For a man who boasts he won the popular vote, Trump is very unpopular. Where is the honeymoon period?
Remarkable how the worst, most incompetent politicians manage to hog the limelight, promoted by the Right-wing press and media pals. Bumbling Boris Johnson is one example, the odious Farage another. For months to come we are to be assailed by the banalities and prat falls of dimwit Donald Trump.
Prior to his election the worst of his character only served to increase his popularity. He was the people’s iconoclast. Now ensconced in the Whitehouse, bewildered and lost, the opposite is the case. The more idiotic his statements, the more his disapproval rating increases. It’s reported he is now disliked by 55% of the population. They can see how incompetent he is.
You can sum up Trump’s attitude to non-sycophants in a sentence: The world does not agree with me, therefore the world is wrong.
The Donald wanders the corridors of the Whitehouse shouting oaths at cleaning staff, checking his iPhone for tweets, tweeting gibberish, (allegedly) boasting about grabbing pussy – not the Whitehouse cat – discovering his job isn’t apple pie easy, tweeting gibberish, completely lost as to what to do next with his time. Signing edicts like the Pope loses its appeal after a while, so he tweets more gibberish. His every word is leaden. If the Mafia ever want him to sleep with the fishes they won’t need to weight his boots.
I’m as convinced as I can be that he will resign in a fit of pique, or be impeached. He isn’t a man to linger for the long haul or make personal sacrifice, driven by an over-riding sense of patriotic duty. With Trump, it’s all one way, you to him.
Cook County
The Los Angeles-based BBC correspondent, James Cook, tweeted “Millions of Americans voted for him”. You could hear his head shake and the sigh of resignation echo this side of the Atlantic. I had an immediate reaction to Cook’s absolutism.
The least one can say is, it’s grossly misleading. As a BBC journalist he ought to be cautious. But that’s Twitter for you. (Lesson – avoid tweeting half-baked personal thoughts.) It implies Trump has a mandate to do all and anything he wishes. Secondly, it implies all Americans voted for him. Third, it’s tantamount to engineering thought.
The media has been masters at thought control ever since Lord Reith, first boss of the BBC, was happy to broadcast black propaganda against the General Strike at the behest of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, thus beginning a long and enduring partnership, BBC the state broadcaster, an adjunct of government. (Reith is best described as a cringing Scot on the make.) Even Winston Churchill thought the fledgling BBC should be a government mouthpiece. “Keeping it at arms length” doesn’t mean cold shouldering government doctrine. But I digress. Among other Right-wing groups, Trump is supported by the Fox News empire.
Trump hits the motor industry in the ‘Jaguar’
Some Americans who see the US motor industry as an economic barometer were swung by Trump’s promise to create more jobs, or at least, stop car manufacturers opening factories outside the USA. Trump failed to mention other industries who have moved lock, stock and barrel to find cheap labour. Some voters want no more Muslims entering the USA. Others responded to his conviction – it isn’t a Republican policy – to bring back US soldiers and stop the US from intervening in the affairs of other nations.
By all accounts, a lot voted for him because he was ‘different’ from the other candidates, not an establishment figure. They did NOT vote for the scumbag cohorts he is employing as henchmen to restock his own ‘swamp’. Nor did they vote for Trump to tear up the Constitution. The majority of voters think the USA is safe enough without Trump causing anger worldwide. Therefore, the bald statement “millions voted for him” is dumb.
Voters will have hope dashed because Trump is driven by personal adulation not public sacrifice. In the meantime the backlash has already begun. There’s any number of comments left on the Twitter site ‘TrumpRegrets‘ from disillusioned Trump voters.
Not automatons
Not all Americans are hate-filled Republicans holding a loaded rifle aloft in imitation of Charlton Heston, screaming “From my cold dead hands!” There is hope. Keep in mind what happened to Mussolini when Italians suddenly lost their fear of what their neighbour thought of their political views. Below is a small selection of the Trump backlash. Believe me, there are tens of thousands like them. Enjoy, as Americans say, and have a nice day.
TRUMP REGRETS
David F Ramirez@ramdav57: Please Mr Trump behave as the President of the United States of America. I kinda feeling embarrassed & I voted for you.
Jeffrey Guterman@JeffreyGuterman: The next terrorist to attack the U.S. is likely here. Moreover, they were probably born in the U.S. Think about it.
SarahBasque@chicadees: He needs to tweet so people can see him for what he really stands for $ & power. In his & family history F Drumpf.
Grouse Beater 
Cue the Brexiteers a few years down the line.
Very sad that we now have the hoodwinked public seeing the reality of this person Donald Trump.
During his election campaign it was clear to me he had the same traits and extreme views of a dictator (like one from Italy you mention in your article).
Nonetheless he’s in and his rhetoric and tweets may still be the downfall of him.
Keep up the Saturday articles, so informative and well written I look forward to reading them and your input on Wings.
I suspect he’ll commit some sort of unpardonable folly, IJ, his undoing. The anxiety is that no innocents get in the way! For the moment he’s surrounded himself with blatant, unapologetic extremists who will protect him.
They’ve harnessed liberal anger and warped it to suit their agenda.
So true. Where was the strong opponent when we needed one.
Now we have our own UK PM fawning all over him as she realises there is no support closer to home either in Europe or Scotland for that matter.
Hi GB. I’ve always thought that Trump would be lucky to last four months, never mind four years. I don’t see how the Americans can possibly put up with his nonsense for very long. Apparently there was a lot of discussion before he took office among the Obama administration about Trump’s mental condition. I hope that precautions have secretly been taken to prevent him from ever being able to press the nuclear button. Just in case. I would sleep a lot easier if I knew that.
Yes, his actions are that of a man troubled, unsure of his ability, forever seeking validation. Commentators will avoid discussing his mental state for fear of litigation, but no one can claim Trump is a well-adjusted, limelight avoiding individual.
You seriously want Mike Pence in charge instead? Better the madman then the rationalist.
There appears any number of madmen with their feet on the desk, including press secretary Sean Spicer, a man straight out of the Muppets.
All this could have been avoided if there had been a decent presidential candidate, not in hock to Goldman Sachs…