Perception: Why The Center And The Left Can Never Support Donald Trump
I don't perceive anything for anyone but myself, but it is becoming more and more obvious that there are a large group of Americans who could never come around to supporting Donald Trump and his presidency. Each individual or group may have different reasons why supporting Trump is an anathema, but there are a number of reasons that cross individuals and groups.
A] While All Presidents Prevaricate, Donald Trump Lies Even When The Truth Might Serve Him Better: No one believes or argues that Trump is the first president to lie to the American people. It is both politically necessary and personally beneficial for a chief executive to take liberties with the truth. The problem is that this president can not stop telling lies. The New York Times identified over 2000 lies in the first 50 weeks of the Trump presidency. For many Americans, supporting a president who cannot be trusted to tell the truth is a bridge too far.
B[ While All Politicians Make Negative Comments About Their Opponents, There Is An Understanding That Debate Should Be Civil: Every politician plays to his or her base. The general rule has been that you paint your opponent with a broad stroke. If you are a progressive, you want to make conservatives appear to be further to the right. If you are a conservative, you want to make every progressive appear to be part of Antifa. That is normal. To identify your opponents in terms of uncalled for insults {calling people names like Pocahantas, Traitorous, etc. or making accusations like having a sitting senator's father being part of the plot to assassinate Kennedy}, or to tweet unfounded statements is contrary to what is expected of a sitting president.
C] While All Politicians Try To Pass Legislation Based On Policy, Most Policy Decisions Are Made In The Best Interests Of The Majority Of The American People: While controversial, most of American policy decisions, although they may be initially unpopular, are generally proven to be beneficial to at least the majority of the American people. Examples of this were the introduction of Social Security and Medicare, and to a somewhat smaller extent the introduction of the ACA {ObamaCare}. There is, in the current administration, some real questions about whether policy decisions are being made in the interests of the majority of Americans. I will use as an example, the recent tax act. While even the Republican party recognizes that the act will add over 1.3 trillion dollars to the economy, it was passed with small temporary benefits for the average taxpayer but extremely large, permanent benefits for the richest taxpayer. It was then paired with a deceptive campaign to sell this action as a boon to lower and middle income taxpayers. We see other policy decisions that are, to many, questionable as to the public good. Decreasing funding to public education, drastic cuts to the CDC, cutbacks to social programs are questioned by many.
D] While Every Administration Deals With Scandals And Investigations, None Have Ever Had An Investigation Into National Security Issues Hit As Close To Home As The Current Mueller Investigation: Politicians are susceptible to greed and corruption. To see scandals occurring in government is nothing new and something that Americans can get over. Even major political scandals such as "Iran/Contra", "The Lewinsky Scandal", etc.} have seen presidents survive and maintain popularity with their constituents. While the decision as to guilt or innocence on the current Russia investigation is not yet finalized, this scandal is like no other. It involves the potential involvement of a foreign nation in our electoral process. It is involving actions by a DOJ, FBI, and Congress that is dominated by the same party as the president that are both accusatory and exculpatory. We are seeing a full fledged battle between the president and his allies and democrats and their allies as to the involvement of the president and his staff. Until there is a final finding by the Mueller team, there are many Americans who could never support the president.
E] While It Is Impossible For Any President To Be Fully Knowledgeable About Every Aspect Of Governance, There Has Never Been A President Who Has Been As Uninformed About The State Of His Own Policies As Mr. Trump. Presidents must be quick studies. National and international issues change and require our national chief executive to be well informed on the underlying causes and consequences of those issues. When we have a president to whom his own staff admits does not read more than one page of information at a time, the state of our nation in crisis is frightening. When they say that he can't be given negative information and has to have his briefings sugar coated, we must wonder what on what basis decisions are made. When we have a president who is given "executive time" to watch and listen to Fox News as his primary source of information about the world, the center and left will have a difficult time supporting anything the president does.
I have disagreed with almost every republican president during the past 50 years. My problems with them were over policy but that did not prevent me from serving under Ronald Reagan when appointed to a non-partisan committee. In fact, being a liberal voice under a truly conservative president allowed me the opportunity to have my views on certain issues heard, and actually modified certain policy decisions. That was presidential and President Reagan earned my total respect. What those years taught me was that we can disagree without being disagreeable and that political differences should never keep a person out of governance.
What I also learned in my experience in Washington though, is that there are people in both political parties who do not care about the well being of the American people. Through most of this nation's history we have been lucky. Our president's always placed our nation first. Unfortunately, in the case of Donald Trump, there are many Americans who don't believe that this is so.
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Donald Trump has spent his entire life being a con-man who only cares about himself and stealing from others to benefit himself. I could not respect him and choose him to be a leader than I would a televangelist. He is mentally unfit for public office and his intellect is at best that of a grade school bully.
I disagreed with Geo W. Bush but it seems that he did try to be reasonable and act like statesmen most of the time, unlike Trump, Pence or his cabinet.
In business he jumps from one failure to another, defaulting on loans and ripping people off on his way. I have more spect for the Sham-wow guy or the guy selling Chia Pets on QVC than I do for Trump and his administration.
I would not elect him for dog catcher because strays deserve to be treated better than his actions.
Trump specializes in perception distortion, as does the entire GOP at this point.
Sad people are still attempting to defend this traitorous FCK
trump has called the Democrats treasonous and un-American for not standing and clapping for him. He has now turned down another bipartisan immigration bill because he would not be getting funding for his wall. He took the opportunity (after he 'knocked it down') to say that Democrats don't want to help dreamers.
I can see right through his phony facade and his bullcrap rhetoric. Sad that so many are on board for his type of demeaning behavior and schoolyard antics of our highest office.
Beyond sad at this point
This is a dangerous statement that cannot be permitted to go without criticism. Apparently, it is patriotic when Conservatives disagree with a black president but treasonous when it is Democrats not fawning over a semi-literate Cheeto.
McCain once again proves that he knows what it means to be a statesman, even when he likely has terminal cancer.
Orange ya glad he;s not Black, because this spoiled fruit IS Black and darker than any we've ever had the displeasure of seeing in OUR White House.
How any cannot perceive how this Orange Diablo Spiced Cheeto Bandito D Jesus
porn star bangin
pol smokin low fruit hangin out of the loom they be danglin
asz hez a total loon makin as much sense as the blew chheeze dip n buffoon
man on the moon known asz Trumpp,
isn't terribly bad for our country
is just inperceivable and unbelievable
Premium
I see some left wingers are having a bad day. Are their portfolios in tatters? Didn't they get any nooky last night? Did their dog pee on their leg? Who knows. They live their whole lives angry and unhappy and denying reality. Poor things. So sad.
Forgot to add that the CBS poll had independents favoring the SOTU message by over 70%. Even Democrats liked it by over 40%. The foolish left are in deep trouble come November.
Wow, I can almost smell the stench of that desperation. A post-speech poll is worth about as much as a stock market tip right now.
Funny how people love polls when they push their narrative yet when they don't, polls are biased and mean nothing.
Trump 'loves' him some, that dance around poles, into Stormy Seas, like Sea men
un able to see
what and how their perceptions have been changed , and or distorted, by a traitorous Republican (no surprise) Party, and their falsely not misrepresented plight for the 'working/middle class and poor'.
The main origin, from asz to where these sailors originally originated being from is,
some Dik in the White House , who needs to be encased in a rubber room, to asphyxiate and capture all that he spews as to what is wrong with our country and its misperceptions, as reservations tip waiters dumb,
WTF
have we allowed a Bunch of DIX to have done and allowed our country to becum?
Did you see how the stock market dropped by over 1,000 points? Erasing all gains? I don't know much about the stock market but this is obviously not good news and it doesn't reflect well on the Rump does it?
Thanks Donald Rump!
Bullshit!
'Wow, I can almost smell the stench of that desperation. A post-speech poll is worth about as much as a stock market tip right now.'
Per atheist's post above.
Donald Rump has been peeing on his supporters legs for sometime now (not the rich ones mind you). His supporters just lap it up and say more, more!
I'm not sure I believe the theory that the public perception of Trump is based on his persona. If you take a look at the vindictive reaction we see and hear every day, it's coming exclusively from liberals in both the media and the entertainment field. A lot of that vindictiveness is due to the fact that liberals were so sure he could never win the election. If you look at the recent Monmouth Poll, you will see his numbers are improving. I think that is evidence of two things. First the economy is improving dramatically and second independents & moderates were holding back on an overall opinion of this President.
I concede points A & B above. Yes, what you say is true, but I think most people would endure someone who has the immature personality flaws of Donald Trump, if he benefits the nation.
I strongly disagree with point C. When you give examples of what benefits America you use the grand entitlements created by liberal democrats. Please explain how leaving the federal government with a $20 trillion debt (with no concern about compiling it) is beneficial to the nation? The recent Tax legislation you claim doesn't give enough of a tax cut to low & middle income taxpayers, was designed for growth. The idea being to grow the economy & income & revenue. (You did serve under Ronald Reagan). If that tax cut wasn't enough, why didn't the President's liberal detractors get involved in the legislation and demand more? I think that major tax bill combined with economic prosperity is going to further escalate Trump's rising approval rating.
In point D you claim the Mueller Investigation is uniquely different from others in recent history. So it is, but not for the reason you give. It is different because it was supposed to be about Russian interference in an election, but is primarily about Russia "colluding" with Donald Trump - and therefore = an investigation without a crime. To this very day there is no evidence of that nor do many people believe there was - including those who advocate that the investigation continue indefinitely. As for there being politics involved, ya, that's an understatement. The investigation should be focused on the partisan actions, some criminal, taken by the past administration, the Clinton campaign and their ideological loyalists in the FBI and DOJ.
Point E is partly correct. Donald Trump is a novice when it comes to politics and governance. I guess that's what a populist is. He is not highly educated, smooth or polished. What he does bring to the job is a great intuition about what the average American "feels". Thus far he has appointed some competent people, left military matters to the military and most important to me he has tried to correct the wrongs committed by his predecessor.
Haaha.
Snort!
We might disagree on the policy of social security and medicare as it relates to it's impact on the national debt. I don't want to get into a discussion of the government supposedly setting up lockbox systems to prevent them from causing the national debt to rise. You and I would probably be closer to agreement than you think on that particular issue. The point that I'm making is that these types of services have been almost universally recognized as being done with the public interest in mind. How large the government should be and how we handle national debt is a policy issue. Some people are trickle downers or supply siders. Others see national debt reduction somewhat differently. The truth is, however, that neither party is a deficit hawk or a deficit dove. The difference is what each party wants to fund and where they want to give tax reductions and who will be taxed more.
As to my point D, special counsel investigations almost always go sideways. They always take on a life of their own. Mueller's investigation has moved into the Trump inner circle and possibly to Trump himself because experienced prosecutors [and Mueller is both an experienced and able prosecutor] go where the evidence leads them. The problem isn't whether Trump is guilty or not {I don't know and won't until Mueller finishes his investigation and if his report is released}, it is why the president and his associates are trying so hard to obstruct the investigation. As with almost every investigation of political malfeasance, it isn't the crime, it is the cover up. It is what got Nixon and it is what got Clinton. It looks like the cover up will also get Trump. They should let it go and let the investigation go wherever it is headed.
And now we have Nunes telling a lie on national television.
The investigation has plodded on endlessly, unimpeded. Trump has the right to point out the irregularities and illegalities that were perpetrated by the previous administration and its supporters in the FBI and DOJ, not to mention the part paid for by the Hillary campaign in obtaining and using the dossier as a smear tactic.
How the hell is the turd in chief benefiting the nation?
skirting the CoC [ph]
OK there Sew Kratez
Skirting the CoC [ph]
Ask your own damned self.
I'm no parasite.
Honest ?
Donald Trump is a psychologically damaged and erratic individual.
It goes without saying that such an individual should never have great power over other people and events.
It is not AT ALL clear that the 'American people' are behind Trump. In fact so far the evidence is that they are not. He has never had an approval rating total of 50% or higher, including the number of votes he got on election day.
He has embarrassed and disgraced this country since the day he began his campaign in 2015. Since then his 'fans' have desperately tried to normalize Trump , and in truth the constant barrage of right wing media attempting to prop this shit up, as if it is acceptable for a great nation to be led by this nonsense and insanity , does take it's toll.
The resistance must continue.
His peccadilloes aside, he is essentially a know nothing.
His only claim to fame (business failures and a boob tube show do not qualify as fame) is that he has pulled off one of the greatest cons in history, the downside is that it was on our Country.
I totally agree with pretty much the whole of the article. We'll see how Trump popularity (or lack thereof) helps or hurts candidates in the upcoming mid-terms. Make no mistakes the GOP is worried they'll lose control of the House.
I think many of the GOP will be left on the outside looking in, not so much as to the popularity or lack there of it in regards to Trump. But rather their lack of intestinal fortitude and common decency by allowing him, his cronies and followers to run amok while they silently watched.
Sadly what is waiting in the wings is not much better at this point, just a different kind of bad. Where is Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?
The good thing is that the bigots have peaked with Trump. When the Tea Party came out they had a high favorably poll of 37%. As their agenda quickly switched from taxes and right sized government to social issues their numbers dropped to an aggregate of about 17%. They may still win a seat or two here and there, in highly gerrymandered districts. We do know, that on the whole, conservatives can't win majorities anymore without Hispanic numbers and these people can't stop sticking it to Hispanics in rhetoric and policy. They can't help themselves.
With you? No.
I don't perceive anything for anyone but myself, but it is becoming more and more obvious that there are a large group of Americans who could never come around to supporting Donald Trump and his presidency. Each individual or group may have different reasons why supporting Trump is an anathema, but there are a number of reasons that cross individuals and groups.
Surely, there are large groups of Americans who could never come around to supporting Donald Trump, but the reasons put forth have little to do with the list that has been provided.
Those who use any or all of these reasons did not support him to begin with, and as a result, stretch their reasoning to opinions such as the ones listed in order to justify their original opinion. There are grains of truth to a number of those opinions, and yes, he surely is a boorish an "unPresidential" President, but the fact is that he is the President, and has accomplished a number of positive things while in office.
I found it rather distasteful when people intoned "Obama is not my President". It was a childish and ridiculous assertion. He was elected twice by a majority of the population, serving for 8 years. There are a number of things that I found to be unpleasant and counterproductive to our country during his term, and I suppose I could have made my own little laundry list of those things to share my perceptions of him. But they were just perceptions. There were a number of accomplishments that he achieved during his time, despite other failures.
This is not unlike any other President, including the current one. Trump is not the problem. It is our problem, because we can no longer discuss and debate our differences in a constructive and civil manner.
While I'm not in total agreement with you that Trump is not the problem, you make a number of excellent points. Like it or not Donald Trump is my President. He won the majority of electoral votes {which is the determiner of elections, contrary to what many of my allies would like to think}, and if he hasn't committed any "high crime or misdemeanor" will remain President until at least 2020. At that time, those with my political bent will have the opportunity to win enough votes and states to place a different President in office. Where I agree most wholeheartedly with you, though, is that the greatest problem we have lies within ourselves. You can see it even in the discussions on this thread. We veer off the topic and fall into invective against one another based on what we think people believe. We forget that we can disagree without being disagreeable. We also forget that there are some basic principles we all should place our political views to the side. We can argue about our views on taxation, we can debate immigration law, we can dispute legalization of marijuana, we can even debate the government's obligation to fund social programs for their citizens. They are all policy issues. We shouldn't denigrate each other and accept that we are all created equal and that in the words of our founders, we are all entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we accept equality, than much of the rancor we see dissipates.
here is basically the point where I would remove if and change hasn't to has, thus forcing him from office.
He IS going down We know so little as to the extent of evidence Mueller has gathered. I'm convinced he has some overwhelming proof, that will force this JB, to resign.
GOP is the Party of Pussy's, and believe they will lose the House and Senate as well.
Most of your points fit into a category that, while all debatable, are no longer debated because we cling to party lines. We will not take a balanced look towards any of these challenges, because the need to show that partisan loyalty takes precedent for most people.
I recall a WSJ poll taken quite a while ago. It was probably more than 10 years, maybe even close to 20. There were 2 questions in that poll that made you stare in amazement. One question asked if you believe that abortion, in some form, should be legal. 2/3 of respondents answered "yes". Liberal bent, right? The next question asked if you believe is ok for municipal buildings to display the 10 Commandments. Again, 2/3 of respondents answered "yes".
Now, just wait a damn minute. It was the same 400 hundred people. How did this sample respond this way? The answer is that we all fit somewhere around the middle, and that we drift according to our feelings and beliefs. You CAN be pro-abortion AND support the public display of religion.
But we can't talk about that or any other topic demanding rigorous debate because the pressure that has been put upon us by a variety of external forces that want us to act a certain way, despite our thoughts and beliefs. So we went from all the politicians being liars to all of US being liars.
Shame on them. Shame on us.
Nicely said and accurate to boot.