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Est. April 5, 2002
 
           
November 30, 2017 - Issue 720

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Magician-In-Chief
 


"Donald Trump is contrast to the alpha male,
yet portrays himself as such.  Never played
football, never served in the military and
probably scared shitless of a gun, but that’s
the magician in him.  Any male dominance he
might possess comes from the business end of
a dollar bill and a gift from his disgraced
father.  Does he think he can wave his
'I’m the president' fairy dust and
we’ll believe the magic?"


Among the worst insults one can receive is being thought of as a liar. That insult is made doubly worse when the one making the accusation is himself a liar. Each week since January 20, 2017, so-called President Donald Trump has insulted the American public with lie after lie. In the current controversy over professional football players protesting during the playing of the national anthem at NFL games, Trump is doing more than asserting “alternative facts” (which by the way, there’s no such thing…maybe additional facts, but not alternative facts), he’s putting on his magician’s hat again and telling stories that don’t exist—nothing more than fables about the effectiveness of his position against NFL players protesting.

Although this commentary isn’t focused specifically on the NFL Player Anthem Protests, I do want to demonstrate the faux-magic of this so-called president. Trump, in an interview with "Fox & Friends," said that NFL owners are “afraid” to act against their players protesting the national anthem and the flag at games across the country. Though there’s absolutely no proof to back that up (and yes, they should be), Trump puts an opinion out as if it is what he says it is. And of course, let’s not forget the words of former president Bill Clinton: “It depends on what the definition of is, is.” Trump is what it isn’t.

An assumption asserted without evidence is the epitome of a lie, as one could reasonably assume. He seems to think that because he happens to sit in the office of The Presidency, anything he says will carry the weight of authoritative truth. “The NFL is in a box and they have to do something about it,” Trump told Fox News' Pete Hegseth, in the interview. They don’t have to do anything…they haven’t, have they?

I think they’re afraid of their players, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. (By the way, I hate when people top a statement off with “…if you want to know the truth?” What would make someone think I wouldn’t want to know the truth…have you been lying to me prior to this moment?) Trump reiterated that the NFL has a wide range of rules, suggesting the league should apply new rules to those who would protest the anthem by kneeling. I really wish Trump would focus on being a credible human being and not chime into the business affairs of others.

They have rules for everything—you can’t dance in the end zone, you can’t wear pink socks relative to breast cancer—they have rules for everything,” the president told Hegseth, a “Fox & Friends” weekend co-host and Fox News political analyst. Does this fool realize, those “can’ts” he refers to have nothing to do with the players’ reason for protesting in the first place: being “legally” killed by fellow Americans? Why would anyone be patriotic over that?

Look, the aftermath of the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico should’ve convinced anyone in this country with a pulse and a functioning brain that this man will piss on your head and tell you it’s raining. It took his administration 11 days—and an avalanche of socio-political criticism to respond to Puerto Rico’s misery. But how did the male in the top hat respond? “Puerto Rico wants everything done for them,” he remarked and also oblivious to the backlash of even more criticism—further despise to boot.

Puerto Rico’s public debt has ballooned because of a failing economy and an inefficient government that has spent more than it has taken in for years, often borrowing to close the gap.

Much of the borrowing is in the form of municipal bonds. As the size of the debt grew, so did the complexity, with some branches of government issuing bonds on behalf of others, or backstopping each others’ debts, until it became nearly impossible to keep track of it all. Even then, demand for Puerto Rico’s bonds was strong because they pay interest that is tax-exempt in all jurisdictions.

And to top it all off, the vulture capitalists who “loaned” Puerto Rico money, charged the craziest interest and the most impossible terms of re-payment, leaving the island depleted. But of course, that fact gets lost in the sauce. In addition, Puerto Rico owes billions more in pensions to retired public workers.

But in comes Trump magic…The administration said, “This is a ‘good news’ story.” The mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz said just the opposite: “This is not a ‘good news story.” Rather than tell the truth, Trump, as if on cue, talked about the debt that Puerto Rico owes to vulture capitalists? What’s that got to do with emergency response to the crisis? It presents just another diversion from the truth as he patted himself on the back.

Donald Trump is contrast to the alpha male, yet portrays himself as such. Never played football, never served in the military and probably scared shitless of a gun, but that’s the magician in him. Any male dominance he might possess comes from the business end of a dollar bill and a gift from his disgraced father. Does he think he can wave his “I’m the president” fairy dust and we’ll believe the magic? This weekly occurrence is so utterly insulting!

What should be of high concern to Trump supporters and the nail-in-the-coffin for those who aren’t, is the “double-down, stand your ground, piss-on-your-head-and-tell-you-it’s-raining” behavior of a senior citizen “elected” as the leader of the “free world. Even after being strongly criticized and reprimanded by members of his own party (is it really though?), we find him days later continuing his attacks on the very people who needed—and are entitled to—his assistance and leadership (even if it’s not his) in the first place! This so-called President Trump continues to praise his administration’s response to the humanitarian crisis in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico — and dismiss his critics as ungrateful! This guy is un-damned-believable!

We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets early Sunday. Why is patting yourself on the back the important thing here? If this isn’t the most childishly egotistical behavior I’ve ever seen…

Then, true to form, the magician in Trump goes on the attack—as if that’s an admirable characteristic. “Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates, people are now starting to recognize the amazing work that has been done by FEMA and our great Military. All buildings now inspected for safety.”

Trump added: “Thank you to the Governor of P.R. and to all of those who are working so closely with our First Responders. Fantastic job!”

Funny how Trump goes on his Asian trip and his “America First” mantra is sidelined. He conveniently erased four years of labeling China a “currency manipulator” and says it’s not China’s fault that it takes advantage of the US. He pivots on his Chinese dime and blames “past administrations” (and we know it almost killed him not to say Obama). As I watched the speech, all I could say was, “What the f#%@?! Whatever happened to “America First?”

Oh, that wasn’t the only rabbit he pulled out of his magic hat. This guy stacked a lie on top of a lie when asked about Putin and Russian election meddling. Trump said he believes Vladmir Putin’s denials of Russian involvement in the manipulation of the 2016 presidential election. But then, that ol’ Trump magic appeared.

He then contradicted himself the very next day when he said he was “with our agencies” on the question of Russian interference. Speaking at a news conference in Hanoi on Sunday, he was asked about his comments that he believed Putin’s reassurances given by the Russian president on the sidelines of Saturday’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam.

As to whether I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted,” Trump told a news conference in Vietnam. “As currently led, by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies.”

The president’s comments were criticized by Senator John McCain who said in a tweet that there was “nothing America First about taking the word of KGB colonel [Putin]” over the US intelligence community.

Trump was also quickly countered by his own CIA chief, Mike Pompeo. A statement issued by the agency said: “The director stands by and has always stood by the January 2017 intelligence community assessment entitled: Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections. The intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed.”

Let me give you some more magic to ponder: when the Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people took place, the so-called President gave a somber, consoling, compassionate and unifying speech immediately following the tragedy. Although, he appeared to begrudgingly read the speech, Trump acted real “presidential.” What a rarity! Now you see him, now you don’t! When it comes to afflicting white people, Trump can act like a human being, but Lord, help us if Black people are suffering.


BlackCommentator.com Columnist, Perry Redd, longtime activist & organizer, is the Executive Director of the workers rights advocacy, Sincere
Seven
that currently owns the FCC license for WOOK-LP 103.1FM/ok103.org. His latest book,
Perry NoName: A Journal From A Federal Prison-book 1, chronicles his ‘behind bars’ activism that extricated him from a 42-year sentence and is now case law. He is also the author of As A Condition of Your Freedom: A Guide to Self-Redemption From Societal Oppression, Mr. Redd also hosts a radio show, Socially Speaking, from his Washington, DC studio. Tweet him @socialspeaks. Contact Mr. Redd and BC.

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