In a column yesterday, I admitted that I do not understand 2024 politics, and I confessed to being a RINO (Republican in name only), having left Trump well before the 2016 election. I wanted to see when other people left… or when they didn’t.
PART ONE was yesterday (you can see it here: https://wtvbam.com/2024/10/17/707714/). Even with two columns, I can’t hit it all, but let’s try.
*** The Trump campaign has committed to deport twenty million undocumented immigrants, even though the real number is probably closer to twelve million. World War II gives a historical perspective, when Franklin D. Roosevelt established internment camps, leading to the incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens. That event has often been depicted as one of America’s most dreadful violations of people’s civil rights; now multiply that error by a factor of one hundred. And at what cost? And you’re still voting for him?
*** Former President Donald Trump suggested using the military to manage what he called “the enemy from within.” Noting that he is unconcerned about chaos from his supporters or foreign actors but stating, “I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo in a FOX News interview, calling out Democratic Representative Adam Schiff as an example.
“I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen,” he added. His audience cheered. Really? When did it become OK for a president to call for military action against Americans who disagree with him, or who are unwilling to bend to his will? And you’re still voting for him?
*** During the recent hurricane disasters in the American Southeast, ex-President Trump has used his platform to invent false claims.
1) Trump claimed that President Biden would not answer calls from Georgia’s governor, “He’s been calling the president, hasn’t been able to get him.” Kemp, a Republican, told reporters that he had spoken with Biden the day prior. “…we’ve had FEMA embedded with us since a day or two before the storm hit in our state operations center in Atlanta; we’ve got a great relationship with them.”
2) Trump wrote in a social media post that Biden and Harris “are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina.”
The Administration actually received praise from state and local leaders, including the Republican governors of affected states.
3) Trump claimed, “Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country.” Trying to influence the election, he lied, “They stole the FEMA money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season.”
First, voting by noncitizens is a felony. Regarding FEMA funding, Congress appropriated $650 million in 2024 to assist state and local governments in housing migrants, but that fund is entirely distinct from FEMA’s pot of disaster relief funds. Congress appropriated more than $35 billion for disaster relief in 2024, according to official FEMA statistics.
4) Trump claimed $1 billion was ‘stolen’ from FEMA and has gone ‘missing’ — Trump’s Thursday claim had been debunked by Friday, yet Trump continued to repeat it.
5) Trump claimed, “They’re offering them $750, to people whose homes have been washed away. And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of. They’re offering them $750. They’ve been destroyed, these people have been destroyed. Think of it: We give foreign countries hundreds of billions of dollars and we’re handing North Carolina $750.”
FEMA explained, on a webpage it was forced to create to combat misinformation, $750 is the immediate, upfront aid survivors can get to cover basic, pressing needs like food, water, baby formula and emergency supplies. Survivors are also eligible to apply for additional assistance, such as funds for temporary housing and home repairs, up to a maximum of $42,500.
The misinformation (lies) hurts people. Some Trump supporters, who believe everything he says, are not applying for the assistance they are due. Trump seems unconcerned that he is hurting his own base. And they are probably still voting for him.
*** Like a petulant six-year-old, Trump continues to brag incessantly, insult, and name-call. He continues to claim that he’s done “more for Blacks than any president since Lincoln.“ He intentionally mis-pronounces Kamala and calls her “retarded.” She is not.
And he has become increasingly incoherent while ducking interviews and debates. Instead, he opts for a FOX News townhall with invited MAGA supporters, or a sit-down joke session with far-right podcasters. Sometimes he just plays music and dances for the crowd for 39 minutes. And you’re still voting for him?
*** The ex-president sells pictures of himself dressed like a cowboy or a caped superhero, along with tennis shoes, watches, Trump coins, bibles produced in China, a picture book of, what else, Trump. Who does that while running for President? Or, at all? And you’re still voting for him?
*** Donald Trump will be 82 at the end of a potential second term, and already seems extremely diminished. JD Vance is his VP candidate. And you’re still voting for him?
I guess half of U.S. voters will. The older I get the less I understand.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI, and publishes opinion columns regularly.
Tweets @curtmacrae — comments to rantsbymac@gmail.com
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