what a butt hurt liberal thinks?” “Anybody but this a**hole.” “Orlando Sentinal (sic) sucks.” “How about not reading the Orlando Centinal (sic) anymore.”
“Theres (sic) the Door, Get outta USA.”
Somewhere along that exchange, I called it … the time of death for the English language.
When my editor and I discussed whether I should write about the president’s upcoming visit, I thought: Why? To what end?
Is there a single soul in all of Central Florida (or America) who’s undecided on this man? Some poor schlub out there, thinking: You know, after twoand-a-half years, I’m still not sure where I stand on Donald Trump. Maybe Scott Maxwell can help me figure it out.
So I’m not here today to help you make up your mind.
I’m here to ask you not to lose it.
Love the man, loathe the man. Whatever. Just try to keep a sense of sanity.
And maybe the keep “butt hurt” and a**hole references to a minimum.
One of the most disturbing sentiments espoused by Trumploathers is that the president shouldn’t even be allowed to come to Orlando.
Sorry, but that’s not how America works.
If you don’t like what someone says or what they stand for, you don’t silence them. You debate them. Ignore them. Or maybe protest them.
I think that last one is what Trump was counting on when he scheduled his campaign kickoff in Orlando — a dark blue city in a dark blue county that voted overwhelmingly against him the first time.
The man has a country full of communities that love him. Instead, he chose one where voters preferred Hillary Clinton by a margin of nearly 2-to-1.
This is one giant troll orchestrated by a guy who thrives on opposition and confrontation. And Orlandoans seem ready to give him both.
Still, Trump supporters — from both Orange County and the redder rural counties — will undoubtedly more than fill the arena, providing the desired adulation.
I’ve been to a Trump rally. I’ve sat in the stands with his supporters. Contrary to what some liberals think, they’re not all crazy, racist or deluded. They are teachers and cops, mothers and fathers. They care about their family and their faith.
Whenever I hear liberal friends say: “I just don’t understand how anyone can support Donald Trump,” I usually respond: “Then you’re not trying.”
Seriously, think for a moment. If someone is passionately opposed to abortion, for example — if that’s the issue they care about most, maybe at the expense of everything else — they have good reason to like what Trump has done to the Supreme Court.
Yet many of the people who have legitimate reasons for supporting Donald Trump also lose their minds in supporting the illegitimate things he does.
Besmirching the service of veterans like John McCain. Siding with foreign adversaries over his own intelligence officers. Buddying up to ruthless dictators. Demonizing journalism. Telling easily provable lies. And generally behaving on Twitter in a way that would get most firstgraders sent home.
Trump supporters who suffer from the Derangement Syndrome find ways to excuse it all. And that’s one of the most unfortunate legacies about this president — the lowered bar.
If you justify lies, unseemly behavior and conflicts of interest today, you forfeit any moral standing to preach on these issues in the future. And you’d better be ready to accept the same kind of lousy behavior from the next guy. Because the bar never seems to move up in American politics, just down.
Basically, what many people have lost is an ability to process complex or nuanced thoughts — the ability to say: I like many things Trump does, but I ALSO have enough of a moral compass that I won’t excuse actions or behavior that is obviously inexcusable.
Or: I dislike most of what Trump does and the way he makes my country look, but I ALSO know he has a right to speak, that he’s done some good things and that there are legitimate reasons decent people might support him.
The bottom line is that, much like next week’s rally, this presidency will eventually end. And when it does, will you be able to say you advocated ideas, made arguments and defended behavior you’re still proud of?
Or did you temporarily lose your mind?