When I put my head in my hands while reading Gail Collins in the Saturday Times, my wife said I had to stop reading the news. While I have largely avoided broadcast news since November 8 in favor of newspapers and on-line sites, it’s become clear that we need some type of scoring system for the Trump presidency.
I have one for back pain, a 1-to-10 scale that measures days before I call a doctor, with a “1” being severe pain. I have a sister who is a rabid Boston sports fan, so I have started measuring intensity with a scale of 1-to-5 “Sandy’s.”
Trump, however, presents a difficult challenge. We do not yet know what policies he will be pursuing as President – I’d be surprised if he even knew – but we do know that he has amply demonstrated a complete lack of empathy for anyone with the temerity to challenge him. It could be a disabled reporter that he ridiculed for the disability, the Khan family, or the union leader who said (correctly) that Trump lied about the number of jobs saved at the Carrier facility. But this behavior is simply despicable, and trying to score it minimizes the suffering he is consciously inflicting.
I’m talking about statements or behavior that makes you think, “This guy is going to be President of the United States?” That brings us back to the Collins column. She quoted a tweet by the soon-to-be leader of the free world about the Miss Universe pageant he was bringing to Moscow:
Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?
Setting aside the obviously troublesome geopolitical aspects of the President-Elect’s fascination with a murderous dictator, this sounds like a high school freshman wondering if the cute girl in his Algebra class will go on a date with him.
This guy is going to be our President?
Tom Noonan 