There are moments in American life when partisanship should pause, when ideology should step aside, when stupidity needs to be called out, and when wrong is just wrong. Come on MAGA; I know you think I have Trump Derangement Syndrome, that I’m a left-wing nut, and that I don’t balance my criticism, my rants. My family laughs at those accusations, after my support of Bush, Dole, Bush-2, McCain, and Romney.
But this week I claim the high ground, and no matter the MAGA response here, I’m proud that I have been able to make decisions based upon something other than party. If you are supporting party-at-all-costs, if you can’t find it within your moral compass to criticize your leader this week, I’m sorry for you.
I continue to be amazed at the blind acceptance of every action, every racist tweet, every narcissistic demand from a man who proves daily that he is completely self-absorbed at best, and totally unfit to handle the job he has (despite the fact that he can pick a giraffe out of an animal lineup) at worst.
For those of you who will undoubtedly comment on my over-reaction, let’s summarize briefly. This probably wasn’t covered much on FOX News.
Friday, the president of the United States re-posted, on his social media platform, a disgusting, embarrassing (to him) display of his overt racism, as well as his complete inability to “read the room.” His re-post depicted past-President Barrack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes in an A.I.-generated post.
Trump’s press secretary quickly defended (why are they all so quick to jump to a defense of EVERYTHING?), this action with “This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” she said. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.” Talk about reading the room.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), one of the president’s most loyal acolytes, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Tim thinks it’s the MOST RACIST; think about that phrase. It speaks volumes.
One simple question might be, why is the president of the United States re-posting on social media anyway? And we might add, how can the president of the United States think that this kind of activity will be met with any reaction other than disgust and embarrassment, in our country and around the world? My God, can’t we think for a moment? Shouldn’t we?
Let’s look at our second act, which started weeks ago, but has come under a brighter light this week. Donald Trump halted funding for a fully funded New Jersey construction project to upgrade the Holland Tunnel, until members of Congress (who have already approved the funding) agree to rename Dulles Airport and Penn Station after Trump. Really?
Think about that, please. I understand that people support this guy, but this kind of narcissistic power play should give us all pause; not liberals, not conservatives, Americans.
Rep. Chris Smith (D-NJ), urged the U.S. transportation secretary to release the funds, noting that continued federal-state cooperation is critical. He stated, “Shutting down or pausing the project at this intensive phase will compound construction costs and force almost 1,000 union laborers working across five construction sites out of work. The Gateway project also uses custom-built boring machines uniquely suited for the tunnels’ geology, which could be staggeringly expensive to replace in the event that the project restarts at a later date.”
Congress approved $16 billion to upgrade the 98-year old tunnel. Does the president want to add to the cost, lay off a thousand union workers, and hinder the commute between New Jersey and New York? Hasn’t he put his name on enough stuff?
America has problems; has anyone checked the polls? None of this is about policy disagreements. We aren’t talking about inflation, national defense, ICE, Epstein, or states’ rights for elections. We should be.
Instead, we are tied up in naming rights, building arches and ballrooms, adding more gold to the walls, and depicting past presidents in derogatory terms, and, and, and. I could go on but I only have so much room. These latest actions by the administration, while thoughtless and selfish, don’t just insult the Obamas and raise the cost of a tunnel upgrade. They damage America’s reputation at home and, maybe more importantly, on the world stage. We look disorganized, we look divided, we look stupid.
George Washington didn’t threaten to pull out of the revolution until a monument was promised. Abraham Lincoln didn’t stall rail funding until a memorial was guaranteed. Dwight Eisenhower didn’t freeze interstate highway projects until the system was named IKE. And none of them posted racist tropes to the world.
It’s all right to admit when your side crosses a line. In fact, it’s democracy, if we still care about that. Political loyalty should never require moral silence.
I’ve pointed out a lot of concerns over the past year or two, and today is just adding to that tally. Maybe this week pushes us over the line. Every movement in American history has had moments when its supporters had to say, “No. This isn’t what we voted for. This isn’t OK.”
Silence, on the other hand, sends a message too. It says we haven’t crossed the line yet. The line may be faint, or maybe it doesn’t exist anymore. If that’s the case, everything becomes negotiable. Decency, dignity, even basic respect for fellow Americans becomes optional.
I am not suggesting anyone abandon their political beliefs. You can support conservative policies (I do) or liberal ideologies and still reject cruelty. You can favor tough immigration enforcement (I do) and still condemn thuggery. You can admire political strength and still oppose the use of public funding as a vanity bargaining chip.
Isn’t all this embarrassing? Exhausting? Warren Buffet, among others, said “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Let’s think about that.
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI and publishes opinion columns regularly.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback: rantsbymac@gmail.com
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